Add comprehensive README and environment configuration; implement dynamic environment variable usage across client and server

Signed-off-by: Aditya Raut <araut7798@gmail.com>

Author: adity1raut

README.md

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+# SmartClass
+
+An AI-powered Learning Management System for teachers and students.
+
+---
+
+## Features
+
+### Authentication
+- Email registration with OTP verification
+- Login with email and password
+- Google OAuth sign-in
+- JWT-based session management via HTTP-only cookies
+
+### Course Management
+- Teachers can create, update, and delete courses
+- Students can browse and enroll in courses
+- Course materials upload and management
+
+### Assignments
+- Teachers create assignments with due dates and max scores
+- Students submit assignments
+- AI-assisted grading and feedback
+
+### Quizzes
+- Teachers create quizzes manually or via AI generation
+- Students attempt quizzes with real-time scoring
+- Quiz result history and performance tracking
+
+### Live Classes
+- Real-time video broadcasting via WebRTC
+- Screen sharing support
+- Raise hand, lower hand, and emoji reactions
+- Chat during live sessions
+- Class recordings upload and storage
+
+### Dashboards
+- Teacher dashboard: enrolled students, pending submissions, upcoming classes, course stats
+- Student dashboard: enrolled courses, pending assignments, quiz completions, upcoming classes
+
+### Notifications
+- Real-time in-app notifications via Socket.IO
+- Mark all notifications as read
+
+### AI Playground (powered by Claude)
+- **Quiz generation** — auto-generate multiple-choice questions from a topic or content
+- **Material summarization** — summarize course content in multiple formats
+- **Concept explanation** — explain any concept at beginner, intermediate, or advanced level
+- **Grading and feedback** — AI reviews student submissions and suggests a score
+- **Study schedule creation** — personalized weekly study plan based on courses and weak areas
+- **Performance analysis** — analyze quiz scores and assignment grades with recommendations
+- **Course outline generation** — generate a full week-by-week course outline for educators
+- **Agentic AI** — multi-step AI agent that chains tools to handle complex requests
+
+---
+
+## Installation
+
+### Prerequisites
+- Node.js 18+
+- MongoDB (local or Atlas)
+- Gmail account with an [App Password](https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords) for email
+- Anthropic API key for AI features
+- Google OAuth Client ID (optional, for Google sign-in)
+
+### 1. Clone the repository
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/adity1raut/SmartClass.git
+cd SmartClass
+```
+
+### 2. Set up the server
+
+```bash
+cd server
+npm install
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+Open `server/.env` and fill in the required values:
+
+```env
+MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
+EMAIL_USER=your_gmail@gmail.com
+EMAIL_PASS=your_gmail_app_password
+JWT_SECRET=a_long_random_secret_string
+ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_api_key
+GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id   # optional
+```
+
+Start the server:
+
+```bash
+npm run dev
+```
+
+The API will be running at `http://localhost:5000`.
+
+### 3. Set up the client
+
+```bash
+cd ../client
+npm install
+cp .env.example .env
+```
+
+Open `client/.env` and fill in:
+
+```env
+VITE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id   # optional
+```
+
+The other values (`BACKEND_URL`, `VITE_API_URL`, etc.) default to `http://localhost:5000` and work out of the box for local development.
+
+Start the client:
+
+```bash
+npm run dev
+```
+
+The app will be running at `http://localhost:5173`.