Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) sounds complex, but the core concept is straightforward: instead of asking an AI model to answer purely from memory, you hand it specific reference documents and tell it to answer using only that text.
In this guide, you will build an end-to-end legal assistant tailored for UAE Federal Law. Although we use UAE legal documents in this tutorial, the same architecture can be applied to company policies, research papers, medical guidelines, knowledge bases, or any custom document collection. We will walk through every layer, from turning raw PDFs into searchable vectors to forcing an AI agent to fact-check its own answers.
(Above: The final Streamlit UI showing a verified answer and expandable sources)
What is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)?
What this step does: Explains the foundational concept behind our application.
Why we need it: To understand why we aren't just using ChatGPT out of the box.
Traditional LLMs answer using their training data. Because that data is frozen in time, they often hallucinate or invent fake legal clauses.
RAG allows an LLM to retrieve information from external documents before generating a response.
In this project, the assistant will:
- Retrieve UAE legal text from Pinecone.
- Send relevant passages to the LLM.
- Generate an answer using those passages.
- Verify the response using a fact-checking agent.
What Are We Building?
Most beginner tutorials teach "naive RAG," which follows a single straight line: Question ➔ Search ➔ Answer. If the model hallucinates a fake legal clause, the user receives false information.
We are building a cyclic multi-agent system that verifies its own output before sending it back:
User Question
│
▼
Vector Search (Pinecone) ──────────► Retrieves statutory text chunks
│
▼
Synthesizer Node ──────────────────► Drafts an answer using ONLY retrieved text
│
▼
Fact-Checker Node (Gatekeeper) ────► Compares draft against raw legal text
│
├── [FALSE: Unsupported claims] ──► Loops back to Synthesizer to rewrite
│
└── [TRUE: 100% Supported] ───────► Sends final response to user
Prerequisites & Project Structure
Before starting, you should be familiar with basic Python syntax, virtual environments, and basic HTTP requests. No prior experience with LangGraph or Docker is required.
Create a root directory named uae-legal-rag and organize your files like this:
uae-legal-rag/
├── data/
│ └── uae_labor_law.pdf # Place your legal document here
├── backend/
│ ├── __init__.py
│ ├── schemas.py # Request/Response data models
│ ├── agent.py # Multi-agent LangGraph state machine
│ └── server.py # FastAPI application
├── frontend/
│ └── app.py # Streamlit user interface
├── ingest.py # Script to chunk & upload PDFs to Pinecone
├── .env # Secret API keys
├── requirements.txt # Pinned dependencies
└── Dockerfile # Container definition
Setting Up Pinecone & Free-Tier Dependencies
What this step does: Configures our zero-cost infrastructure and installs libraries.
Pinecone: Create a free starter account at pinecone.io. Create an index named
uae-lawwith 384 dimensions (matching our open-source embedding model) and the cosine similarity metric.OpenRouter: Sign up at openrouter.ai and generate an API key. We will use their
openrouter/freeendpoint.
Create a .env file in the project root:
PINECONE_API_KEY="your_pinecone_api_key"
OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your_openrouter_api_key"
Create requirements.txt and lock these exact versions to avoid breaking changes:
fastapi==0.110.0
uvicorn==0.29.0
pydantic==2.6.4
langgraph==0.0.30
langchain==0.1.13
langchain-community==0.0.29
langchain-pinecone==0.0.3
langchain-huggingface==0.0.2
langchain-openai==0.1.1
pinecone-client==3.2.2
streamlit==1.32.2
python-dotenv==1.0.1
pypdf==4.1.0
requests==2.31.0
Install them:
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
Document Ingestion: PDF to Pinecone (ingest.py)
What this step does: Converts a human-readable PDF into machine-searchable numbers (vectors).
Why we need it: A vector database starts empty. Without this, the AI has no law to search.
The flow is: PDF ➔ Chunking ➔ Embeddings ➔ Pinecone.
Place a PDF in the data/ directory, then create ingest.py:
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langchain_community.document_loaders import PyPDFLoader
from langchain.text_splitter import RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter
from langchain_huggingface import HuggingFaceEmbeddings
from langchain_pinecone import PineconeVectorStore
load_dotenv()
def ingest_documents():
pdf_path = "data/uae_labor_law.pdf"
if not os.path.exists(pdf_path):
raise FileNotFoundError(f"Missing PDF at {pdf_path}. Please place a document there.")
print("1. Loading PDF...")
loader = PyPDFLoader(pdf_path)
raw_documents = loader.load()
print("2. Chunking text...")
text_splitter = RecursiveCharacterTextSplitter(
chunk_size=1000,
chunk_overlap=150
)
docs = text_splitter.split_documents(raw_documents)
print(f"Created {len(docs)} text chunks.")
print("3. Generating embeddings & uploading to Pinecone...")
# Runs locally on CPU at zero cost (384 dimensions)
embeddings = HuggingFaceEmbeddings(model_name="all-MiniLM-L6-v2")
PineconeVectorStore.from_documents(
documents=docs,
embedding=embeddings,
index_name="uae-law"
)
print("Ingestion complete. Documents are now indexed in Pinecone.")
if __name__ == "__main__":
ingest_documents()
How to test: Run python ingest.py in your terminal.
Expected outcome: You will see "Ingestion complete." Check your Pinecone dashboard to verify the vectors are there.
Common error: IndexNotFoundError means you forgot to create the uae-law index in the Pinecone console first.
Defining Data Schemas (backend/schemas.py)
What this step does: Sets up strict rules for what data can enter and leave our API.
Why we need it: To keep the application decoupled, the API validates user input before it ever touches the agent workflow.
Create backend/schemas.py:
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
from typing import List
class ChatRequest(BaseModel):
query: str = Field(..., min_length=5, max_length=500, description="Legal question")
class ChatResponse(BaseModel):
verified_answer: str
sources: List[str]
LangGraph Agents (backend/agent.py)
What this step does: Creates the "brain" of our application using three specific agents.
The Retriever Agent performs semantic search. Its job is simple: Receive a user question, search Pinecone, and return relevant legal passages. These passages are then passed to the Synthesizer Agent.
The Synthesizer drafts an initial answer grounded strictly in those excerpts.
The Fact-Checker compares the draft against the raw legal text. If it detects assumptions, it loops back to the Synthesizer to rewrite. (We loop back to the Synthesizer rather than the Retriever because retrieval is usually correct; the LLM simply needs to be forced to write a more conservative answer).
Create backend/agent.py:
import os
from typing import TypedDict, List
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from langgraph.graph import StateGraph, END
from langchain_huggingface import HuggingFaceEmbeddings
from langchain_pinecone import PineconeVectorStore
from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI
load_dotenv()
embeddings = HuggingFaceEmbeddings(model_name="all-MiniLM-L6-v2")
vectorstore = PineconeVectorStore(index_name="uae-law", embedding=embeddings)
llm = ChatOpenAI(
base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
api_key=os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"),
model="openrouter/free"
)
class GraphState(TypedDict):
query: str
context: List[str]
draft: str
verified_answer: str
cycle_count: int
def retriever_node(state: GraphState):
docs = vectorstore.similarity_search(state["query"], k=3)
return {"context": [doc.page_content for doc in docs]}
def synthesizer_node(state: GraphState):
context_block = "\n\n".join(state["context"])
prompt = (
f"You are a strict UAE legal assistant. Answer the question using ONLY the provided text.\n"
f"Context:\n{context_block}\n\n"
f"Question: {state['query']}\n"
f"Answer:"
)
response = llm.invoke(prompt)
return {"draft": response.content}
def fact_checker_node(state: GraphState):
context_block = "\n\n".join(state["context"])
prompt = (
f"Evaluate if the following Answer is 100% supported by the Context.\n"
f"Context:\n{context_block}\n\n"
f"Answer:\n{state['draft']}\n\n"
f"If completely supported without assumptions, reply ONLY with 'TRUE'.\n"
f"If unsupported, reply ONLY with 'FALSE'."
)
result = llm.invoke(prompt).content.strip().upper()
if "TRUE" in result:
return {"verified_answer": state["draft"]}
return {"cycle_count": state.get("cycle_count", 0) + 1}
def routing_gate(state: GraphState):
if state.get("verified_answer"):
return "approved"
if state.get("cycle_count", 0) >= 5:
return "limit_reached"
return "rejected"
workflow = StateGraph(GraphState)
workflow.add_node("retriever", retriever_node)
workflow.add_node("synthesizer", synthesizer_node)
workflow.add_node("fact_checker", fact_checker_node)
workflow.set_entry_point("retriever")
workflow.add_edge("retriever", "synthesizer")
workflow.add_edge("synthesizer", "fact_checker")
workflow.add_conditional_edges(
"fact_checker",
routing_gate,
{
"approved": END,
"limit_reached": END,
"rejected": "synthesizer"
}
)
legal_graph = workflow.compile()
def run_agent(query: str) -> dict:
return legal_graph.invoke({"query": query, "cycle_count": 0})
FastAPI Backend (backend/server.py)
What this step does: Wraps our LangGraph brain in a web server.
Why we need it: So our frontend UI (or any other app) can communicate with the AI securely over HTTP.
Create backend/server.py:
from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
from backend.schemas import ChatRequest, ChatResponse
from backend.agent import run_agent
app = FastAPI(title="UAE Legal RAG API")
@app.post("/chat", response_model=ChatResponse)
async def chat_endpoint(request: ChatRequest):
try:
result = run_agent(request.query)
if not result.get("verified_answer"):
raise HTTPException(
status_code=500,
detail="Safety check: Agent could not reach a verified answer within 5 retries."
)
return ChatResponse(
verified_answer=result["verified_answer"],
sources=result.get("context", [])
)
except Exception as e:
raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=str(e))
How to test: Run uvicorn backend.server:app --reload in your terminal. Navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs in your browser. You will see the Swagger UI where you can test the /chat endpoint directly.
(Above: FastAPI Swagger UI running locally)
Streamlit Frontend (frontend/app.py)
What this step does: Creates a visual chat window for the user.
Why we need it: To provide an interactive web UI with expandable source citations so users can verify the AI's claims.
Create frontend/app.py:
import streamlit as st
import requests
st.set_page_config(page_title="UAE Legal Assistant", page_icon="⚖️")
st.title("⚖️ UAE Legal Assistant")
st.caption("Multi-Agent Fact-Checked Legal Q&A (LangGraph + FastAPI)")
query = st.text_input("Enter your statutory inquiry:", placeholder="e.g., What is the probation period limit under UAE Labor Law?")
if st.button("Submit Query", type="primary"):
if not query.strip():
st.warning("Please provide a question.")
else:
with st.spinner("Retrieving clauses, drafting answer, and running fact-checker..."):
try:
response = requests.post(
"http://localhost:8000/chat",
json={"query": query},
timeout=60
)
if response.status_code == 200:
data = response.json()
st.success("Verification Passed")
st.markdown(f"**Answer:**\n{data['verified_answer']}")
with st.expander("Inspect Referenced Statutory Clauses"):
for idx, source in enumerate(data["sources"], start=1):
st.info(f"**Clause Chunk {idx}:**\n{source}")
else:
st.error(f"Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}")
except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError:
st.error("Cannot connect to backend. Ensure FastAPI is running on port 8000.")
How to test: Open a new terminal window (keep FastAPI running in the first one) and run streamlit run frontend/app.py. Your browser will open the app automatically.
(Above: The Streamlit interface querying the backend)
Deployment (Dockerfile)
What this step does: Packages the entire backend into a standardized container.
Why we need it: So the application runs exactly the same way on any machine or cloud server, without dependency errors.
Create a Dockerfile in the root directory:
FROM python:3.10-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
EXPOSE 8000
CMD ["uvicorn", "backend.server:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
Build and run your container:
docker build -t uae-legal-api .
docker run -p 8000:8000 --env-file .env uae-legal-api
You now have a fully decoupled, multi-agent RAG application. By separating the retrieval, synthesis, and fact-checking steps, you drastically reduce hallucinations.
At the time of writing, all services used in this guide have free tiers that are sufficient for learning and experimentation.
You can view the complete source code and run the project yourself here: MalaikaJunaid/multi-agent-rag-assistant
What You Learned
In this tutorial you:
- Converted PDFs into embeddings
- Stored vectors in Pinecone
- Built a LangGraph workflow
- Added fact-checking loops
- Exposed the system through FastAPI
- Created a Streamlit UI
- Containerized the backend with Docker
These are the same building blocks used in production RAG systems.
Happy coding!
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