DevOps Stage: Implemented CI/CD pipeline, Vercel config

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+name: PLOT-TWIST CI/CD Pipeline
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [ "main", "develop", "feature/devops-enhancement" ]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [ "main", "develop" ]
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.10'
+
+      - name: Install Dependencies
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+      - name: Lint with flake8
+        run: |
+          pip install flake8
+          # stop the build if there are Python syntax errors or undefined names
+          flake8 . --count --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --show-source --statistics
+
+  test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: build
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Run Basic App Smoke Test
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
+          python -c "from app import app; print('App initialized successfully')"
+
+  deploy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: test
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || github.ref == 'refs/heads/feature/devops-enhancement'
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Deploy to Vercel
+        uses: amondnet/vercel-action@v20
+        with:
+          vercel-token: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }}
+          vercel-org-id: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_ORG_ID }}
+          vercel-project-id: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_PROJECT_ID }}
+          vercel-args: '--prod'
+          working-directory: ./

README.md

@@ -1,67 +1,74 @@
-# PLOT-TWIST — Branching Story Engine
+# PLOT-TWIST: The Git-Integrated Story Engine
 
-PLOT-TWIST is an interactive story game where your choices don't just affect the narrative—they affect the repository itself. Built with Flask and Git integration, it's a "meta" gaming experience for developers.
-
-## 👥 Meet the Team
-- **Aastha Dhavan**: Lead Developer & SDLC Manager
-- **Taniya Bisht**: UI/UX Designer & Frontend Engineer
-- **Janvi**: Database Architect & Backend Logic
+## 1. Project Title
+**PLOT-TWIST** — A DevOps-Enhanced Branching Narrative Experience.
 
 ---
 
-## 🚀 Getting Started
+## 2. Problem Statement
+Many interactive fiction games lack a truly "meta" connection to the developer's world. **PLOT-TWIST** bridges this gap by using Git branches to represent story timelines. The project also addresses professional development standards by implementing a robust CI/CD pipeline, solving the problem of manual deployment and inconsistent environments in collaborative settings.
 
-### 1. Prerequisites
-- Python 3.8+
-- Git installed on your system
+---
 
-### 2. Setup
-```bash
-# Clone the repository
-git clone https://github.com/aasthadhavan/PLOT-TWIST.git
-cd PLOT-TWIST
+## 3. Architecture Diagram
+![PLOT-TWIST Architecture](C:\Users\aasth\.gemini\antigravity\brain\127a9d8c-adff-4329-936f-a3d3f790dcf7\plot_twist_architecture_1775986869004.png)
 
-# Create a virtual environment
-python -m venv venv
-source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
+---
 
-# Install dependencies
-pip install -r requirements.txt
+## 4. CI/CD Pipeline Explanation
+The project utilizes **GitHub Actions** for an automated 3-stage pipeline:
+1.  **Build**: Initializes the Python environment and installs dependencies from `requirements.txt`.
+2.  **Test**: Runs automated linting (Flake8) and a "Smoke Test" to verify the Flask app initializes without errors.
+3.  **Deploy**: Upon a successful merge to `main` or `feature/devops-enhancement`, the pipeline automatically triggers a production deployment to **Vercel** using the `amondnet/vercel-action`.
 
-# Initialize your environment
-cp .env.example .env
-# Edit .env and add a secret key
-```
+---
 
-### 3. Running the Game
-```bash
-python app.py
-```
-Visit `http://127.0.0.1:5000` to start your journey.
+## 5. Git Workflow Used
+We implemented a **Structured Git Workflow**:
+- **Main Branch**: Protected production branch.
+- **Develop Branch**: Integration branch for team features.
+- **Feature Branches**: Individual task branches (e.g., `feature/devops-enhancement`).
+- **PR Strategy**: All features require a Pull Request and successful CI pass before merging into `develop` or `main`.
 
 ---
 
-## 🛠 Collaboration Guidelines
+## 6. Tools Used
+- **Backend**: Flask (Python)
+- **Database**: SQLite / SQL-Alchemy
+- **Auth**: Flask-Login + Werkzeug Hashing
+- **DevOps**: GitHub Actions, Docker, Vercel
+- **APIs**: Gutendex (Archive Library)
+- **SCM**: GitPython
+
+---
 
-To keep our repository healthy between 3 teammates, please follow this workflow:
+## 7. Screenshots
+### Pipeline Success
+*(Place screenshot of GitHub Actions green checkmarks here)*
 
-1.  **Main Branch**: `develop` (Always merge feature branches here).
-2.  **Feature Branches**: Create branches like `feature/your-feature-name`.
-3.  **Conflict Resolution**: Use `git fetch` and `git rebase develop` before submitting a Pull Request.
-4.  **Story Branches**: Note that the game engine creates branches in the `story/` namespace. These are for gameplay state and should NOT be merged into `develop`.
+### Deployment Output
+*(Place screenshot of the working .vercel.app URL here)*
 
 ---
 
-## 🏗 Architecture
-- **Backend**: Flask
-- **Database**: SQLite (via Flask-SQLAlchemy)
-- **Auth**: Flask-Login with password hashing
-- **SCM Engine**: GitPython (Story branching logic)
-- **Public API**: Gutendex (Internal library archive)
+## 8. Challenges Faced
+- **Database Schema Migration**: Transitioning from plain-text passwords to `password_hash` required a full database wipe and recreation to prevent `SQLAlchemy` errors.
+- **Vercel/Flask Integration**: Configuring Vercel's serverless functions to correctly find the Flask `app` object in a nested directory structure (`api/index.py`).
+- **Git State Engine**: Designing a Git engine that doesn't conflict with the CI/CD runners' own Git state.
 
 ---
 
-## 📝 Roadmap
-- [ ] Add more local branching stories to `stories.json`.
-- [ ] Implement a global leaderboard.
-- [ ] Connect to PostgreSQL for shared team testing.
+## ⚙️ Project Structure
+```text
+PLOT-TWIST/
+ ├── api/                # Vercel Serverless Entry
+ │    └── index.py
+ ├── instance/           # Local Database Storage
+ ├── templates/          # Light-Mode UI (HTML)
+ ├── .github/workflows/  # CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)
+ ├── app.py              # Main Flask Engine
+ ├── models.py           # SQL-Alchemy Models
+ ├── config.py           # Central Configuration
+ ├── vercel.json         # Vercel Deployment Config
+ └── README.md           # Documentation
+```

api/index.py

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+import os
+import sys
+
+# Add the project root to the sys.path
+sys.path.append(os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..')))
+
+from app import app
+
+# Vercel needs the 'app' variable to be the handler
+handler = app