admin-panel/README.md
Blake Ridgway 5a3dd86bf9 (docs): Update README for clarity, features, and deployment
Rewrite README for clarity, features, architecture, setup, contributing guide
2025-04-03 13:53:11 -05:00

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# RideAware Admin Center
This project provides a secure and user-friendly Admin Panel for managing RideAware subscribers and sending update emails. It's designed to work in conjunction with the RideAware landing page application, utilizing a shared database for subscriber management.
## Features
**Secure Admin Authentication:**
* Login protected by username/password authentication using Werkzeug's password hashing.
* Default admin credentials configurable via environment variables.
**Subscriber Management:**
* View a comprehensive list of all subscribed email addresses.
**Email Marketing:**
* Compose and send HTML-rich update emails to all subscribers.
* Supports embedding unsubscribe links in email content for easy opt-out.
**Shared Database:**
* Utilizes a shared PostgreSQL database with the landing page application for consistent subscriber data.
**Centralized Newsletter Storage:**
* Storage of newsletter subject and email bodies in the PostgreSQL database
**Logging:**
* Implemented comprehensive logging throughout the application for better monitoring and debugging.
## Architecture
The Admin Panel is built using Python with the Flask web framework, using the following technologies:
* **Backend:** Python 3.11+, Flask
* **Database:** PostgreSQL
* **Template Engine:** Jinja2
* **Authentication:** Werkzeug Security
* **Email:** SMTP (using `smtplib`)
* **Containerization:** Docker
* **Configuration:** .env file using `python-dotenv`
## Setup & Deployment
### Prerequisites
* Docker (recommended for containerized deployment)
* Python 3.11+ (if running locally without Docker)
* A PostgreSQL database instance
* An SMTP account (e.g., SendGrid, Mailgun) for sending emails
* A `.env` file with configuration details
### .env Configuration
Create a `.env` file in the project root directory with the following environment variables. Make sure to replace the placeholder values with your actual credentials.
```env
# Flask Application
SECRET_KEY="YourSecretKeyHere" #Used to sign session cookies
# PostgreSQL Database Configuration
PG_HOST=localhost
PG_PORT=5432
PG_DATABASE=rideaware_db
PG_USER=rideaware_user
PG_PASSWORD=rideaware_password
# Admin credentials for the Admin Center
ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
ADMIN_PASSWORD="changeme" # Change this to a secure password
# SMTP Email Settings
SMTP_SERVER=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=465 #Or another appropriate port
SMTP_USER=your_email@example.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=YourEmailPassword
SENDER_EMAIL=your_email@example.com #Email to send emails from
BASE_URL="your_site_domain.com" # used for unsubscribe links, example.com not https://
#Used for debugging
FLASK_DEBUG=1
```
### Running with Docker (Recommended)
This is the recommended approach for deploying the RideAware Admin Panel
Building the Docker image:
```sh
docker build -t admin-panel .
```
Running the container mapping port 5001:
```sh
docker run -p 5001:5001 admin-panel
```
The application will be accessible at `http://localhost:5001` or `http://<your_server_ip>:5001`
*Note: When running locally with Docker, ensure the .env file is located at the project root. Alternatively, you can pass the variables in the CLI.*
### Running locally
Install Dependencies:
```sh
pip install -r requirements.txt
```
Set Environment Variables:
Ensure all the environment variables specified in the `.env` configuration section are set in your shell environment. You can source the `.env` file:
Then run the admin app:
```sh
python app.py
```
The app will be accessible at `http://127.0.0.1:5001`
### Contributing
Contributions to the RideAware Admin Panel are welcome! Please follow these steps:
* Fork the repository.
* Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
* Make your changes and commit them with descriptive commit messages.
* Submit a pull request.