Merge pull request #20 from saksham869/docs/update-readme

This PR improves the project documentation by updating the README.md with:  A Quickstart guide to simplify local setup.  An example .env configuration section to help contributors understand environment variables.  These changes make onboarding new contributors faster and more efficient.

Author: IOhacker

README.md

@@ -1,2 +1,55 @@
+
 # mifosx-ai
-Mifos X AI improve the experience of users implementing LLM, Vector Searching, RAG  
+
+Mifos X AI improves the experience of users implementing LLMs, Vector Search and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for the Mifos platform.
+
+This repository is in an early stage. The main goal is to provide connectors, example flows, and developer tools to integrate LLMs and vector stores with Mifos X features.
+
+## Quick start (local)
+
+Prerequisites
+- Java 21 (use the included Maven wrapper to keep Maven consistent)
+- Git
+- (Optional) An LLM provider API key or a local Ollama server if you want to test real LLM calls
+- (Optional) A vector DB endpoint for vector search
+
+1. Clone the repo
+   git clone https://github.com/openMF/mifosx-ai.git
+   cd mifosx-ai
+
+2. Build
+   ./mvnw -B clean package
+
+3. Run (local profile)
+   ./mvnw spring-boot:run -Dspring-boot.run.profiles=local
+
+4. Environment variables
+   Copy the example .env.example and set your keys:
+   cp .env.example .env
+   Edit .env with your provider values (OPENAI_API_KEY, OLLAMA_URL, VECTOR_DB_URL, etc).
+
+5. Test a simple endpoint
+   (Replace SERVER_PORT if configured differently)
+   curl -v http://localhost:8080/actuator/health
+
+   If the project exposes AI endpoints, the README will be updated with example curl requests once those endpoints are available.
+
+## Development notes
+
+- Use the Maven wrapper: ./mvnw
+- Run tests: ./mvnw test
+- Use the `local` profile or a `test` profile that uses in-memory/mocked vector stores for CI and development.
+
+## Suggested early contributions (good first tasks)
+- Add a full quickstart README (this file) — done.
+- Add CONTRIBUTING.md and issue/PR templates.
+- Add a simple health-check endpoint for AI dependencies (vector DB, LLM).
+- Add an in-memory vector store implementation to allow running RAG flows without external infra.
+- Add CI (GitHub Actions) to run tests on PRs.
+
+## Where to go next
+- Check the repo issues, pick a small doc/CI/health check task, and open a focused PR.
+- If you’re unsure about a larger change, open an issue describing the plan first to get feedback.
+
+## License
+MPL-2.0 (See repository license)