add local URL support with docker package-lock removal and documentation update

Author: gopal-raj-suresh

PdfToPodcast/.env.example

@@ -13,3 +13,8 @@ MAX_FILE_SIZE=10485760  # 10MB in bytes
 # Environment
 NODE_ENV=development
 PYTHON_ENV=development
+
+# Local URL Endpoint (only needed for non-public domains)
+# If using a local domain like inference.example.com mapped to localhost, set to the domain without https://
+# Otherwise, set to: not-needed
+LOCAL_URL_ENDPOINT=not-needed

PdfToPodcast/README.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ AI-powered application that transforms PDF documents into engaging podcast-style
 - [Quick Start Deployment](#quick-start-deployment)
 - [User Interface](#user-interface)
 - [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
+- [Additional Info](#additional-info)
 
 ---
 
@@ -139,6 +140,22 @@ OpenAI API Key for text-to-speech:
 - Key format starts with `sk-proj-`
 - Requires access to TTS APIs
 
+### Local Development Configuration
+
+**For Local Testing Only (Optional)**
+
+If you're testing with a local inference endpoint using a custom domain (e.g., `inference.example.com` mapped to localhost in your hosts file):
+
+1. Edit `api/llm-service/.env` and set:
+   ```bash
+   LOCAL_URL_ENDPOINT=inference.example.com
+   ```
+   (Use the domain name from your INFERENCE_API_ENDPOINT without `https://`)
+
+2. This allows Docker containers to resolve your local domain correctly.
+
+**Note:** For public domains or cloud-hosted endpoints, leave the default value `not-needed`.
+
 ---
 
 ## Quick Start Deployment
@@ -311,3 +328,12 @@ docker compose down -v
 For detailed troubleshooting guidance and solutions to common issues, refer to:
 
 [TROUBLESHOOTING_and_ADDITIONAL_INFO.md](./TROUBLESHOOTING_and_ADDITIONAL_INFO.md)
+
+## Additional Info
+
+The following models have been validated with pdf-podcast:
+
+| Model | Hardware |
+|-------|----------|
+| **deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B** | Gaudi |
+| **Qwen/Qwen3-4B-Instruct-2507** | Xeon |

PdfToPodcast/api/llm-service/.env.example

@@ -21,3 +21,9 @@ DEFAULT_MAX_LENGTH=2000
 TEMPERATURE=0.7
 MAX_TOKENS=4000
 MAX_RETRIES=3
+
+# Local URL Endpoint (only needed for non-public domains)
+# If using a local domain like inference.example.com mapped to localhost:
+#   Set this to: inference.example.com (domain without https://)
+# If using a public domain, set any placeholder value like: not-needed
+LOCAL_URL_ENDPOINT=not-needed

PdfToPodcast/docker-compose.yml

@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ services:
       - ./api/llm-service:/app
     networks:
       - app_network
+    extra_hosts:
+      - "${LOCAL_URL_ENDPOINT}:host-gateway"
     restart: unless-stopped
 
   tts-service:

PdfToPodcast/ui/Dockerfile

@@ -3,9 +3,8 @@ FROM node:18
 # Set the working directory
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Copy package.json and package-lock.json
+# Copy package.json
 COPY package.json ./
-COPY package-lock.json ./
 
 # Install dependencies
 RUN npm install