doc: added full instructions for local deployment

Author: fatbiscuit247

local_setup.md

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+# INSTRUCTIONS FOR DEPLOYING TRANSLATION SERVICES LOCALLY 
+
+## Fork Repositories
+- Fork llm-experiment-microservice-jack repo: https://github.com/CMU-313/llm-experiment-microservice-jack
+- Fork nodebb-fall-2025-jack repo: https://github.com/CMU-313/nodebb-fall-2025-jack
+
+Clone the llm-experiment-microservice-jack repo and open it in a DevContainer.
+
+---
+
+## STEP 1: In llm-experiment-microservice-jack repo
+
+1. Run:
+   ```bash
+   uv init
+   uv add -r requirements.txt
+   ```
+
+2. Install Ollama:
+   ```bash
+   curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
+   ```
+
+3. Restart your terminal and verify:
+   ```bash
+   ollama --version
+   ```
+
+4. Start the Ollama background server (keep this window open):
+   ```bash
+   ollama serve
+   ```
+
+5. In a new terminal, pull the model and start Flask:
+   ```bash
+   ollama pull qwen3:0.6b
+   uv run flask run
+   ```
+
+6. Test your translator service by visiting:
+   ```
+   http://127.0.0.1:5000/?content=Dies%20ist%20eine%20Nachricht%20auf%20Deutsch
+   ```
+
+Expected output:
+```json
+{"is_english": false, "translated_content": "This is a German message"}
+```
+
+### LEAVE BOTH THE FLASK SERVER AND OLLAMA RUNNING
+
+---
+
+Clone nodebb-fall-2025-jack and open it in a DevContainer.
+
+## STEP 2: In nodebb-fall-2025-jack repo
+
+1. Set the environment variable:
+   - If **not** inside a DevContainer:
+     ```bash
+     export TRANSLATOR_API_BASE="http://127.0.0.1:5000"
+     ```
+   - If **inside** a DevContainer:
+     ```bash
+     export TRANSLATOR_API_BASE="http://host.docker.internal:5000"
+     ```
+
+2. Build NodeBB:
+   ```bash
+   ./nodebb build
+   ```
+
+3. Start NodeBB:
+   ```bash
+   ./nodebb start
+   ```
+
+---
+
+## Verification Steps
+
+- Create a **new post** (old posts won’t have `isEnglish` fields) with non-English content such as:
+  ```
+  นี่คือข้อความภาษาไทย
+  ```
+
+- If your microservice is running, you will see a **blue button** labeled:
+  > “Click here to view the translated message.”
+
+- Clicking the button toggles visibility of the translated text.
+
+
+
+### Expected Results
+
+- Posts with `isEnglish: true` → translation button still shows up
+- Posts with `isEnglish: false` → button appears and shows the translated message when clicked
+
+<img width="888" height="191" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9d226a1c-8e49-480c-87cd-692f73e552c7" />
+<img width="914" height="164" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/09216998-bd4b-4eb3-8a09-02ec4be39cbf" />
+
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Button not showing?
+
+**Check 1: Did you build?**
+```bash
+./nodebb build
+```
+
+**Check 2: Is the post NEW?**
+- Delete old test posts
+- Create a fresh post after building
+
+**Check 3: Check the database**
+```bash
+# Redis
+redis-cli
+HGETALL post:1  # Check if isEnglish and translatedContent exist
+```
+
+**Check 4: Check browser console**
+- Open DevTools (F12)
+- Look for JavaScript errors
+- Check if topic.js loaded
+
+**Check 5: Check if translator is being called**
+```bash
+# Look for translation logs in NodeBB output
+tail -f logs/output.log
+```
+
+**Check 6: Check if you set the right environment**
+```bash
+#if not in devcontainer: http://127.0.0.1:5000, else : http://host.docker.internal:5000
+echo $TRANSLATOR_API_BASE
+```
+
+### Hard refresh
+If templates are cached:
+```bash
+# Clear browser cache or hard refresh
+Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows/Linux)
+Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
+```
+
+## Expected Flow
+
+1. User creates post with "Hola mundo"
+2. `src/posts/create.js` calls `translator.translate()`
+3. Translator calls your microservice
+4. Stores `isEnglish: false` and `translatedContent: "Hello world"`
+5. Template checks `{{{if !posts.isEnglish }}}`
+6. Button appears
+7. Click → translation shows