Askify

This repository is dedicated to the CITS5505 group project, which developed a request forum called 'Askify'.

Askify enables users to create their own communities and posts with text and pictures, as well as reply to, like/unlike, save/unsave any post they choose.

Additionally, Askify allows users to manage their profiles, including changing their avatar, username, email, and password. Users can also track their activity on the platform, viewing the posts they have created, replied to, or saved.

Moreover, Askify provides a full-text search feature to find any community or post you are looking for. You can search using the title, content, or author to get the results you want.

Askify ensures your protection by offering industry-standard authentication mechanisms, and all APIs on the platform are secure. You don't need to worry about your data or privacy being compromised.

You can quickly access the platform using your Google or GitHub account, or you can register a new account to start enjoying Askify.

ASKIFY, UNLOCKING KNOWLEDGE.

Tech Stack

🎯 Backend: Flask, Python, Jinja2
🗄️ Database: PostgreSQL (Production), SQLite (Testing), Flask-SQLAlchemy, Flask-Migrate
🔐 Authentication: Flask-Login, JWT (Flask-JWT-Extended), OAuth2 (Google/GitHub)
🎨 Frontend: Bootstrap 5, JavaScript, jQuery
🔍 Search: Full-text search with PostgreSQL
📦 Storage: Cloudflare R2
🚀 Deployment: Docker, Render
📝 Documentation: Swagger/Flasgger
🔄 CI/CD: GitHub Actions
🧪 Testing: flask-unittest (Unit & Selenium Tests)
🛠️ Utils: Flask-WTF (Form Validation), Flask-APScheduler (Scheduled Jobs)

System Architecture

graph TD
    Client[Web Browser] -->|HTTP/HTTPS| Flask[Flask Application]
    Flask -->|Authentication| Auth[Auth Module]
    Auth -->|OAuth| OAuth[Google/GitHub OAuth]
    Auth -->|JWT| JWT[JWT Service]
    Flask -->|Data Access| DB[(PostgreSQL)]
    Flask -->|File Storage| R2[Cloudflare R2]
    Flask -->|Search| Search[Search Module]
    Flask -->|Community| Community[Community Module]
    Flask -->|Post| Post[Post Module]
    Flask -->|User| User[User Module]
    Search -->|Query| DB
    Community -->|CRUD| DB
    Post -->|CRUD| DB
    User -->|Profile| DB
    User -->|Avatar| R2

Deployment Flow

graph LR
    Dev[Local Development] -->|Git Push| GitHub[GitHub Repository]
    GitHub -->|Auto Deploy| Render[Render Platform]
    Render -->|Build| Build[Build Process]
    Build -->|Deploy| Web[Web Service]
    Web -->|Serve| Users[End Users]
    Web -->|Connect| DB[(PostgreSQL DB)]
    Web -->|Store| R2[Cloudflare R2]

Get Started

There are two ways to get started; you can choose either way you prefer.

Clone the Repository

You can clone the repo and set it up by following these steps:

Clone from Github

Use https://github.com/tonglam/Askify.git to clone the repo to your machine.

Set Up Virtual Environment

Create a virtual environment (venv) for the project. Using VSCode as an example:

Use the shortcut Cmd + Shift + P to access VSCode commands.
Select > Python: Select Interpreter.
Click on Create Virtual Environment - Venv.
Use the shortcut Cmd + J to open the terminal.
If the terminal command line starts with (.venv), you're in the virtual environment.

Install Requirements

Use requirements.txt to install the necessary libraries.

pip install -r requirements.txt

Set Up Environment Config

You can configure the application using either a .ini file or a .env file:

Option 1: Using `.ini` files (Traditional method)

Use the config.ini.example as a template to create a config.dev.ini file or config.prod.ini file, which will be used in the dev or prod environment accordingly.

If you only want to run it under dev environment, all you need is to create a config.dev.ini file under root directory.

Option 2: Using `.env` file (Alternative method)

Alternatively, you can create a .env file in the root directory. This is a common modern approach that's well-supported by many tools and hosting platforms.

Here's an example of the minimum required configuration in your .env file:

# Flask Application Settings
FLASK_ENV=development
APP_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key
APP_JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-jwt-secret-key

# PostgreSQL Database
POSTGRESQL_DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/dbname

# OAuth Configuration (Optional)
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret
GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:5000/auth/callback/google

GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=your-github-client-id
GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=your-github-client-secret
GITHUB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI=http://127.0.0.1:5000/auth/callback/github

# Cloudflare Configuration (Optional)
CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID=your-cloudflare-account-id
CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN=your-cloudflare-api-token
CLOUDFLARE_R2_BUCKET=your-r2-bucket-name
CLOUDFLARE_R2_PUBLIC_URL=your-r2-public-url

The application will automatically detect and use the .env file if present. If both .ini and .env files exist, the .env file takes precedence.

Note: Make sure to add .env to your .gitignore file to prevent sensitive information from being committed to version control.

`config.ini` Explanation:

Replace the following keys to start the Flask app with the minimum configuration.

[APP]
SECRET_KEY = example-key
JWT_SECRET_KEY = jwt-example-key

[POSTGRESQL]
DATABASE_URL = postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/dbname

[SQLITE]
DATABASE_URL = sqlite:///example.test.sqlite  # Used for unit tests

Replace the following keys using your own Google OAuth token and Github OAuth token, to use Google/Github authentication.

[GOOGLE]
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = your-google-client-id
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = your-google-client-secret
GOOGLE_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI = http://127.0.0.1:5000/auth/callback/google
# The following URLs are constants, no need to change
GOOGLE_OAUTH_AUTH_URL = https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/v2/auth
GOOGLE_OAUTH_TOKEN_URL = https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token
GOOGLE_OAUTH_USER_INFO_URL = https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v3/userinfo
GOOGLE_OAUTH_SCOPE_PROFILE = https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.profile
GOOGLE_OAUTH_SCOPE_EMAIL = https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email

[GITHUB]
GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = your-github-client-id
GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = your-github-client-secret
GITHUB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI = http://127.0.0.1:5000/auth/callback/github
# The following URLs are constants, no need to change
GITHUB_OAUTH_AUTH_URL = https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize
GITHUB_OAUTH_TOKEN_URL = https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token
GITHUB_OAUTH_USER_INFO_URL = https://api.github.com/user

[CLOUDFLARE]
ACCOUNT_ID = your-cloudflare-account-id
API_TOKEN = your-cloudflare-api-token
R2_BUCKET_NAME = your-r2-bucket-name
R2_PUBLIC_URL = your-r2-public-url

[IMGBB] API_KEY = example_key

# using command line
export FLASK_ENV=dev # load config.dev.ini

export FLASK_ENV=prod # load config.prod.ini

Start the Flask App

The app runs on http://127.0.0.1:5000. And the default env is dev.

flask run
# or run in debug mode
flask run --debug

Use Docker

A simpler way to enjoy Ask is to use our Docker image.

Start the Docker daemon

Start the Docker daemon, such as Docker Desktop or Orbstack, on your local machine or server.

Run and Stop the Docker

Execute the following command in the terminal.

# run docker container
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up

# run docker container in background
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d

# stop docker container
docker-compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down

Alternatively, if you want to run Docker directly:

# run docker container
docker run -p 5000:5000 docker.io/tonglam/askify:latest

# run docker container in background
docker run -d -p 5000:5000 docker.io/tonglam/askify:latest

Note: When running with Docker, make sure to set up the required environment variables. You can use the -e flag or create a .env file:

# Example of setting environment variables
docker run -p 5000:5000 \
  -e SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key \
  -e JWT_SECRET_KEY=your-jwt-secret \
  -e DATABASE_URL=your-database-url \
  -e GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id \
  ... (other environment variables) \
  docker.io/tonglam/askify:latest

Run Test

The Askify project has two kinds of tests: unit tests and end-to-end tests using Selenium. We provide an easy way to run these tests.

The test.py file is located in the root directory.

Unit Test

To run all the unit tests, execute the following command in the terminal. Note that unit tests use SQLite as the database for faster execution and easier setup:

python test.py

Module Unit Test

If you want to run unit tests for a specific module, use the following command:

python test.py [api|auth|community|popular|post|search|user]

Module

Auth

The Auth module provides services for registering, logging in, and resetting forgotten passwords.

Api

The Api module integrates all the APIs of Askify, and all endpoints are protected by JWT.

Community

The Community module provides services for adding, editing, deleting, and viewing communities.

Job

The Job module contains scheduled jobs.

Notice

The Notice module uses the observer design pattern to implement a publish-subscribe mechanism for notifications.

Post

The Post module provides services for adding, editing, deleting, and viewing posts and replies.

Search

The Search module provides services for full-text search.

User

The User module provides services for displaying, editing user profiles, and tracing user behaviors on the platform.

Documentation

If you encounter any issues when using Askify, you can look into the Wiki for this repo. It may contain useful information, as we maintain the documentation throughout the development process.

Deployment

The main branch is deployed on Render, a modern cloud platform that automatically builds and deploys web services from Git. Visit Here

Note: The application is hosted on Render's free tier, which may cause the initial load to take a few seconds if the service has been inactive.

Swagger

We also use Swagger (Flasgger) for API documentation in this project. Visit Here.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 429 Commits
.github		.github
app		app
sql		sql
tests		tests
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
.python-version		.python-version
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
Procfile		Procfile
README.md		README.md
askify_backup.sql		askify_backup.sql
config.ini.example		config.ini.example
create_test_db.py		create_test_db.py
database.py		database.py
docker-compose.dev.yml		docker-compose.dev.yml
docker-compose.prod.yml		docker-compose.prod.yml
render.yaml		render.yaml
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
run.py		run.py
runtime.txt		runtime.txt
setup.py		setup.py
test.py		test.py

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Askify

Tech Stack

System Architecture

Deployment Flow

Get Started

Clone the Repository

Clone from Github

Set Up Virtual Environment

Install Requirements

Set Up Environment Config

Option 1: Using .ini files (Traditional method)

Option 2: Using .env file (Alternative method)

config.ini Explanation:

Start the Flask App

Use Docker

Start the Docker daemon

Run and Stop the Docker

Run Test

Unit Test

Module Unit Test

Module

Auth

Api

Community

Job

Notice

Popular

Post

Search

User

Documentation

Deployment

Swagger

Reference

About

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Option 1: Using `.ini` files (Traditional method)

Option 2: Using `.env` file (Alternative method)

`config.ini` Explanation: