viewengine.client/PROJECT_SUMMARY.md

# ViewEngine.Client - Project Summary

## Overview

The **ViewEngine.Client** is a production-ready .NET 9 NuGet package that provides a clean, type-safe client library for consuming the ViewEngine REST API. It enables developers to easily retrieve web pages, extract content, and manage distributed web scraping operations.

## Project Structure

```
ViewEngine.Client/
├── Configuration/
│   └── ViewEngineOptions.cs           # Configuration options for the client
├── Extensions/
│   └── ServiceCollectionExtensions.cs # Dependency injection helpers
├── Models/
│   ├── ClientManagementModels.cs      # DTOs for client management API
│   └── RetrievalModels.cs             # DTOs for retrieval API
├── ViewEngineClient.cs                # Main client implementation
├── ViewEngine.Client.csproj           # Project file with NuGet metadata
├── README.md                          # Comprehensive documentation
├── QUICKSTART.md                      # Quick reference guide
├── Examples.md                        # Detailed usage examples
└── PROJECT_SUMMARY.md                 # This file
```

## Key Features

### Core Functionality
- ✅ Submit web page retrieval requests via MCP API
- ✅ Poll for job status and retrieve results
- ✅ Download decrypted page content with full text extraction
- ✅ Access screenshots, thumbnails, and artifacts
- ✅ Manage clients and route jobs to specific feeders
- ✅ Built-in retry logic with exponential backoff
- ✅ Full support for API key authentication
- ✅ Type-safe request/response models
- ✅ Async/await support throughout
- ✅ Dependency injection integration

### Advanced Features
- ✅ Rate limit handling with retry-after support
- ✅ Exponential backoff for transient failures
- ✅ Server error retry logic
- ✅ Platform-specific retrieval (Android, iOS, Windows)
- ✅ Priority-based job scheduling
- ✅ Client routing with ClientId or CustomUserId
- ✅ Force refresh option to bypass cache
- ✅ Configurable timeouts and polling intervals

### Client Management
- ✅ Add clients programmatically
- ✅ List and filter clients
- ✅ Update client settings
- ✅ Suspend/activate clients
- ✅ Delete clients
- ✅ Get detailed client statistics
- ✅ Monitor feeder online status
- ✅ Track job processing metrics

## API Coverage

### MCP Retrieval API (/mcp/*)
- `POST /mcp/retrieve` - Submit retrieval request
- `GET /mcp/retrieve/{requestId}` - Get retrieval status
- `GET /mcp/retrieve/{requestId}/content` - Download page content
- `GET /mcp/tools` - List available tools

### Client Management API (/v1/clients/*)
- `POST /v1/clients` - Add client
- `GET /v1/clients` - List clients
- `PUT /v1/clients/{id}` - Update client
- `PUT /v1/clients/{id}/suspend` - Suspend client
- `PUT /v1/clients/{id}/activate` - Activate client
- `DELETE /v1/clients/{id}` - Delete client
- `GET /v1/clients/{id}/stats` - Get client stats

## NuGet Package Details

### Package Metadata
- **Package ID**: `ViewEngine.Client`
- **Version**: 1.0.0
- **Target Framework**: .NET 9.0
- **Authors**: David H Friedel Jr
- **License**: MIT
- **Output Path**: `C:\Users\logik\Dropbox\Nugets\ViewEngine.Client.1.0.0.nupkg`

### Dependencies
- `Microsoft.Extensions.Http` (9.0.0)
- `Microsoft.Extensions.Options` (9.0.0)
- `Microsoft.Extensions.Options.ConfigurationExtensions` (9.0.0)

### Package Contents
- Compiled DLL with XML documentation
- README.md for NuGet.org package page
- Full IntelliSense support
- Source link support (future)

## Usage Patterns

### 1. Simple Usage (No DI)
```csharp
var client = new ViewEngineClient("ak_your-api-key-here");
var page = await client.RetrieveAndWaitAsync(new SubmitRetrievalRequest
{
    Url = "https://example.com"
});
```

### 2. Dependency Injection (Recommended)
```csharp
// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddViewEngineClient(builder.Configuration);

// Controller
public class MyController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly ViewEngineClient _client;
    public MyController(ViewEngineClient client) => _client = client;
}
```

### 3. Options Pattern
```csharp
var options = new ViewEngineOptions
{
    ApiKey = "ak_your-api-key-here",
    TimeoutSeconds = 120,
    MaxRetries = 3
};
var client = new ViewEngineClient(options);
```

## Architecture Decisions

### 1. Multiple Constructors
- Simple constructor with API key only
- IOptions constructor for DI
- HttpClient constructor for advanced DI scenarios
- Flexible and supports various usage patterns

### 2. Retry Logic
- Automatic retry for rate limits (429)
- Automatic retry for server errors (500-599)
- Automatic retry for network timeouts
- Respects Retry-After headers
- Exponential backoff with configurable base delay

### 3. Error Handling
- Throws HttpRequestException for HTTP errors
- Throws InvalidOperationException for failed retrievals
- Throws OperationCanceledException for canceled requests
- All errors include meaningful messages

### 4. Resource Management
- Implements IDisposable
- Properly disposes HttpClient when not injected
- Does not dispose injected HttpClient (DI container manages it)

### 5. Type Safety
- Strongly-typed DTOs for all requests/responses
- Nullable reference types enabled
- XML documentation for all public APIs
- IntelliSense support

## Testing Recommendations

### Unit Testing
```csharp
// Mock HttpClient for unit tests
var mockHandler = new MockHttpMessageHandler();
var httpClient = new HttpClient(mockHandler);
var options = Options.Create(new ViewEngineOptions { ApiKey = "test" });
var client = new ViewEngineClient(httpClient, options);
```

### Integration Testing
```csharp
// Use real API with test API key
var client = new ViewEngineClient("ak_test_key");
var page = await client.RetrieveAndWaitAsync(new SubmitRetrievalRequest
{
    Url = "https://example.com"
});
Assert.NotNull(page.Title);
```

## Build Information

- **Status**: ✅ Build succeeded (0 warnings, 0 errors)
- **Package Created**: ✅ ViewEngine.Client.1.0.0.nupkg (30,151 bytes)
- **Documentation**: ✅ XML documentation generated
- **Target Framework**: .NET 9.0
- **Language Version**: Latest

## Next Steps

### For Developers Using This Package
1. Install via NuGet: `dotnet add package ViewEngine.Client`
2. Get API key from https://www.viewengine.io
3. Follow QUICKSTART.md for immediate use
4. See Examples.md for advanced scenarios

### For Package Maintainers
1. ✅ Initial release complete
2. 🔄 Publish to NuGet.org (manual step)
3. 🔄 Add source link support
4. 🔄 Add unit tests project
5. 🔄 Add integration tests
6. 🔄 Set up CI/CD pipeline
7. 🔄 Add code coverage reporting

### Future Enhancements
- [ ] Add webhook support for job completion notifications
- [ ] Add bulk retrieval helper methods
- [ ] Add caching layer for frequently accessed pages
- [ ] Add telemetry and diagnostics
- [ ] Add support for .NET Standard 2.0 (broader compatibility)
- [ ] Add rate limit awareness (track limits client-side)
- [ ] Add health check endpoint support
- [ ] Add billing/usage API support

## Documentation

- **README.md**: Main documentation with installation, configuration, and usage
- **QUICKSTART.md**: Quick reference for common tasks
- **Examples.md**: Comprehensive examples for all scenarios
- **XML Docs**: IntelliSense documentation in code
- **API Docs**: https://www.viewengine.io/docs

## Support

- GitHub: https://github.com/marketally/viewengine
- Issues: https://github.com/marketally/viewengine/issues
- Website: https://www.viewengine.io

## License

MIT License - Copyright © 2025 ViewEngine

---

**Package Created**: November 22, 2025
**Build Status**: ✅ Ready for distribution
**Quality**: Production-ready