LLM APIs - lesson 7 | HackIndia Skills

Key point

Proof beats claims

Your repo should make one thing obvious: the AI call happens from a server route, not from the browser. The README and file names should help a reviewer verify this in two minutes.

Use the Responses API for new text generation work. Older tutorials may show Chat Completions or frontend calls, but your proof should use the current backend route pattern.

Your to-do

What reviewers check

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Show a server route that imports the OpenAI SDK and calls the Responses API.
Keep OPENAI_API_KEY in environment variables, not in committed code.
Include streaming or Structured Outputs, depending on your feature.
Handle common errors with a useful response instead of crashing silently.
Add setup steps and a short test flow in README.md.

0 of 5 done

Example

README proof block

Add a small proof section near the top of your README. This helps internship reviewers and HackIndia evaluators find the important parts fast.

AI feature proof

Feature: AI study-plan generator

Backend route: app/api/plan/route.ts
OpenAI API used: Responses API
Key handling: reads process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY on the server only
Output mode: Structured Outputs with json_schema and strict true
Error handling: returns safe messages for 429 and temporary server errors

Run locally:
1. Copy .env.example to .env.local
2. Add OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here
3. Install dependencies
4. Start the dev server
5. Open /dashboard and generate a plan

Do not put your OpenAI API key in browser code, mobile code, screenshots, or commits.

Example

Env example

Commit an example env file, not the real one. This shows the required variable without leaking secrets.

# .env.example
OPENAI_API_KEY=replace_with_your_openai_key

Common mistake

Common repo leaks

Do not commit .env, .env.local, terminal screenshots with keys, or copied code where the key is hardcoded. OpenAI recommends using the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable so code can be shared safely.

Also avoid a demo where the browser calls OpenAI directly. API keys should stay on your backend server.

Tip

Use AI carefully

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to review your README before submission. Paste only code structure and fake env values, not your real key.

Prompt it like this: “Check if this repo README proves safe OpenAI backend integration. Flag missing setup steps, unclear route names, leaked secrets, and missing error handling.” Then verify every suggestion yourself.

Your to-do

Final repo pass

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Search your repo for sk-, OPENAI_API_KEY=, Authorization, and Bearer before pushing.
Open the server route and confirm the OpenAI SDK is used only on the backend.
Check that your README says whether you used streaming or Structured Outputs.
Run the app from a fresh clone using only README steps.
Push the final code to a public repository and submit it on HackIndia.

0 of 5 done

Your to-do

Do this now

Do each one yourself, then tap it to tick it off. The ticks are only a checklist for you: they are not marked or scored.

Create .env.example with OPENAI_API_KEY as a placeholder.
Add an AI feature proof section to README.md.
Link the exact backend route file in the README text.
Run a repo search for leaked keys before your next commit.
Ask one friend to run the project using only your README.

0 of 5 done

Ship the repo proof

Proof beats claims

What reviewers check

README proof block

Env example

Common repo leaks

Use AI carefully

Final repo pass

Do this now

Quick check