Python: Preparing Python and Flask for production deployment

This documentation is part of the Creating a REST API guide. You can view the complete guide here: Step-by-step guide to building a REST API with Flask in Python.

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Flask's built-in server is ideal for development. In production, you should use a robust WSGI server such as Gunicorn. Here is how to prepare:

1. Install Gunicorn:

   pip install gunicorn
   pip freeze > requirements.txt
   

2. Start your application with Gunicorn:

   ENV=production gunicorn app:app \
     --error-logfile - \
     -b 0.0.0.0:8080
   

   Here, app:app refers to your file (app.py) and the Flask application instance (app).

3. You can add a Makefile to easily switch between development and production modes:

   .DEFAULT_GOAL := dev
   
   # Stackhero for Python runs the "run" rule by default. We override it to run 'prod'.
   run: prod
   
   prod:
   	ENV=production gunicorn app:app \
   	  --error-logfile - \
   	  -b 0.0.0.0:8080
   
   dev:
   	python app.py
   

You can start the server in development mode with make dev (or just make), or in production mode with make prod.