Transferring File Identifier from React UI to Vapi AI Assistant

Frontend
1

Help Needed: Connecting React Frontend with Vapi AI

I’ve built a system with these parts:

  1. FastAPI backend for file uploads (gives a file_id)
  2. Vapi AI assistant that uses files as a knowledge base
  3. React frontend for user interaction

Everything works fine until the last step. I can upload files through React and get the file_id from FastAPI. But I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how to pass this file_id to the Vapi assistant from my React app.

I’ve looked through the docs but can’t find a clear answer. Has anyone done this before? Any tips or code snippets would be super helpful!

// Pseudocode of what I'm trying to do
const handleFileUpload = async (file) => {
  const fileId = await uploadToBackend(file);
  // How do I use this fileId with Vapi assistant?
  // sendToVapiAssistant(fileId); // <-- This is what I need help with
};

Thanks in advance for any pointers!

2

Hey there! Have u thought about using websockets? They could be a neat way to send file_id from React to Vapi in real-time. :thinking: What kinda files are u working with? I’m curious how complex ur knowledge base is. Have u considered alternatives to Vapi for this setup?

3

hey swiftcoder, i struggled with this too! have u tried using the vapi sdk in ur react app? u can initialize the assistant there and pass the file_id as a parameter when starting a conversation. something like:

const assistant = new VapiAssistant(apiKey);
assistant.startConversation({ fileId: uploadedFileId });

hope that helps! lmk if u need more details

4

yo swiftcoder, have u thought bout using a state management library like Redux? u could store the file_id there after upload, then access it in the component that talks to Vapi. just an idea, might make things smoother. whats ur backend stack look like btw?

5

I’ve encountered a similar challenge in my projects. One effective approach is to use an API endpoint in your FastAPI backend that acts as a bridge between your React frontend and the Vapi assistant. After uploading the file and receiving the file_id, you can make a POST request to this endpoint, passing the file_id. The backend can then use the Vapi SDK to initialize the assistant with the file_id.

Here’s a basic implementation:

  1. Create a new endpoint in your FastAPI backend:
@app.post('/initialize-assistant')
async def initialize_assistant(file_id: str):
    assistant = VapiAssistant(api_key)
    conversation = assistant.start_conversation(file_id=file_id)
    return {'conversation_id': conversation.id}
  1. In your React frontend, after file upload:
const handleFileUpload = async (file) => {
  const fileId = await uploadToBackend(file);
  const response = await fetch('/initialize-assistant', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: JSON.stringify({ file_id: fileId }),
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }
  });
  const data = await response.json();
  // Use data.conversation_id for further interactions
};

This approach keeps your frontend code clean and leverages your existing backend setup.