Improve error reporting, add dependency version info to status, and update README with local testing instructions

README.md

@@ -53,3 +53,65 @@ python app.py
 - **mermaid-cli**: Handles the actual diagram rendering
 
 *Note: Hugging Face Spaces handles Node.js and mermaid-cli installation automatically.*
+
+---
+
+## Local Testing
+
+To test this project locally before deploying or pushing to Hugging Face Spaces, follow these steps:
+
+1. **Create and activate a Python virtual environment**
+
+   On macOS/Linux:
+   ```bash
+   python3 -m venv venv
+   source venv/bin/activate
+   ```
+
+   On Windows:
+   ```cmd
+   python -m venv venv
+   venv\Scripts\activate
+   ```
+
+2. **Upgrade pip (recommended)**
+   ```bash
+   pip install --upgrade pip
+   ```
+
+3. **Install Python dependencies**
+   ```bash
+   pip install -r requirements.txt
+   ```
+
+4. **Ensure Node.js is installed**
+   ```bash
+   node --version
+   ```
+   If not installed, download from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).
+
+5. **Ensure @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli is installed globally**
+   ```bash
+   npm install -g @mermaid-js/[email protected]
+   ```
+
+6. **Run the Gradio app**
+   ```bash
+   python app.py
+   ```
+   Gradio will print a local URL (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:7860/) in the terminal.
+
+7. **Open the app in your browser**
+   Visit the local URL to interact with and test the interface.
+
+When finished, you can deactivate the virtual environment with:
+```bash
+deactivate
+```
+
+**Note:**  
+If you accidentally added the `venv` folder to git, remove it from tracking with:
+```bash
+git rm -r --cached venv
+git commit -m "Stop tracking venv directory"
+```

app.py

@@ -141,6 +141,38 @@ with gr.Blocks(title="Mermaid Diagram Renderer", theme=gr.themes.Soft()) as demo
                 except Exception as png_err:
                     logging.warning(f"Could not OCR PNG for errors: {png_err}")
 
+            # Gather dependency versions for debugging
+            import platform
+            dep_versions = []
+            try:
+                import gradio
+                dep_versions.append(f"gradio {gradio.__version__}")
+            except Exception:
+                dep_versions.append("gradio N/A")
+            try:
+                import pytesseract
+                dep_versions.append(f"pytesseract {pytesseract.__version__}")
+            except Exception:
+                dep_versions.append("pytesseract N/A")
+            try:
+                from PIL import __version__ as pillow_version
+                dep_versions.append(f"Pillow {pillow_version}")
+            except Exception:
+                dep_versions.append("Pillow N/A")
+            try:
+                node_ver = subprocess.run(["node", "--version"], capture_output=True, text=True)
+                dep_versions.append(f"Node.js {node_ver.stdout.strip()}")
+            except Exception:
+                dep_versions.append("Node.js N/A")
+            try:
+                mmdc_ver = subprocess.run(["mmdc", "--version"], capture_output=True, text=True)
+                dep_versions.append(f"mmdc {mmdc_ver.stdout.strip()}")
+            except Exception:
+                dep_versions.append("mmdc N/A")
+            dep_versions.append(f"Python {platform.python_version()}")
+            dep_info = " | ".join(dep_versions)
+            status_message = f"{status_message}\n\nDependencies: {dep_info}"
+
             return preview_path, output_path, status_message
             
         except Exception as e: