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Flask Cheatsheet

A quick reference guide to the Flask micro web framework for Python, covering essential concepts, code snippets, and best practices.

Core Concepts

Basic Application Structure 

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def hello_world():
    return 'Hello, World!'

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

This is the basic structure of a Flask application. Flask(__name__) creates the application instance. The @app.route decorator binds a URL route to a function.

The app.run(debug=True) starts the development server. Setting debug=True enables the debugger and reloader.

Routing

@app.route('/path')

Binds the function to the /path URL. You can define multiple routes for a single function.

@app.route('/path/<variable>')

Adds a variable part to the URL. The variable is passed as an argument to the function.

@app.route('/path/<int:variable>')

Specifies the type of the variable as an integer. Other options include float and string (default).

methods=['GET', 'POST']

Specifies the HTTP methods allowed for the route. Defaults to GET.

Request Object 

from flask import request

@app.route('/login', methods=['POST'])
def login():
    username = request.form['username']
    password = request.form['password']
    # ...

The request object provides access to incoming request data, such as form data (request.form), query parameters (request.args), and request headers (request.headers).

request.method - The HTTP method used for the request (e.g., ‘GET’, ‘POST’).

request.url - The full URL of the request.

Templates and Rendering

Rendering Templates 

from flask import render_template

@app.route('/hello/')
@app.route('/hello/<name>')
def hello(name=None):
    return render_template('hello.html', name=name)

The render_template function renders a Jinja2 template. The first argument is the template filename, and subsequent arguments are variables passed to the template.

Templates are located in the templates directory by default.

Jinja2 Basics

{{ variable }}

Outputs the value of a variable.

{% ... %}

Executes a statement (e.g., loop, conditional).

{# ... #}

Comment.

{{ url_for('function_name') }}

Generates a URL for a function based on its route. Useful for avoiding hardcoded URLs.

Template Inheritance

{% extends 'base.html' %} - Extends a base template.
{% block block_name %} … {% endblock %} - Defines a block that can be overridden in child templates.

Base template (base.html):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>{% block title %}{% endblock %}</title>
</head>
<body>
    {% block content %}{% endblock %}
</body>
</html>

Child template (index.html):

{% extends 'base.html' %}

{% block title %}Home{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>Welcome!</h1>
{% endblock %}

Working with Databases

Flask-SQLAlchemy

Flask-SQLAlchemy simplifies using SQLAlchemy with Flask.

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

app = Flask(__name__)
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///test.db'
db = SQLAlchemy(app)

class User(db.Model):
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    username = db.Column(db.String(80), unique=True, nullable=False)
    email = db.Column(db.String(120), unique=True, nullable=False)

    def __repr__(self):
        return '<User %r>' % self.username

Configuration: app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] sets the database connection string. Use sqlite:///test.db for SQLite.

Defining Models

db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)

Defines an integer primary key column.

db.Column(db.String(80), unique=True)

Defines a string column with a maximum length of 80 characters that must be unique.

db.relationship

Defines a relationship between two models.

Database Operations 

# Create the database tables
with app.app_context():
    db.create_all()

# Create a new user
new_user = User(username='john_doe', email='[email protected]')
db.session.add(new_user)
db.session.commit()

# Query users
users = User.query.all()
user = User.query.filter_by(username='john_doe').first()

db.create_all() creates the database tables.

db.session.add() adds a new object to the session. db.session.commit() commits the changes to the database.

Forms and Validation

Flask-WTF

Flask-WTF integrates WTForms with Flask for handling forms.

from flask_wtf import FlaskForm
from wtforms import StringField, PasswordField, SubmitField
from wtforms.validators import DataRequired, Email, EqualTo

class RegistrationForm(FlaskForm):
    username = StringField('Username', validators=[DataRequired()])
    email = StringField('Email', validators=[DataRequired(), Email()])
    password = PasswordField('Password', validators=[DataRequired()])
    confirm_password = PasswordField('Confirm Password', validators=[DataRequired(), EqualTo('password')])
    submit = SubmitField('Register')

Define forms as classes inheriting from FlaskForm. Use StringField, PasswordField, etc., for form fields. Add validators like DataRequired and Email.

Using Forms in Views 

from flask import render_template, redirect, url_for

@app.route('/register', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
def register():
    form = RegistrationForm()
    if form.validate_on_submit():
        # Process the form data
        return redirect(url_for('success'))
    return render_template('register.html', form=form)

form.validate_on_submit() validates the form data. If validation passes, the function returns True.

Displaying Forms in Templates 

<form method="POST">
    {{ form.csrf_token }}
    <div class="form-group">
        {{ form.username.label }} {{ form.username(class="form-control") }}
        {% if form.username.errors %}
            <ul class="errors">
            {% for error in form.username.errors %}
                <li>{{ error }}</li>
            {% endfor %}
            </ul>
        {% endif %}
    </div>
    <button type="submit">{{ form.submit.label }}</button>
</form>

Use {{ form.field_name.label }} to display the field label and {{ form.field_name(class="form-control") }} to display the field input. Iterate over form.field_name.errors to display validation errors.
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