From e4a8f7f6c76aea6137704b8ccc2f748b060029ef Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: =?UTF-8?q?Andreas=20J=C3=B6nsson?= <andreas@leoan.se>
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2025 18:11:15 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] updated readme after major changes in code

---
 README.md | 154 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------
 1 file changed, 85 insertions(+), 69 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2cef2ba..f4d46bb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,90 +1,106 @@
-# Flask Base Application
+# Flask Base Project
 
-A simple Flask web application with user authentication features.
+A starter template for Flask web applications with Docker support, user authentication, and deployment configurations.
+
+## Features
+
+- User registration, login, and dashboard functionality
+- Docker and Docker Compose for containerized environments
+- SQLite database (with optional PostgreSQL support)
+- Environment configuration via .env file
+- Jinja2 templating with base HTML structure
+- Git version control integration
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Python 3.9+
+- Docker 20.10+
+- Docker Compose 2.4+
 
 ## Installation
 
+1. Clone the repository:
 ```bash
-# Clone the repository
-git clone https://git.leoan.se/andreas/flask-base.git
+git clone ssh://git@git.leoan.se:30009/andreas/flask-base.git
 cd flask-base
-
-# Create and activate virtual environment (recommended)
-python -m venv venv
-source venv/bin/activate  # On Linux/MacOS
-# venv\Scripts\activate  # On Windows
-
-# Install dependencies
-pip install flask flask-sqlalchemy flask-login werkzeug
-
-# Initialize database
-flask init-db
 ```
 
-## Usage
-
-### Local Development
+2. Install Python dependencies:
 ```bash
-# Start development server
-flask run --host=0.0.0.0 --port=5001
-
-# Optional: Kill any existing flask server first
-pkill -f "flask run" && flask run --host=0.0.0.0 --port=5001
+pip install -r requirements.txt
 ```
 
-### Docker Deployment
+3. Configure environment variables:
 ```bash
-# First generate and set your secret key
-python -c 'import secrets; print(f"FLASK_SECRET_KEY={secrets.token_hex(32)}")' >> .env
+cp .env.example .env
+# Edit .env with your configuration
+```
 
-# Then start the container
+## Running the Application
+
+### Development Mode
+```bash
+flask run --port=5000 --debug
+```
+
+### Production Mode with Docker
+```bash
 docker-compose up --build
-
-# Production deployment (detached mode)
-docker-compose up --build -d
-```
-
-Note: Docker will automatically load the `.env` file from your project root
-
-The application will be available at `http://localhost:5001`
-
-### Persisting Data
-The database file (database.db) will be preserved between container restarts through the `./instance` volume mount.
-
-**Important:** After renaming the database:
-1. Delete the old database file if it exists:
-```bash
-rm instance/users.db
-```
-2. Reinitialize the database:
-```bash
-flask init-db
 ```
 
 ## Configuration
 
-### Secret Key Management
-The application uses a hierarchical configuration for the secret key:
-1. Environment variable `FLASK_SECRET_KEY` (highest priority)
-2. Hardcoded value in `app.py` (development fallback only)
-
-**Production Setup:**
-```bash
-# Generate a secure secret key
-python -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))'
-
-# Update .env file
-echo "FLASK_SECRET_KEY=your_generated_secret_here" >> .env
+Essential environment variables in `.env`:
+```ini
+FLASK_APP=app.py
+FLASK_ENV=production
+DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///instance/app.db
+SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
 ```
 
-**Important Security Notes:**
-- Never commit the `.env` file to version control
-- The default secret key should only be used for development
-- In production, use proper secret management (Vault, KMS, etc.)
+## Deployment
 
-## Features
-- User registration with password confirmation
-- Secure password hashing
-- Login/logout functionality
-- SQLite database
-- Environment-based configuration
+1. Build production Docker image:
+```bash
+docker build -t flask-base:latest .
+```
+
+2. Start container with database:
+```bash
+docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
+```
+
+## Project Structure
+```
+flask-base/
+├── app.py
+├── Dockerfile
+├── docker-compose.yml
+├── requirements.txt
+└── templates/
+    ├── base.html
+    ├── login.html
+    ├── register.html
+    └── dashboard.html
+```
+
+## Contributing
+
+1. Create your feature branch:
+```bash
+git checkout -b feature/your-feature
+```
+
+2. Commit changes:
+```bash
+git commit -m 'Add some feature'
+```
+
+3. Push to branch:
+```bash
+git push origin feature/your-feature
+```
+
+## License
+
+MIT License - see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details