Pull Request: Integrate .env File Support and Add Backend Usage Example

[Jiayou-Chao]

Description

This pull request introduces two enhancements to the MindSearch project:

1. Environment Variables Configuration:

   • Added support for managing environment variables using a .env file.
   • Updated models.py to load environment variables using python-dotenv.
   • Modified GPT-4 and Silicon model configurations to use values from the .env file or defaults.
   • Updated .gitignore to exclude the .env file.
   • Updated requirements.txt to include python-dotenv.

2. Backend Usage Example:

   • Added backend_example.py to demonstrate how to interact with the backend directly, without using the frontend.

Changes

• .env.example: Added with necessary environment variable placeholders.
• .gitignore: Updated to exclude .env file.
• README.md: Documented environment variable setup and backend usage example.
• backend_example.py: New script for direct backend interaction.
• models.py: Updated to load environment variables for model configurations.
• requirements.txt: Added python-dotenv dependency.

How to Test

1. Setup Environment Variables:

   • Rename .env.example to .env and fill in the required values.

2. Run Backend Example:

   • Ensure the backend is running.
   • Execute python backend_example.py to test direct backend interaction.

Additional Information

• This update simplifies the configuration process and provides an example for users who prefer backend interaction without a frontend.
• Note: The README currently refers to this as a "forked version." If this pull request is accepted, I am happy to update the README to reflect the changes in the main repository.

[Harold-lkk]

Thanks for your contribution, we will review as soon as possible