Introduction

When working with Flask, it's essential to understand the typical project structure to keep your code organized and maintainable. In this guide, we'll explore the recommended Flask project structure and provide insights into the various components and directories you'll encounter.


Basic Flask Project Structure

A basic Flask project structure usually consists of the following directories and files:

  • your_project/ (your project root directory)
    • app.py (main application script)
    • venv/ (virtual environment)
    • static/ (for static files like CSS and JavaScript)
    • templates/ (for HTML templates)

Understanding Key Components

Let's take a closer look at the key components in a Flask project:

  • app.py: This is the main application script where you define your Flask app, routes, and views. It's the entry point to your application.
  • venv/: This is a virtual environment that isolates your project's dependencies. You should create and activate it to keep your project dependencies separate from the system-wide Python installation.
  • static/: This directory is used for storing static files like CSS, JavaScript, and images. These files are served directly to the client's browser without processing by Flask.
  • templates/: Flask uses the Jinja2 templating engine. This directory is where you store your HTML templates that Flask will render with dynamic data.

Sample Project Structure

Here's an example of a basic Flask project structure:

your_project/
app.py
venv/
static/
styles.css
script.js
templates/
layout.html
index.html
about.html
...

Conclusion

Understanding the Flask project structure is crucial for maintaining a well-organized and efficient web application. By following best practices and keeping your code, templates, and static files in their designated locations, you'll have a solid foundation for building Flask applications.