BUG: Prevent ai.py import crash when env vars are missing

[Muneerali199]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

What happened?

📌 Issue Overview

Importing Backend/app/routes/ai.py currently raises ValueError at module import if SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_KEY, or GEMINI_API_KEY are unset. This aborts FastAPI startup, so the entire API is down when any of those env vars are missing—blocking unrelated routes.

🔍 Steps to Reproduce

1. Unset SUPABASE_URL/SUPABASE_KEY/GEMINI_API_KEY in the backend environment.
2. Start the FastAPI app (e.g., uvicorn app.main:app --reload).
3. Observe startup failure.

🎯 Expected Behavior

The app should start; only the AI endpoints should fail gracefully per-request, returning a clear 500 explaining missing config.

🚨 Actual Behavior

FastAPI fails at import time with ValueError("Missing required environment variables: SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY"), preventing any route from serving.

📷 Screenshot

N/A (startup crash)

💡 Suggested Improvements

• Move env validation from module import to within the AI route handlers.
• On missing keys, return 500 JSON with a clear message; log a startup warning instead of raising.
• Add a lightweight check/test to cover the missing-env path.

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• I want to work on this issue

[harshentau-spec]

Hi @Muneerali199 and maintainers,

New contributor here. I'd like to work on this bug fix.

Plan:

• Move env var validation from ai.py import time to inside the route handlers.
• Initialize Supabase/Gemini clients lazily or on-request.
• On missing vars: Log warning at startup, return 500 with clear message in AI endpoints.
• Keep unrelated routes working.
• Add a simple test for the graceful failure.

Can you assign this to me? Thanks! 🚀