Coding interview — Nuxt storefront + product assistant

Baseline app for a hands-on interview. Scope and edge cases are clarified live on the call; use this README for setup and the core goal only.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ (LTS recommended)
• pnpm (or use npm / yarn if you prefer — adjust commands)

Setup

1. Clone the repo and install dependencies:

   pnpm install

2. Copy environment template and add your Gemini API key (Google AI Studio):

   cp .env.example .env

   Set GEMINI_API_KEY in .env. The key is read as server-only runtime config (runtimeConfig.geminiApiKey in nuxt.config.ts). Do not expose it to the client or call Gemini from the browser with this key.

3. Start the dev server:

   pnpm dev

4. Optional: confirm Nitro is running:

   curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

   Expect {"ok":true}.

Stack (already configured)

• Nuxt 3
• Tailwind CSS (@nuxtjs/tailwindcss)
• Reka UI (reka-ui + reka-ui/nuxt auto-imports)
• @google/generative-ai for Gemini on the server (e.g. server/api/...)

Task

Build a one-page experience:

1. Storefront
   Load product data from DummyJSON — products (consider ?limit= for a predictable payload). Render a storefront-style layout.

2. Design reference
   Match the layout and visual direction of this Figma file (duplicate if needed):
   Mock Product page

3. Shopping assistant (chat)
   Let the user ask questions about the catalog. Answers must come from Gemini, with responses grounded in the product data you fetched — not generic ecommerce knowledge.

4. Grounding rule
   If something is not in the loaded catalog data, the assistant should say it is not in the catalog (no invented SKUs, prices, or products).

5. Replace the starter
   The default pages/index.vue is a placeholder; replace it with your implementation.

Chatbot testing

We will use the assistant like a shopper: ask about specific products, compare options, probe details that only appear in the JSON (price, availability, descriptions, reviews, policies—whatever you surface in context), and occasionally ask about things that are not in your loaded catalog. We are not publishing a fixed script; the goal is to see whether answers feel consistent with the data you actually have rather than generic shop talk.

Acceptance criteria (directional)

These are guides.

• Catalog + UI: Products come from DummyJSON; the page reads as a coherent storefront and is aligned with the Figma.
• Assistant: Chat goes through your server; the model is given enough catalog context to answer; replies should track the dataset (including saying when something is unknown or not in the catalog).
• UX: Obvious states (e.g. loading / failure / empty) are handled in a way you can explain; the flow is usable end-to-end for the demo.
• Security: Gemini credentials stay server-side only.

We will ask you to walk through how context is built, how errors are handled, and what you would tighten with more time.

Architecture (what you implement)

sequenceDiagram
  participant Browser
  participant NuxtServer
  participant DummyJSON
  participant Gemini

  Browser->>NuxtServer: Fetch products SSR client or API route
  NuxtServer->>DummyJSON: GET /products
  DummyJSON-->>NuxtServer: JSON
  NuxtServer-->>Browser: Product UI

  Browser->>NuxtServer: POST chat message
  NuxtServer->>Gemini: generate with catalog context
  Gemini-->>NuxtServer: text
  NuxtServer-->>Browser: Assistant reply

Loading

On the server, use useRuntimeConfig(event) (or useRuntimeConfig() in server context) to read geminiApiKey — only in server code.

License

Private / interview use unless otherwise stated by the repository owner.