# Clone the repository
git clone https://git.leoan.se/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

# 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

Docker Deployment

# First generate and set your secret key
python -c 'import secrets; print(f"FLASK_SECRET_KEY={secrets.token_hex(32)}")' >> .env

# Then start the container
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:

Delete the old database file if it exists:

rm instance/users.db

Reinitialize the database:

flask init-db

Configuration

Secret Key Management

The application uses a hierarchical configuration for the secret key:

Environment variable FLASK_SECRET_KEY (highest priority)
Hardcoded value in app.py (development fallback only)

Production Setup:

# 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

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.)

Features

User registration with password confirmation
Secure password hashing
Login/logout functionality
SQLite database
Environment-based configuration