cleanup

CONFIG.md

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# SipMap Configuration Guide
+
+## 🔑 API Key Management
+
+### Single Source of Truth
+The application uses **ONE** configuration file for the Google Maps API key:
+
+```
+📁 SipMap/
+  └── .env  ← YOUR API KEY GOES HERE (ONLY PLACE TO CHANGE IT)
+```
+
+### How to Update Your API Key
+
+1. **Open the file**: `/Users/mehalsrivastava/GitHub/SipMap/.env`
+2. **Update the key**: Change `GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_current_key` to your new key
+3. **Restart the server**: The server will automatically pick up the new key
+
+### Example .env file:
+```bash
+GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=AIzaSyAOFpadsj8FUVZatR4TpCtr2gTCcEdOTAY
+PORT=3000
+NODE_ENV=production
+```
+
+## 🔄 Quick Restart Commands
+
+When you change the API key, restart the server:
+
+```bash
+# Stop any running server
+pkill -f "node server.js"
+
+# Start the server
+cd /Users/mehalsrivastava/GitHub/SipMap/server && node server.js
+```
+
+## ✅ Verification
+
+After updating the API key:
+1. Check server logs show: `API Key loaded successfully`
+2. Test a search in your browser at `http://localhost:5500`
+3. Verify API calls return restaurant/cafe data
+
+## 🚨 Important Notes
+
+**No more duplicate .env files** - Server reads from root `.env` only
+- **One place to change API key** - Only edit `/SipMap/.env`
+- **Version control** - The `.env` file is gitignored for security

README.md

@@ -41,10 +41,18 @@ Option B — Serve locally (recommended):
 python3 -m http.server (any portnum of your choice)
 ```
 
-## 🔧 Configuration (optional)
-If you use a backend or API keys, copy `.env.example` to `.env` and fill in values. The front‑end reads from your environment only if you wire a server or bundler that injects them.
+## 🔧 Configuration
 
-- `.env.example` — reference for required variables
+### 🔑 API Key Setup (Simplified)
+
+**One place to manage your API key:** Edit the `.env` file in the root directory
+
+1. **Edit `.env`**: Replace `your_google_maps_api_key_here` with your actual API key  
+2. **Restart server**: If running the backend, restart to pick up changes
+
+See `CONFIG.md` for detailed instructions.
+
+### Google Cloud Setup
 
  - Set up your project in the Google Cloud Console. You'll enter a project name and billing information. Your website won't work as it should unless you enable billing, but you won't be charged if the API doesn't get called past the monthly limit (we'll teach you how to cap it at the limit, which is usually 10,000 API calls).
 

server/server.js

@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 const express = require('express');
 const cors = require('cors');
 const fetch = require('node-fetch');
-require('dotenv').config();
+const path = require('path');
+
+// Configure dotenv to read from the root project directory
+require('dotenv').config({ path: path.join(__dirname, '..', '.env') });
 
 // Middleware to log request details
 const logRequestDetails = (req, res, next) => {