# How to put LegalEase AI online — free, no domain purchase

Everything technical is already prepared. You only do the clicking.

## One-time setup (about 10 minutes)

### Step 1 — Create a GitHub account (if you don't have one)
Go to https://github.com/signup and sign up (free).

### Step 2 — Create an empty repository
1. Go to https://github.com/new
2. Repository name: `legalease-ai`
3. Keep it **Private** (recommended) or Public — either works
4. Do NOT tick "Add a README" — leave everything unticked
5. Click **Create repository**

### Step 3 — Push the code (copy-paste these in a terminal here)
GitHub will show you the commands — they look like this
(replace YOUR-USERNAME with your GitHub username):

    cd "E:\LegalEase AI Final"
    git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/legalease-ai.git
    git push -u origin main

(The repository is already initialized and committed locally —
`.env` and your database are excluded automatically.)

### Step 4 — Create a Render account
Go to https://render.com and click **Sign in with GitHub** (free, no card).

### Step 5 — Deploy
1. On the Render dashboard click **New → Blueprint**
2. Select your `legalease-ai` repository
3. Render reads `render.yaml` automatically and shows one service
4. It will ask for **GEMINI_API_KEYS** — paste your Gemini API key there
5. Click **Apply / Deploy**

After ~3 minutes your site is live at:

    https://legalease-ai.onrender.com

(the exact URL is shown at the top of the service page)

## Things to know about the free tier

- **Sleeps when idle**: after ~15 minutes with no visitors the app sleeps;
  the next visitor waits ~40 seconds while it wakes. Before a demo,
  open the site 2 minutes early.
- **Data resets on restart**: the SQLite database and uploaded files are
  wiped whenever Render restarts or redeploys the app. The lawyer
  directory re-seeds itself automatically; user accounts and cases
  created online will disappear on restarts. Fine for demos.
- **Updating the site**: after changing code, run
  `git add -A && git commit -m "update" && git push` —
  Render redeploys automatically.

## Instant demo link instead (no accounts at all)

If you just need a temporary public link while your PC is running,
ask Claude to "open the tunnel" — you'll get a free
`https://….trycloudflare.com` URL that works until you close it.