AI Book Generator

An AI-powered book generator that creates comprehensive books on any topic using Firebase Genkit and OpenRouter API. This tool generates a complete book with multiple chapters, organizing the content into well-structured markdown files.

Create a book

Sample book

Prerequisites

• Go 1.25.1 or higher
• An API key from OpenRouter or compatible OpenAI API endpoint

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd ai-book-generator-go

2. Install dependencies:

go mod download

3. Create your configuration file:

cp config.example.json config.json

4. Edit config.json with your API credentials:

{
  "apiKey": "your-actual-api-key-here",
  "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
  "defaultModel": "openai/google/gemini-2.5-flash"
}

Note: You need to append openai/ to the defaultModel since this Go GenKit requires it when using the OpenAI compatible library

Configuration

The config.json file contains the following settings:

• apiKey: Your API key for the AI service (required)
• baseUrl: The base URL for the API endpoint (default: OpenRouter)
• defaultModel: The AI model to use for generation (default: openai/z-ai/glm-4.5)

Important: The config.json file is ignored by git to protect your API key. Never commit your actual API key to version control.

Usage

The application supports two modes: CLI Mode (command-line) and Web Mode (browser interface).

Web Mode (Recommended)

Start the web server:

go run main.go -web

Or specify a custom port:

go run main.go -web -port 3000

Then open your browser and navigate to:

• http://localhost:8080 (default)
• http://localhost:3000 (if using custom port)

CLI Mode

Generate a book directly from the command line:

go run main.go -topic "How to Learn Programming" -chapters 10

CLI Flags

Flag	Description	Default	Required
-web	Run in web server mode	false	No
-port	Port for web server	8080	No
-topic	The topic of the book to generate (CLI mode)	-	Yes (CLI mode)
-chapters	Number of chapters to generate	5	No
-config	Path to configuration file	config.json	No

Examples

Web Mode:

# Start web server on default port (8080)
go run main.go -web

# Start web server on custom port
go run main.go -web -port 3000

CLI Mode:

# Generate a 5-chapter book (default)
go run main.go -topic "Introduction to Go Programming"

# Generate a comprehensive 15-chapter guide
go run main.go -topic "Complete Guide to Web Development" -chapters 15

# Use custom config file
go run main.go -topic "AI Ethics" -chapters 7 -config ./configs/alternative.json

Output

The generator creates a new directory with the sanitized book title containing:

• README.md - Table of contents with links to all chapters
• 01_Chapter_Title.md - First chapter
• 02_Chapter_Title.md - Second chapter
• ... (one file per chapter)

Example output structure:

Introduction_to_Go_Programming/
├── README.md
├── 01_Getting_Started_with_Go.md
├── 02_Basic_Syntax_and_Types.md
├── 03_Control_Flow.md
├── 04_Functions_and_Methods.md
└── 05_Concurrency_in_Go.md

Building

To build a standalone binary:

go build -o book-generator

Then run in web mode:

./book-generator -web

Or in CLI mode:

./book-generator -topic "Your Topic" -chapters 10

Web Interface Guide

Starting the Web Server

1. Start the server:

   go run main.go -web

2. Open your browser to http://localhost:8080

Troubleshooting

Error: "config.json not found"

Make sure you've created config.json from config.example.json and placed it in the project root.

Error: "apiKey is required"

Your config.json file is missing the API key. Make sure all required fields are filled in.

Error: "failed to generate outline"

This could indicate:

• Invalid API key
• Network connectivity issues
• API rate limiting
• Model availability issues

Check your API key and try again. You can also try a different model in the config.

Web Interface Not Loading

• Ensure the server is running (go run main.go -web)
• Check that port 8080 is not in use, or specify a different port with -port
• Verify firewall settings aren't blocking the connection
• Check browser console for JavaScript errors

WebSocket Connection Failed

• The WebSocket connection requires the HTTP server to be running
• Check browser console for connection errors
• Try refreshing the page
• Ensure no proxy/firewall is blocking WebSocket connections

Slow generation

Book generation can take several minutes depending on:

• Number of chapters
• API response time
• Model speed

The tool generates all chapters concurrently to minimize total time.

Customization

Adjusting Generation Parameters

You can modify the generation parameters in generator/book.go:

• chapterTimeout: Maximum time to wait for a chapter (default: 10 minutes)
• maxTokens: Maximum tokens per generation (default: 3000)
• temperature: AI creativity level (default: 0.6)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is provided as-is for educational and personal use.

Acknowledgments

• Built with Firebase Genkit
• Powered by OpenRouter
• OpenAI Go SDK for API compatibility

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions, please open an issue on the repository.

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