add optional debug flags

backend/.gitignore

@@ -1 +1,3 @@
-.env
+.env
+__pycache__/
+bluebook_env/

backend/app.py

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 from pymongo.mongo_client import MongoClient
 
 COURSE_QUERY_LIMIT = 5
+SAFETY_CHECK_ENABLED = False
+DATABASE_RELEVANCY_CHECK_ENABLED = False
 
 load_dotenv()
 
@@ -40,28 +42,27 @@ def chat():
         if message['role'] == 'ai':
             message['role'] = 'assistant'
 
-    print(user_messages)
-
-    # for safety check, not to be included in final response
-    user_messages_safety_check = user_messages.copy()
-    user_messages_safety_check.append({
-        'role': 'user',
-        'content': 'Am I asking for help with courses or academics? Answer "yes" or "no".'
-    })
+    if SAFETY_CHECK_ENABLED:
+        # for safety check, not to be included in final response
+        user_messages_safety_check = user_messages.copy()
+        user_messages_safety_check.append({
+            'role': 'user',
+            'content': 'Am I asking for help with courses or academics? Answer "yes" or "no".'
+        })
 
-    response_safety_check = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages_safety_check)
-    response_safety_check = response_safety_check.choices[0].message.content
-
-    if 'no' in response_safety_check.lower():
-        response = 'I am sorry, but I can only assist with questions related to courses or academics at this time.'
-        json_response = {
-            'response': response,
-            'courses': []
-        }
-        print('failed safety check')
-        return jsonify(json_response)
-    else:
-        print('passed safety check')
+        response_safety_check = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages_safety_check)
+        response_safety_check = response_safety_check.choices[0].message.content
+        
+        if 'no' in response_safety_check.lower():
+            response = 'I am sorry, but I can only assist with questions related to courses or academics at this time.'
+            json_response = {
+                'response': response,
+                'courses': []
+            }
+            print('failed safety check')
+            return jsonify(json_response)
+        else:
+            print('passed safety check')
 
     # adding system message if user message does not include a system message header
     if user_messages[0]['role'] != 'system':
@@ -70,27 +71,28 @@ def chat():
             'content': 'Your name is Eli. You are a helpful assistant for Yale University students to ask questions about courses and academics.'
         })
 
-    # checking if database query is necessary
-    user_messages_database_relevancy_check = user_messages.copy()
-    user_messages_database_relevancy_check.append({
-        'role': 'user',
-        'content': 'Will you be able to better answer my questions with information about specific courses related to the user query at Yale University? You should answer "yes" if you need information about courses at Yale that you don\'t have, otherwise you should answer "no".'
-    })
+    if DATABASE_RELEVANCY_CHECK_ENABLED:
+        # checking if database query is necessary
+        user_messages_database_relevancy_check = user_messages.copy()
+        user_messages_database_relevancy_check.append({
+            'role': 'user',
+            'content': 'Will you be able to better answer my questions with information about specific courses related to the user query at Yale University? You should answer "yes" if you need information about courses at Yale that you don\'t have, otherwise you should answer "no".'
+        })
 
-    user_messages_database_relevancy_check = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages_database_relevancy_check)
-    response_user_messages_database_relevancy_check = user_messages_database_relevancy_check.choices[0].message.content
+        user_messages_database_relevancy_check = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages_database_relevancy_check)
+        response_user_messages_database_relevancy_check = user_messages_database_relevancy_check.choices[0].message.content
 
-    if 'no' in response_user_messages_database_relevancy_check.lower():
-        response = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages)
-        response = response.choices[0].message.content
-        json_response = {
-            'response': response,
-            'courses': []
-        }
-        print('no need to query database for course information')
-        return jsonify(json_response)
-    else:
-        print('need to query database for course information')
+        if 'no' in response_user_messages_database_relevancy_check.lower():
+            response = chat_completion_request(messages=user_messages)
+            response = response.choices[0].message.content
+            json_response = {
+                'response': response,
+                'courses': []
+            }
+            print('no need to query database for course information')
+            return jsonify(json_response)
+        else:
+            print('need to query database for course information')
 
     # create embedding for user message to query against vector index
     query_vector = create_embedding(user_messages[-1]['content'])