Local Weather App

Welcome to the Local Weather App! This Ruby on Rails project allows users to input an address, city, or zip code and view the current weather forecast.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Ruby (version 3.2.2)
• Rails (version 7.1.2)
• PostgreSQL (version 9.3+)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/kylebowen/local-weather.git

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd local-weather

3. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

4. [OPTIONAL] Create the database and run migrations:

   rails db:create
   rails db:migrate

5. Set up your environment variables by creating a .env file:

   touch .env

   Add the following content to the .env file:

   GEOCODER_API_KEY=<your_geocoder_api_key>
   OPEN_WEATHER_API_KEY=<your_open_weather_api_key>

   Replace <your_geocoder_api_key> and <your_open_weather_api_key> with your actual API keys.

6. Run the specs:

   bin/rspec

7. [OPTIONAL] Enable local caching:

   rails dev:cache

   Disable local caching by running the same command again. The server will restart itself.

8. Start the Rails server:

   rails server

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

Features

• Weather Lookup: Enter an address, city, or zip code to get the current weather forecast.
• Geolocation: Utilizes the geocoder gem for geolocation services.
• Weather API: Uses the open-weather-ruby-client gem to fetch weather information.
• Environment Variables: Requires GEOCODER_API_KEY and OPEN_WEATHER_API_KEY as environment variables.
• Database: Configured with a PostgreSQL database for upcoming features (not currently used).
• Caching: Utilizes Rails cache to store weather API responses for 30 minutes.
• Styling: Uses the tailwindcss-rails gem for styling the front end.
• Testing: Includes specs using the rspec-rails gem.

Usage

1. Open your browser and go to http://localhost:3000.
2. Enter an address, city, or zip code in the provided input field.
3. Click the search-icon button to see the current weather forecast.

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to the project, please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Make your changes and submit a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Enjoy using the Local Weather App! If you encounter any issues or have suggestions, feel free to open an issue on the GitHub repository. Happy coding!