Installation

This guide provides comprehensive instructions for installing and deploying VisionaryAI in both development and production environments.

System requirements

Before installing VisionaryAI, ensure your system meets these requirements:

Node.js: Version 18.15.9 or higher
npm/yarn/pnpm: Latest stable version
Git: Version 2.0 or higher
Azure CLI: Version 2.0 or higher (for Azure Functions deployment)
VS Code: Recommended with Azure Functions extension

VisionaryAI uses TypeScript 5.0.2 and modern ES6+ features. Ensure your development environment supports these technologies.

Part 1: Next.js application setup

The frontend is built with Next.js 13 using the App Router architecture.

Clone the repository

Start by cloning the VisionaryAI repository:

git clone https://github.com/Srijan-D/DALLE3.git
cd DALLE3

Fork the repository first if you plan to make customizations or contribute back to the project.

Install dependencies

Install all required npm packages:

npm install

This installs the following key dependencies:

{
  "next": "13.2.4",
  "react": "18.2.0",
  "react-dom": "18.2.0",
  "typescript": "5.0.2",
  "openai": "^3.2.1"
}

{
  "tailwindcss": "^3.3.2",
  "autoprefixer": "^10.4.14",
  "postcss": "^8.4.23",
  "csstype": "^3.0.10"
}

{
  "swr": "^2.1.1",
  "react-hot-toast": "^2.4.0"
}

{
  "@vercel/analytics": "^1.1.1"
}

Configure OpenAI client

VisionaryAI uses the OpenAI SDK for API communication. The configuration is located in openai.ts:

import { Configuration, OpenAIApi } from "openai"

const config = new Configuration({
    organization: process.env.OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION,
    apiKey: process.env.OPEN_AI_KEY
})

const openai = new OpenAIApi(config)

export default openai

Create a .env.local file in the project root:

OPEN_AI_KEY=sk-...
OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION=org-...
NEXT_PUBLIC_AZURE_FUNCTIONS_URL=http://localhost:7071/api

Add .env.local to your .gitignore file to prevent accidentally committing sensitive API keys. The repository includes .env.local in .gitignore by default.

Configure Next.js

The project uses next.config.js for framework configuration:

/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {
  experimental: {
    appDir: true,
  },
  images: {
    domains: [
      'links.papareact.com',
      'your-storage-account.blob.core.windows.net'
    ],
  },
}

module.exports = nextConfig

Add your Azure Storage account domain to the images.domains array to allow Next.js Image optimization for generated images.

Understanding the API routes

Next.js API routes act as a proxy to Azure Functions. Here’s how they’re structured:

Generate image endpoint

Location: app/api/generateImage/route.ts

import { NextResponse } from "next/server";

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const res = await request.json();
  const prompt = res.prompt;

  const response = await fetch(
    "https://ai-imagegenerator.azurewebsites.net/api/generateImage?",
    {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      body: JSON.stringify({ prompt }),
    }
  );
  
  const textData = await response.text();
  return NextResponse.json({ textData });
}

This endpoint forwards image generation requests to Azure Functions.

Get images endpoint

Location: app/api/getImages/route.ts

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const response = await fetch(
    "https://ai-imagegenerator.azurewebsites.net/api/getImages?",
    { cache: "no-store" }
  );
  
  const blob = await response.blob();
  const textData = await blob.text();
  const data = JSON.parse(textData);

  return new Response(JSON.stringify(data), { status: 200 });
}

Retrieves the list of generated images from Azure Blob Storage.

ChatGPT suggestion endpoint

Location: app/api/suggestion/route.ts

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const response = await fetch(
    "https://ai-imagegenerator.azurewebsites.net/api/getChatGPTSuggestion?",
    { cache: "no-store" }
  );
  
  const textData = await response.text();
  return new Response(JSON.stringify(textData.trim()), { status: 200 });
}

Fetches AI-generated prompt suggestions from ChatGPT.

Set up SWR data fetching

VisionaryAI uses SWR for efficient data fetching. The fetcher functions are in the lib directory:

//this is the fetcher function for SWR hook used
const fetchImages = () =>
    fetch("/api/getImages", {
        cache: 'no-store',
    }).then(res => res.json())

export default fetchImages

const fetchSuggestionFromChatGPT = () =>
    fetch("/api/suggestion", {
        cache: 'no-store',
    }).then(res => res.json())

export default fetchSuggestionFromChatGPT

These fetchers are used in the React components:

const {
  data: images,
  isLoading,
  mutate: refreshImages,
  isValidating,
} = useSWR("images", fetchImages, {
  revalidateOnFocus: false,
});

Run the development server

Start the Next.js development server:

npm run dev

The application will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Next.js supports Fast Refresh, so your changes will appear instantly without losing component state.

Part 2: Azure Functions setup

The backend uses Azure Functions for serverless compute.

Navigate to Azure directory

cd azure

Install Azure dependencies

npm install

This installs:

{
  "@azure/functions": "^4.0.0-alpha.7",
  "@azure/storage-blob": "^12.13.0",
  "axios": "^1.3.4",
  "openai": "^3.2.1"
}

Configure local settings

Create local.settings.json in the azure directory:

{
  "IsEncrypted": false,
  "Values": {
    "AzureWebJobsStorage": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME": "node",
    "OPEN_AI_KEY": "sk-your-api-key",
    "OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION": "org-your-org-id",
    "accountName": "your-storage-account-name",
    "accountKey": "your-storage-account-key"
  }
}

The local.settings.json file is gitignored by default. Never commit this file to version control as it contains sensitive credentials.

Understanding Azure Functions

VisionaryAI includes four Azure Functions:

generateImage function

Location: azure/src/functions/generateImage.jsHandles DALL-E 3 image generation and Azure Blob Storage upload:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const openai = require('../../lib/openai');
const axios = require('axios');
const generateSASToken = require('../../lib/generateSASToken');
const { BlobServiceClient } = require('@azure/storage-blob');

const accountName = process.env.accountName;
const containerName = "images";

app.http("generateImage", {
    methods: ["POST"],
    authLevel: "anonymous",
    handler: async (request) => {
        const { prompt } = await request.json();
        
        // Generate image with DALL-E 3
        const response = await openai.createImage({
            model: "dall-e-3",
            prompt: prompt,
            n: 1,
            size: '1024x1024',
        })
        
        image_url = response.data.data[0].url;
        
        // Download image from OpenAI
        const res = await axios.get(image_url, { 
            responseType: 'arraybuffer' 
        });
        const arrayBuffer = res.data;
        
        // Upload to Azure Blob Storage
        const sasToken = await generateSASToken();
        const blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(
            `https://${accountName}.blob.core.windows.net?${sasToken}`
        )
        
        const containerClient = blobServiceClient.getContainerClient(containerName);
        const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
        const file_name = `${prompt}_${timestamp}.png`;
        const blockBlobClient = containerClient.getBlockBlobClient(file_name);
        
        await blockBlobClient.uploadData(arrayBuffer)
        console.log("Image uploaded to Azure Blob Storage")
        
        return { body: "Image uploaded successfully" }
    },
})

Images are stored with filenames like prompt_timestamp.png for easy sorting and identification.

getImages function

Location: azure/src/functions/getImages.jsRetrieves all images from Azure Blob Storage:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const { BlobServiceClient, StorageSharedKeyCredential } = require('@azure/storage-blob');
const generateSASToken = require('../../lib/generateSASToken');

const accountName = process.env.accountName;
const accountKey = process.env.accountKey;
const containerName = "images";

const sharedKeyCredential = new StorageSharedKeyCredential(accountName, accountKey);
const blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(
    `https://${accountName}.blob.core.windows.net`,
    sharedKeyCredential
);

app.http("getImages", {
    methods: ["GET"],
    authLevel: "anonymous",
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        const containerClient = blobServiceClient.getContainerClient(containerName);
        const imageUrls = [];
        const sasToken = await generateSASToken();

        for await (const blob of containerClient.listBlobsFlat()) {
            const imageUrl = `${blob.name}?${sasToken}`;
            const url = `https://${accountName}.blob.core.windows.net/${containerName}/${imageUrl}`
            imageUrls.push({ url, name: blob.name });
        }
        
        // Sort by timestamp (newest first)
        const sortedImageUrls = imageUrls.sort((a, b) => {
            const aName = a.name.split("_").pop().toString().split(".").shift();
            const bName = b.name.split("_").pop().toString().split(".").shift();
            return bName - aName; 
        })
        
        return {
            jsonBody: { imageUrls: sortedImageUrls }
        }
    }
})

getChatGPTSuggestion function

Location: azure/src/functions/getChatGPTSuggestion.jsGenerates creative prompt suggestions using ChatGPT:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const openai = require('../../lib/openai');

app.http('getChatGPTSuggestion', {
    methods: ['GET'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        const response = await openai.createCompletion({
            model: 'gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct',
            prompt: 'Write a random text prompt for DALL.E to generate an image, this prompt will be shown to the user, include details such as the genre and what type of painting it should be, options can include: oil painting, watercolor, photo-realistic, 4K, abstract, modern, black and white etc. Do not wrap the answer in quotes',
            max_tokens: 100,
            temperature: 0.9,
        })
        
        const responseText = response.data.choices[0].text;
        return { body: responseText };
    }
});

Modify the prompt in this function to customize the style and type of suggestions ChatGPT generates.

generateSASToken function

Location: azure/lib/generateSASToken.jsCreates secure SAS tokens for blob access:

const { BlobServiceClient, StorageSharedKeyCredential, generateBlobSASQueryParameters, BlobSASPermissions } = require('@azure/storage-blob');

async function generateSASToken() {
    const accountName = process.env.accountName;
    const accountKey = process.env.accountKey;
    
    const sharedKeyCredential = new StorageSharedKeyCredential(accountName, accountKey);
    
    const sasOptions = {
        containerName: 'images',
        permissions: BlobSASPermissions.parse('r'),
        startsOn: new Date(),
        expiresOn: new Date(new Date().valueOf() + 86400 * 1000),
    };
    
    const sasToken = generateBlobSASQueryParameters(sasOptions, sharedKeyCredential).toString();
    return sasToken;
}

module.exports = generateSASToken;

SAS tokens expire after 24 hours (86400 seconds) for security. Adjust expiresOn if you need different expiration times.

Configure OpenAI for Azure Functions

The OpenAI configuration for Azure Functions is in azure/lib/openai.js:

const { Configuration, OpenAIApi } = require("openai");

const config = new Configuration({
    organization: process.env.OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION,
    apiKey: process.env.OPEN_AI_KEY
})

const openai = new OpenAIApi(config)

module.exports = openai

Start Azure Functions locally

npm run start

The functions will be available at:

http://localhost:7071/api/generateImage
http://localhost:7071/api/getImages
http://localhost:7071/api/getChatGPTSuggestion
http://localhost:7071/api/generateSASToken

Azure Functions Core Tools must be installed globally. Install with: npm install -g azure-functions-core-tools@4

Part 3: Azure Blob Storage setup

Configure Azure Blob Storage to store generated images.

Create a storage account

In the Azure Portal:

Navigate to Storage Accounts
Click + Create
Select subscription and resource group
Enter a globally unique account name
Choose region (same as your Functions app for best performance)
Select performance tier (Standard is sufficient)
Click Review + Create

Create the images container

After the storage account is created:

Go to Containers in the left menu
Click + Container
Name it images (must match the code)
Set public access level to Private
Click Create

Get access credentials

Navigate to Access Keys under Security + networking:

Copy the Storage account name
Click Show keys and copy key1
Add these to your environment configuration

Never expose your storage account key publicly. Use SAS tokens for client-side access and keep account keys in secure environment variables.

Part 4: Production deployment

Deploy VisionaryAI to production environments.

Deploy Azure Functions

Install Azure CLI

Download and install the Azure CLI.

az login

Or use VS Code Azure extension to login visually.

Deploy functions

From the azure directory:

# Create a function app (first time only)
az functionapp create \
  --resource-group your-resource-group \
  --consumption-plan-location your-region \
  --runtime node \
  --runtime-version 18 \
  --functions-version 4 \
  --name your-function-app-name \
  --storage-account your-storage-account

# Deploy the functions
func azure functionapp publish your-function-app-name

Configure application settings

Add environment variables to your Azure Function App:

az functionapp config appsettings set \
  --name your-function-app-name \
  --resource-group your-resource-group \
  --settings \
  OPEN_AI_KEY=your-key \
  OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION=your-org \
  accountName=your-storage \
  accountKey=your-storage-key

Deploy Next.js app

VisionaryAI can be deployed to Vercel, Azure Static Web Apps, or any Node.js hosting:

# Install Vercel CLI
npm i -g vercel

# Deploy
vercel

# Add environment variables in Vercel dashboard:
# - OPEN_AI_KEY
# - OPEN_AI_ORGANIZATION
# - NEXT_PUBLIC_AZURE_FUNCTIONS_URL

# Install SWA CLI
npm install -g @azure/static-web-apps-cli

# Build the app
npm run build

# Deploy
swa deploy --app-location . --output-location .next

# Create Dockerfile
FROM node:18-alpine
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm ci --only=production
COPY . .
RUN npm run build
EXPOSE 3000
CMD ["npm", "start"]

# Build and run
docker build -t visionaryai .
docker run -p 3000:3000 -e OPEN_AI_KEY=xxx visionaryai

Vercel is recommended for Next.js deployments as it provides optimal performance and automatic deployments from Git.

Update API endpoints

After deploying Azure Functions, update the endpoints in your Next.js app:

// Update all fetch URLs in:
// - app/api/generateImage/route.ts
// - app/api/getImages/route.ts
// - app/api/suggestion/route.ts

const response = await fetch(
  "https://your-function-app-name.azurewebsites.net/api/generateImage?",
  // ...
);

Or use environment variables:

const AZURE_FUNCTIONS_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_AZURE_FUNCTIONS_URL;

const response = await fetch(
  `${AZURE_FUNCTIONS_URL}/generateImage`,
  // ...
);

Verification

After installation, verify everything works:

Test Azure Functions

Check the function endpoints are responding:

curl https://your-function-app.azurewebsites.net/api/getChatGPTSuggestion

Test Next.js app

Open your deployed URL and:

Verify the UI loads correctly
Click “New suggestion” to test ChatGPT integration
Generate a test image
Confirm the image appears in the gallery

Check Azure Storage

In the Azure Portal:

Navigate to your storage account
Open the images container
Verify generated images appear with correct naming

Performance optimization

Enable image caching

Add caching headers to Azure Blob Storage:

await blockBlobClient.setHTTPHeaders({
  blobCacheControl: 'public, max-age=31536000, immutable'
});

Optimize SWR configuration

Adjust SWR settings for better performance:

const { data } = useSWR("images", fetchImages, {
  revalidateOnFocus: false,
  revalidateOnReconnect: false,
  dedupingInterval: 60000, // 1 minute
});

Use CDN for static assets

Enable Azure CDN for your blob storage:

Reduces latency for global users
Lowers costs by caching images
Improves load times significantly

Troubleshooting

Azure Functions deployment fails

Common issues:

Verify you have the correct Azure CLI version
Check that host.json exists in the azure directory
Ensure function app name is globally unique
Review deployment logs: func azure functionapp logstream your-app-name

CORS errors in production

Add CORS configuration to Azure Functions:

az functionapp cors add \
  --name your-function-app \
  --resource-group your-rg \
  --allowed-origins https://your-nextjs-app.vercel.app

Images not persisting

Verify:

Storage account connection string is correct
Container permissions allow write access
SAS token has correct permissions (read + write)
Function app has network access to storage account

Next steps

With VisionaryAI installed, you can:

Customize the UI by editing components in components/
Modify ChatGPT prompts in azure/src/functions/getChatGPTSuggestion.js
Add image metadata storage for better organization
Implement user authentication and private galleries
Add image editing features like variations or inpainting
Set up monitoring with Azure Application Insights

For help or questions, reach out to @Srijan_Dby on Twitter or open an issue on GitHub.

Getting Started

Core Features

Azure Deployment

Development

System requirements

Part 1: Next.js application setup

Clone the repository

Install dependencies

Configure OpenAI client

Configure Next.js

Understanding the API routes

Set up SWR data fetching

Run the development server

Part 2: Azure Functions setup

Navigate to Azure directory

Install Azure dependencies

Configure local settings

Understanding Azure Functions

Configure OpenAI for Azure Functions

Start Azure Functions locally

Part 3: Azure Blob Storage setup

Part 4: Production deployment

Deploy Azure Functions

Deploy Next.js app

Update API endpoints

Verification

Performance optimization

Troubleshooting

Next steps

​System requirements

​Part 1: Next.js application setup

​Clone the repository

​Install dependencies

​Configure OpenAI client

​Configure Next.js

​Understanding the API routes

​Set up SWR data fetching

​Run the development server

​Part 2: Azure Functions setup

​Navigate to Azure directory

​Install Azure dependencies

​Configure local settings

​Understanding Azure Functions

​Configure OpenAI for Azure Functions

​Start Azure Functions locally

​Part 3: Azure Blob Storage setup

​Part 4: Production deployment

​Deploy Azure Functions

​Deploy Next.js app

​Update API endpoints

​Verification

​Performance optimization

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

System requirements

Part 1: Next.js application setup

Clone the repository

Install dependencies

Configure OpenAI client

Configure Next.js

Understanding the API routes

Set up SWR data fetching

Run the development server

Part 2: Azure Functions setup

Navigate to Azure directory

Install Azure dependencies

Configure local settings

Understanding Azure Functions

Configure OpenAI for Azure Functions

Start Azure Functions locally

Part 3: Azure Blob Storage setup

Part 4: Production deployment

Deploy Azure Functions

Deploy Next.js app

Update API endpoints

Verification

Performance optimization

Troubleshooting

Next steps