Chatbot

Chatbot is a Next.js + AI SDK starter for building chat applications with model routing, auth, and persistent storage.

Tech Stack

• Next.js (App Router)
• AI SDK
• Auth.js
• Drizzle ORM + Postgres
• Vercel AI Gateway
• Vercel Blob (optional)
• Redis (optional)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm 10+

Install pnpm if needed:

npm install -g pnpm

Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env.local:

cp .env.example .env.local

On Windows PowerShell:

Copy-Item .env.example .env.local

Then replace all **** values in .env.local.

Required (local development)

• AUTH_SECRET - session and auth encryption secret
• AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY - required when running outside Vercel
• POSTGRES_URL - required for DB operations and migrations

Optional (can run without these initially)

• REDIS_URL - enables production rate limiting/resumable stream support
• BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN - required for blob/file storage features

Important: this project reads migrations from .env.local (lib/db/migrate.ts), so setting only .env is not enough for pnpm db:migrate.

Local Quickstart

pnpm install
pnpm db:migrate
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

Common Commands

• pnpm dev - run development server
• pnpm build - run migrations and build production app
• pnpm start - start production server
• pnpm db:migrate - apply database migrations
• pnpm db:studio - open Drizzle Studio
• pnpm check - run lint/check tools
• pnpm fix - auto-fix issues where possible

Model Providers

This app uses Vercel AI Gateway to route models defined in lib/ai/models.ts.

• On Vercel: OIDC auth is handled automatically.
• Locally/non-Vercel: you must set AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY.

You can also switch to direct providers via AI SDK if desired.

Deploy

Deploy on Vercel using the template:

Deploy with Vercel

Troubleshooting

POSTGRES_URL not defined, skipping migrations

Cause: pnpm db:migrate cannot find POSTGRES_URL in .env.local.

Fix:

1. Ensure .env.local exists.
2. Add POSTGRES_URL=... to .env.local.
3. Re-run pnpm db:migrate.

AI Gateway authentication errors locally

Set AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY in .env.local and restart the dev server.

Security Notes

• Never commit .env, .env.local, or real secrets.
• Keep .env.example with placeholders only.