I started SumIt after a Postman exercise introduced me to summarizing text through an API. I used it as a starting point to build the flow from the browser interface through to the model request.
- Built with
- JavaScript, Node.js, Express, Hugging Face
- Focus
- API integration, interface feedback, testing
From input to summary
The original app accepts between 200 and 3,000 characters. An Express endpoint checks the input, sends one request to Hugging Face's BART model, and returns the summary. I used a character limit instead of adding document chunking.
The interface counts characters as you type, shows when a request is loading, and displays an error if a summary can't be returned. I also added a copy control. Tests cover the input boundaries and the request sent to Hugging Face using a mock response, so they don't need an API token or a live model call.
The public demo
The public demo has three prepared examples. You can choose one, preview the summarizing interaction, and copy its summary. It doesn't accept custom documents or run live inference; I disabled that on the public site to manage API usage.