FlowVid Backend

FlowVid Backend is a REST API built with Flask and SQLAlchemy, serving as the backbone for the FlowVid video platform. It handles user authentication, media uploads, and data persistence.

Features

• User registration and login with custom-built JWT authentication
• Secure password handling via Fernet encryption
• Media upload and management via ImageKit
• RESTful API endpoints for users, videos, and channels
• CORS support for frontend integration
• CI pipeline via GitHub Actions
• Production-ready with Gunicorn

Tech Stack

• Python · Flask · SQLAlchemy
• PostgreSQL hosted on NeonDB (serverless Postgres)
• PyJWT · Cryptography (Fernet)
• ImageKit for media storage
• GitHub Actions for CI
• Gunicorn for deployment

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or newer
• A NeonDB (PostgreSQL) connection string, or any PostgreSQL-compatible database
• ImageKit account and API credentials

Installation

pip install -r requirements.txt

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

SECRET_KEY=your_jwt_secret_key
FERNET_KEY=your_fernet_key
DATABASE_URL=your_neondb_postgres_connection_string
IMAGEKIT_PUBLIC_KEY=your_imagekit_public_key
IMAGEKIT_PRIVATE_KEY=your_imagekit_private_key
IMAGEKIT_URL_ENDPOINT=your_imagekit_url_endpoint

Start Development

flask run

Production

gunicorn app:app

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description	Auth required
POST	/register	Register a new user	No
POST	/login	Login and receive JWT	No
POST	/upload	Upload a video	Yes
GET	/video/:id	Get video details	No
GET	/channel/:id	Get channel details	No

Authentication

Authentication is custom-built without third-party auth libraries. On login, the API returns a signed JWT containing the user ID and a 24-hour expiry. Protected routes validate the token on every request.

Project Structure

app.py                          Entry point
data_manager/                   Business logic for channels and data handling
  channel_manager.py            Channel-specific operations
  data_manager.py               Core data access layer
  id_generator.py               ID generation utilities
data_models/
  models.py                     SQLAlchemy models
user_profiles/
  user_profiles.py              User profile logic and auth
.github/workflow/ci.yml         GitHub Actions CI pipeline
static/                         Static assets
templates/                      Flask templates
uploads/                        Local upload staging
.env                            Environment variables (not committed)
requirements.txt                Python dependencies

Frontend

The matching React frontend can be found here: FlowVid Frontend