Mobile Application/              ← repo root (you are here)
├── Backend/                     ← Node/Express API (auth, AI, etc.)
├── Frontend/                    ← Expo app (screens, feed, profile – all in src/)
├── package.json                 ← root scripts: start app, run backend
├── App.tsx                      ← minimal root entry (do not run Expo from here)
└── README.md                    ← this file

• Backend = API only. Run with npm run dev from root.
• Frontend = the Expo app. Run with npm run start from root.

See Frontend/RUN_APP.md (or Mobile Application/RUN_APP.md if not renamed) for how to run the app correctly and avoid duplicate-React issues.

Auth flow (stack)

Main app (tabs, after login)

Overlay

All of the above live in Mobile Application/src/screens/ (or Frontend/src/screens/ after rename).

1. Get a Gemini API key – Go to Google AI Studio, sign in, and create an API key.
2. Add it to the Backend – In Backend/.env set:

   GEMINI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

3. Restart the Backend – Stop the backend (Ctrl+C) and run npm run dev again from repo root.
4. App can reach Backend – Phone and PC on the same Wi‑Fi; app’s .env has EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://YOUR_PC_IP:8080 (or run .\set-api-url.ps1 in the app folder and restart Expo).
5. Use the chat – Log in, tap the floating chat (owl) button, type a message and send. The reply comes from Gemini.

If the chat shows an error, it will tell you (e.g. “Add GEMINI_API_KEY to Backend .env” or “Can’t connect to server”).

• Splash timeout: If the app waits for the backend and the new phone can't reach it, the splash now gives up after 8 seconds and sends you to Login so the app doesn't hang. You can use demo login (dhwani@gmail.com / dhwani08) to use the app offline.
• "This is taking longer" (Expo/Metro): If you see that and the app never loads, the phone is trying to load the JS bundle from your dev machine and can't reach it. Fix: 1) Put the new phone and the computer running npm run start on the same Wi‑Fi. 2) Or in the Expo terminal press s to switch to tunnel mode and scan the new QR code (works across networks, slower). 3) After the app loads, set the API URL to your PC's IP if you need the backend (see "Make the chatbot run" above).

If you still see Mobile Application twice (root + inner folder), rename the inner one to Frontend:

1. Close Cursor completely (File → Exit).
2. Stop Expo (Ctrl+C in the terminal).
3. Open File Explorer → go to d:\MSCS\Hackathon\Mobile Application.
4. Right-click the inner folder named Mobile Application → Rename → type Frontend → Enter.
5. Reopen Cursor and run npm run start from repo root.

After that you’ll have: Backend, Frontend, and supporting files only. See RENAME_INSTRUCTIONS.txt for more detail.