create-flask-app

create-flask-app is a command-line tool for quickly scaffolding small to medium-sized Flask applications. Built in Python with Click, it generates a clean, opinionated project structure that removes repetitive setup and lets developers focus on application logic.

I designed and implemented the tool with speed, clarity, and scalability in mind. The generated architecture encourages best practices such as modular design, environment-specific configuration, and optional extensions for databases, testing, and templating.

By automating common setup tasks, create-flask-app improves developer flow and iteration speed. It reflects my focus on developer experience and on building maintainable, well-documented tools that support long-term work, not just quick starts.

The app structure of create-flask-app is really simple:

scaffold_flask_app.py    # Controller/driver script
/generators              # Directory of Python functions to generate the app files.

There are a few other helpful files after the app is generated:

.github/workflows/deploy-check.html     # Builds the app after push to main.
wsgi.py                                 # Helpful when deploying to a provider.

Installation, Usage and Example

Installation

1. Set up a venv environment:

   # In your project folder:
    python3 -m venv venv
    source venv/bin/activate

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mattburnett-repo/create-flask-app
   cd <repository-directory>

3. Build the tool. This will install the tool on your machine.

   pip install --editable .

   To uninstall:

   pip uninstall create-flask-app
   sudo rm /usr/local/bin/create-flask-app

Usage

To generate a Flask app with specified blueprints, run the following command:

create_flask_app --app-name=your.app.name <blueprint1> <blueprint2> ...

'your.app.name' should be a name you chose for the app. 'blueprint1' 'blueprint2' ... is a list of module/blueprint names to include in the app (e.g., users, products).

After the app is done, you will see some informational messages in the terminal. To finish the creation process, type:

cd (your.app.name.goes.here) && pip install -r requirements.txt && flask init-db && flask run

From here, you can refine the generated code to meet your needs. A lot of the setup work has been done for you.

Example

create_flask_app --app-name=test users products locations

This will generate a Flask app with users, products and locations blueprints in the test directory.

Then, when the create process is finished:

cd test && pip install -r requirements.txt && flask init-db && flask run

This will finish the installation and start the app. The app should be available at:

localhost:5000 OR 127.0.0.1:5000

CI/CD

This app generates a basic GitHub Actions workflow file and a wsgi.py file. This should get you started on deploying the generated app.

License

MIT License