How Do You Deploy Python Flask Web Application on Server?

Deploying a Python Flask web application on a server is an important step in making your application accessible to the world. In this tutorial, we will walk through the process of deploying a Flask web application on a server.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you’ll need:

• A server with SSH access
• Python installed on the server
• A Flask web application ready for deployment

Step 1: Connect to the Server

The first step is to connect to the server using SSH. Open your terminal and run the following command:

ssh username@server_address

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

Once connected to the server, install any required dependencies for your Flask web application. You can use Pip, the package installer for Python, to install these dependencies.

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 3: Configure Your Application

In this step, you need to configure your Flask application for production. Make sure to update the configuration file (usually config.py) with appropriate settings for your production environment.

Step 4: Set Up a Web Server (e.g., Nginx)

To serve your Flask application, you will need a web server. One popular choice is Nginx.

Nginx Installation:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP'
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 5: Configure Nginx

After installing Nginx, you need to configure it to forward incoming requests to your Flask application.

Create a new Nginx configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain_or_ip;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;
        include /etc/nginx/proxy_params;
    }
}

Enable the new site by creating a symbolic link:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Step 6: Start the Application

Start your Flask application using a production-ready WSGI server like Gunicorn. Install Gunicorn using Pip:

pip install gunicorn

To start your application with Gunicorn, use the following command:

gunicorn app:app

Note:

app:app refers to the name of your Flask application object. Make sure to replace it with the correct name.

Step 7: Test Your Application

Your Flask web application is now deployed and ready to be tested. Open your web browser and navigate to http://your_domain_or_ip/.

If everything is set up correctly, you should see your Flask application running on the server.

Congratulations!

You have successfully deployed your Python Flask web application on a server. Now you can share your application with the world!

Keep in mind that this is just one way to deploy a Flask web application. There are many other options and configurations available depending on your specific needs.

Happy coding!