diff --git a/.env b/.env
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f2c0b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+OPENAI_API_KEY=ADD-YOUR-OPENAI_API_KEY-HERE
+REPO_NAME=agentic-ai-workflow
+DOCKERHUB_USERNAME=lpm0073
+
+# These settings are probably fine to leave as-is.
+ENVIRONMENT=local
+DOCKERHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN=ADD-YOUR-DOCKERHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN-HERE
+LLM_TOOL_CHOICE=required
+LOGGING_LEVEL=20
+MYSQL_HOST=sql.lawrencemcdaniel.com
+MYSQL_PORT=3306
+MYSQL_USER=smarter_test_user
+MYSQL_PASSWORD=smarter_test_user
+MYSQL_DATABASE=smarter_test_db
+MYSQL_CHARSET=utf8mb4
+PYTHONPATH=./venv:./
+CODECOV_TOKEN=ADD-YOUR-CODECOV_TOKEN-HERE
diff --git a/.github/workflows/testsPython.yml b/.github/workflows/testsPython.yml
index 452f71d..21d0285 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/testsPython.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/testsPython.yml
@@ -69,11 +69,54 @@ jobs:
   notifications:
     needs: python-unit-tests
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: always() # ← ensures this job runs even when tests fail
     steps:
-      - name: Notify on test results
-        run: |
-          if [ "${{ needs.python-unit-tests.result }}" == "success" ]; then
-            echo "success notifications go here"
-          else
-            echo "failure notifications go here"
-          fi
+      - name: Notify Slack on success
+        if: needs.python-unit-tests.result == 'success'
+        uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1.27.0
+        with:
+          payload: |
+            {
+              "text": "*Tests Passed!*",
+              "attachments": [
+                {
+                  "color": "#36A64F",
+                  "fields": [
+                    { "title": "Repository", "value": "${{ github.repository }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Branch", "value": "${{ github.ref_name }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Python Version", "value": "${{ env.python-version }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Triggered by", "value": "${{ github.actor }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Commit", "value": "${{ github.sha }}", "short": false },
+                    { "title": "View Run", "value": "${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}", "short": false }
+                  ]
+                }
+              ]
+            }
+        env:
+          SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
+          SLACK_WEBHOOK_TYPE: INCOMING_WEBHOOK
+
+      - name: Notify Slack on failure
+        if: needs.python-unit-tests.result != 'success'
+        uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1.27.0
+        with:
+          payload: |
+            {
+              "text": "*Tests Failed!*",
+              "attachments": [
+                {
+                  "color": "#FF0000",
+                  "fields": [
+                    { "title": "Repository", "value": "${{ github.repository }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Branch", "value": "${{ github.ref_name }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Python Version", "value": "${{ env.python-version }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Triggered by", "value": "${{ github.actor }}", "short": true },
+                    { "title": "Commit", "value": "${{ github.sha }}", "short": false },
+                    { "title": "View Run", "value": "${{ github.server_url }}/${{ github.repository }}/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}", "short": false }
+                  ]
+                }
+              ]
+            }
+        env:
+          SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
+          SLACK_WEBHOOK_TYPE: INCOMING_WEBHOOK
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1434880..4df6e1a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ dist
 *.tfstate
 *.tfstate.*
 .terraform/
-.env
+#.env
 lambda_dist_pkg
 *.zip
 __pycache__
diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
index 3a4d3c9..9bba064 100644
--- a/.vscode/settings.json
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -2,5 +2,6 @@
   "cornflakes.linter.executablePath": "venv/bin/flake8",
   "[python]": {
     "editor.defaultFormatter": "ms-python.black-formatter"
-  }
+  },
+  "python-envs.defaultEnvManager": "ms-python.python:venv"
 }
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 28065c8..e02fe1e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Agentic AI Workflow Example
+# Agentic AI Workflow Example by Salma Lalji e
 
 [![FullStackWithLawrence](https://a11ybadges.com/badge?text=FullStackWithLawrence&badgeColor=orange&logo=youtube&logoColor=282828)](https://www.youtube.com/@FullStackWithLawrence)<br>
 [![OpenAI](https://a11ybadges.com/badge?logo=openai)](https://platform.openai.com/)
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ A Python command-line application that demonstrates how to use OpenAI Api functi
 
 - how to use Docker Compose to containerize your project
 - how to leverage Pydantic for constructing complex JSON objects
+- Docker debugging
 
 Python code is [located here](./app/)
 
diff --git a/app/openai_test.py b/app/openai_test.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d740f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/openai_test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import os
+from openai import OpenAI
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+
+load_dotenv()
+
+
+client = OpenAI(api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
+
+messages = [
+    {
+        "role": "system",
+        "content": "You are a helpful assistant that can call tools."
+    },
+    {
+        "role": "user",
+        "content": "Give me a list of available AI courses."
+    }
+]
+
+response = client.chat.completions.create(
+    model="gpt-4.1-mini",
+    messages=messages,
+    temperature=0.7
+)
+print(response.choices[0].message.content)
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from typing import List, Optional, Literal
+
+class GetCoursesRequest(BaseModel):
+    topics: List[str] = Field(..., description="List of course topics to retrieve")
+    max_cost: float = Field(0.0, ge=0, description="Maximum budget for the courses")
+    difficulty: Optional[Literal["beginner", "intermediate", "advanced"]] = Field(
+        None,
+        description="Optional difficulty level of the courses"
+    )
+
+
+
+print(GetCoursesRequest.model_json_schema())
+def make_get_courses_tool():
+    return {
+        "type": "function",
+        "function": {
+            "name": "get_courses",
+            "description": "Retrieve a list of courses that match given topics.",
+            "parameters": GetCoursesRequest.model_json_schema(),
+        },
+    }
+
+print(make_get_courses_tool())