Flask-Empty is a simple flask boilerplate for fast prototyping. Just use cookiecutter and create a new project in no time.

# if cookiecutter is not installed
sudo pip install cookiecutter

# using cookiecutter // linux/Mac
cookiecutter https://github.com/italomaia/flask-empty

# answer the prompt and you're done!

You're advised to use virtualenvwrapper from here on. Install it like this:

pip install virtualenvwrapper

Create a virtual environment for you project and install the adequate requirements.

mkvirtualenv my_project
pip install -r requirements/dev.txt  # dev environment if local
pip install -r requirements/prod.txt  # prod environment if server

You're advised to change the requirements files according to your needs.

extensions.py all extension instances that need initialization should be available here in order for Empty to see and initialize them for you.

config.py is a pre-set configuration classes for you to meddle with. They're are all self explanatory and commented.

main.py the Empty class inherits from the Flask class. Override it if you need to setup extensions, an index view, context processors, etc. It already has sensitive defaults for most features. (see empty.py to better understand Empty)

database.py setup your database library there. There is some commented code for sqlalchemy support out of the box.

PROJECT_NAME.ini is the configuration file used with uwsgi. Use it like this:

uwsgi --ini your_project.ini

manage.py adds few very useful commandline commands (...) to help your development productivity. Check available commands by running python manage.py.

Empty comes with a pre-configured procfile and heroku() wrapper for app_factory. No setup required.

Note that the Flask-Script option "-d (disable debug)" does not work as expected with Flask-Empty. If you want to start a non-debug internal server instance, use the config.Config configuration or write your own. Example:

# loads config.Config configuration, which has DEBUG=False
# -r is the Flask-Script option for internal server no-reload
python manage.py -r -c Config

If environment config named APP_CONFIG is set, it will be used, overwriting any other set configuration.

There are some error templates bundled with flask-empty by default. All empty right now. Just fill them up for your project.

You can use the jinja2 macros available in templates/macros to easily integrate your jinja2 templates with flask extensions like wtforms and commons tasks like showing flash messages. Available macros, formhelpers and flashing are very useful.

Add your blueprints using src/config.Config.BLUEPRINTS as documented in the file itself. A blueprint can be add using the path to the Blueprint or a tuple. Make sure your blueprint has a views.py and it has a app Blueprint instance and you're ready to go. If unsure, check out flask-empty/blueprint/ for an empty blueprint example. You can also copy flask-empty/blueprint/ to create blueprints.

With flask-empty, blueprints can live in the project root or in a special folder called apps in the project root.

While creating your project, Flask-Empty will ask you if you wish to enable SQL support. Confirm if you do so and Flask-SQLAlchemy will be available and configured through database.py.

_ps: currently, db-create will only create your models if they are imported somewhere in your application. By somewhere, try the same module where your Blueprint instance is defined.

As mongodb is really cool, supporting it is a must. Just say yes at the prompt when asked and Flask-Mongoengine will be setup for you.

Flask-WTF is the "the facto" extension for handling forms with Flask. It is simply great, and Flask-Empty supports it! Just say "yes" during project creation and Flask-WTF support will be on.

If my explanation above is as crappy as I think it is, you're gonna want/need to take a look at examples/. They are a very nice starting point to learn how to configure your project. Wort-case-scenario, just copy it, rename it, configure it and be happy!

Is flask-empty boilerplate compatible with flask 0.x? Cuz' that's what my app uses.

Right now, flask-empty is a very simple project where many good practices and code examples were glued together. Until recently I was focused in keeping backward compatibility with flask 0.8. Well, that goal is no more. Flask-empty will be compatible with the latest version of Flask and, by chance, with previous versions. Things will be easier this way.

So, which is the oldest version where flask-empty works?

In my last test, version 0.9, but no guarantees here.

I think flask-empty should have this and that configured by default. Will you add support?

My current goals are:

• Make flask-empty real easy to start a project with
• Keep things simple and robust

If your suggestion is simple, VERY useful and has little overhead, I'll probably consider adding it to the project. If you make the code and send a pull request, then I'll consider it real hard. Now, if your suggestion is rejected or advised in a different approach, don't get sad (you're awesome ;).

I just made a cool example with flask-empty and want to add it to examples.

Pull request it for evaluation ;) Just keep in mind that good examples are short (not really...) and focused in it's showcase.