Build an AI-Powered Fullstack Next.js App, v3

• Build a Full-Stack Application: Develop a complete AI-powered Journal app using Next.js, from initial setup to deployment.
• Understand Next.js Architecture: Gain a comprehensive understanding of client components, server components, routing, middleware, and layouts in Next.js.
• Database Integration: Learn to set up a serverless database with Prisma and PlanetScale, and manage data effectively.
• AI and API Integration: Integrate AI functionalities using the OpenAI API and Langchain, enabling sentiment analysis and text summarization.

In this course, you will build a full-stack AI-powered Journal app using Next.js and React, exploring how client components, server components, and various Next.js features come together. You'll store data in a serverless Prisma database hosted on PlanetScale, and integrate the OpenAI API and Langchain for AI capabilities. By the end of the course, you'll be equipped to deploy your application to Vercel, ready for real-world use.

• Developers with intermediate JavaScript and React skills looking to expand their knowledge to full-stack development.
• Programmers interested in learning how to build and deploy AI-powered applications using modern technologies.
• Developers wanting to gain hands-on experience with Next.js, Prisma, and OpenAI API.

• Intermediate knowledge of JavaScript and React.
• Basic understanding of Node.js and web development concepts.
• Familiarity with version control systems like Git.

Introduction

• Overview of the Course: Introduction to the AI-powered journal app, including its features and objectives. Scott Moss presents the project scope and links to the GitHub repository containing the final app version.

App Setup & Authentication

• App Setup & Homepage: Learn to scaffold a new application using create-next-app, remove default code, and apply Prettier for consistent formatting.
• Homepage Styling: Utilize Tailwind CSS to design the homepage with navigation to the journal page.
• Authentication with Clerk: Implement authentication using Clerk, setting up sign-in and sign-up pages with multiple auth providers.
• Authentication Middleware: Create middleware to protect routes, ensuring only authenticated users can access certain pages.

Connecting to a Database

• Understanding Webhooks: Learn how webhooks synchronize services by triggering API calls upon events.
• Serverless Database with PlanetScale: Set up a serverless database environment, configure the PlanetScale CLI, and establish a connection with your app.
• Setup Prisma ORM: Install Prisma ORM, define schemas, and integrate them with PlanetScale.
• Database Utility Methods: Implement utility methods to manage database connections efficiently.

Building the Journal Page

• Creating a New User Workflow: Handle user creation and data storage with Clerk and Prisma, ensuring seamless navigation to the journal page.
• Journal Page Layout: Design a reusable layout for the journal page, incorporating headers and sidebars.
• User Profile Widget: Add a user profile widget using Clerk's components for easy authentication management.
• Fetching Journal Entries: Create methods to retrieve and display journal entries specific to each user.

Creating & Updating Journal Entries

• New Entry Workflow: Set up routes for creating new journal entries and managing entry IDs.
• Journal Entry Editor: Develop an editor for journal entries using textareas and manage state with React hooks.
• Autosaving Entries: Implement autosaving functionality with the react-autosave library to preserve entry content.

Understanding AI & Prompt Engineering

• Sidebar UI: Design a sidebar displaying entry summaries and mood analysis, with dynamic color changes.
• LLMs & Prompts: Introduce Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT and explore prompt engineering with Langchain.
• OpenAI Setup: Set up an OpenAI API account and integrate it with your application for AI functionalities.
• Creating Consistent Prompts: Use examples and the Zod library to generate consistent outputs from AI prompts.

Analyzing Entries

• Prompt Template: Create structured prompts with Langchain's PromptTemplate and Zod schemas.
• Saving Analysis to Database: Store AI-generated analysis data in the PlanetScale database.
• Sidebar UI Integration: Connect analysis data to the sidebar UI for real-time updates.

Vectors & Similarity Searching

• Entry Search UI: Develop a search interface for querying journal entries using AI.
• Vector Database Overview: Understand the role of vectors in reducing context requirements for accurate AI responses.
• Similarity Searches with Vectors: Implement helper methods for similarity searches based on vector databases.

Sentiment Analysis

• Sentiment Scoring: Add sentiment analysis to journal entries and plot user mood trends.
• Database Updates: Enhance database schemas for efficient sentiment score querying.
• Charting Sentiment Values: Visualize sentiment scores with a charting library and customize tooltips.

Testing & Deployment

• Vitest Setup: Configure Vitest for testing and create mock functions for third-party dependencies.
• Homepage Testing: Write tests for homepage functionality and ensure reliable results.
• Deploying to Vercel: Deploy the application to Vercel, connecting the GitHub repository and setting up production database branches.
• Discussion and Testing Strategies: Address questions about testing strategies, including mocking the OpenAI API, and provide insights into real-world application development.