Skolo AI — Web App (+ installable PWA)
A chat page students open in a browser or add to their home screen. Your OpenAI
key stays safe on the server. No WhatsApp, no Meta, no waiting — deploy and share a link.
What's inside
public/index.html — the chat page students see (the whole frontend).public/manifest.json + public/sw.js — make it installable ("Add to Home Screen").public/icon-192.png / icon-512.png — the app icon.api/chat.js — the backend. Holds your OpenAI key, talks to OpenAI, returns answers.api/system_prompt.txt — Skolo's brain. Edit this to change how it answers.
Deploy it free on Vercel (about 10 minutes)
You need a free account at vercel.com (sign up with GitHub or email) and the
Vercel CLI. Easiest path:
Option A — drag-and-drop (no git needed)
- Go to vercel.com, sign up, click Add New → Project → Deploy.
- When it asks, you can import from a folder — or use Option B which is more reliable.
Option B — Vercel CLI (recommended)
- Install the CLI (one time):
npm install -g vercel
- In this folder, run:
vercel
- Log in when prompted.
- Accept the defaults (project name, etc.).
- It deploys and gives you a URL like
https://sgela-web.vercel.app.
- Add your OpenAI key as an environment variable (THIS is what keeps it secret):
vercel env add OPENAI_API_KEY
Paste your key, choose Production (and Preview/Development if asked).
- Redeploy so the key takes effect:
vercel --prod
- Open the
.vercel.app URL. Ask Skolo a question. Done.
Share with students
Send them the https://...vercel.app link on WhatsApp. On their phone:
- Android (Chrome): menu → "Add to Home screen"
- iPhone (Safari): share icon → "Add to Home Screen"
Now Skolo sits on their phone with an icon and opens full-screen like an app.
Costs
- Vercel free tier is plenty for a pilot.
- You only pay OpenAI per question (gpt-4o-mini is very cheap). Watch usage at platform.openai.com.
Later
- Add a free-trial / payment gate before scaling.
- Add a custom domain (e.g. sgela.co.za) in Vercel's dashboard.
