defining model cache directories

Dockerfile

@@ -1,12 +1,19 @@
 # Base image
 FROM python:3.10-slim
 
+# Set cache envs for Transformers & HF Hub (must come before any Python install)
+ENV TRANSFORMERS_CACHE=/app/cache
+ENV HF_HOME=/app/hf_home
+
 # Install system dependencies
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y git && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Create app directory
 WORKDIR /app
 
+# Create cache directories (safe fallback in Docker)
+RUN mkdir -p /app/cache /app/hf_home
+
 # Copy requirements and install
 COPY requirements.txt .
 RUN pip install --upgrade pip && pip install -r requirements.txt

model_loader.py

@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 # model_loader.py
+import os
+
+# Safe fallback if ENV vars are not set (e.g., during local dev)
+os.environ.setdefault("TRANSFORMERS_CACHE", "/app/cache")
+os.environ.setdefault("HF_HOME", "/app/hf_home")
+
 from transformers import AutoTokenizer, AutoModelForCausalLM
 import torch, os
 from dotenv import load_dotenv