Library Management System – Installation Instructions

This guide explains how to set up the development environment for the project.

All installation commands must be executed after activating the virtual environment. Otherwise, packages will be installed globally on the system.

1. Create a virtual environment

python3 -m venv .venv

2. Activate the virtual environment

Linux / macOS

source .venv/bin/activate

Windows (PowerShell)

.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

Windows (Command Prompt)

.venv\Scripts\activate.bat

After activation, the terminal will display the prefix (.venv) at the beginning of the line, indicating that the virtual environment is active.

If PowerShell blocks script execution, run the following command once:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Exit the virtual environment

To deactivate the virtual environment:

deactivate

After this command, the (.venv) prefix will disappear, indicating that you have returned to the system Python environment.

3. Upgrade pip

With the virtual environment active, upgrade pip:

pip install --upgrade pip

4. Install production dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Install development dependencies

pip install -r requirements_dev.txt

6. Verify installation

To check that the packages were installed correctly:

pip list

7. Fix Flask import issues

Open the project folder in Visual Studio Code.

Select the Python interpreter:

Ctrl + Shift + P Python: Select Interpreter

Then select:

.venv/bin/python

8. Running the project (Flask)

Make sure the virtual environment is activated before running the app.

Linux / macOS

flask --app src.app run

or

export FLASK_APP=src.app
export FLASK_ENV=development
flask run

Windows (Command Prompt)

set FLASK_APP=app.py
set FLASK_ENV=development
flask run

Windows (PowerShell)

$env:FLASK_APP = "app.py"
$env:FLASK_ENV = "development"
flask run

Database Migrations with Flask-Migrate

Run the following commands from the project root directory and inside your virtual environment (venv).

1. Initialize the migrations folder (only once)

flask --app src.app db init

2. Generate the first migration (analyzes your models)

flask --app src.app db migrate -m "initial migration"

3. Apply the migration to the database

flask --app src.app db upgrade

Recommended Visual Studio Code extensions

• Python
• Pylance
• Python Debugger
• Python Environments
• SQLite Viewer