Talk-To-My-Lawyer Project Guide

Development guide for working with the Talk-To-My-Lawyer codebase - a Next.js 15 application for generating professional legal letters with AI.

Project Overview

Talk-To-My-Lawyer is a Next.js 15 application featuring:

Architecture

Tech Stack

Directory Structure

Database Schema

Core tables:

User Roles

Development Workflow

When working on this codebase:

1. **Authentication & Authorization**

- Check `middleware.ts` for route protection

- Review `lib/auth.ts` for role-based access logic

- Use server-side client (`lib/supabase/server.ts`) for protected routes

2. **Database Operations**

- Use type-safe queries with `lib/types/database.ts`

- Run `npm run db:gen-types` after schema changes

- Push schema changes with `npm run db:push`

3. **Supabase Integration**

- Client-side: Use singleton from `lib/supabase/client.ts`

- Server-side: Use `lib/supabase/server.ts`

- Never expose service role key client-side

4. **Development Commands**

```bash

npm run dev # Start dev server (localhost:3000)

npm run build # Build for production

npm run start # Start production server

npm run lint # Run ESLint

npm run typecheck # TypeScript type checking

npm run db:push # Push schema to Supabase

npm run db:gen-types # Generate DB types

```

5. **Environment Variables**

Required variables:

- `NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL` - Supabase project URL

- `NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY` - Supabase anon key

- `OPENAI_API_KEY` - OpenAI API key

6. **Key Features Implementation**

- AI letter generation: Check `app/api/` routes

- PDF generation: Uses pdf-lib library

- Subscription quotas: Enforced in letter creation logic

- Commission tracking: Updated on referral conversions

7. **Deployment**

- Primary: Netlify with `@netlify/plugin-nextjs`

- Alternative: Vercel

- Database: Supabase hosted

Code Guidelines

Common Tasks

**Adding a new protected route:**

1. Create route in `app/` directory

2. Add route protection in `middleware.ts` if needed

3. Use appropriate Supabase client (server for SSR)

4. Implement role checks using `lib/auth.ts`

**Modifying database schema:**

1. Update schema in Supabase dashboard or migrations

2. Run `npm run db:gen-types` to update TypeScript types

3. Run `npm run db:push` to apply changes

4. Update affected queries and components

**Adding new AI features:**

1. Create API route in `app/api/`

2. Integrate OpenAI client

3. Implement proper error handling

4. Add rate limiting/quota checks

5. Update UI components

Important Notes