Installing FlaskBB on Windows 10

FlaskBB is a free and open-source forum software built with Flask, a lightweight web framework in Python. In this tutorial, we'll guide you through the process of installing FlaskBB on Windows 10.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you should have the following:

• A Windows 10 computer
• Python 3 installed and added to the system's PATH environment variable. You can download Python 3 from https://www.python.org/downloads/
• PostgreSQL installed and running on your computer. You can download PostgreSQL from https://www.postgresql.org/

Step 1: Create a virtual environment

A virtual environment is an isolated Python environment that allows you to install packages without affecting the global Python installation on your computer. To create a virtual environment, open the command prompt and run the following commands:

pip install virtualenv
cd C:\path\to\your\project
virtualenv venv

Replace C:\path\to\your\project with the path to your FlaskBB project. This will create a new folder named venv in your project directory, which will contain the virtual environment.

Next, activate the virtual environment by running the following command:

venv\Scripts\activate

You should see (venv) in front of the command prompt. This indicates that you are now working inside the virtual environment.

Step 2: Install FlaskBB

With the virtual environment activated, you can now install FlaskBB and its dependencies. Run the following command to install FlaskBB:

pip install FlaskBB

Once FlaskBB and its dependencies are installed, you can create a new FlaskBB project by running the following command:

flaskbb --create-config

This will create a new configuration file named flaskbb.cfg in your project directory.

Step 3: Configure PostgreSQL

FlaskBB requires a PostgreSQL database to store forum data. To configure PostgreSQL, create a new database and user by following these steps:

• Open the command prompt and run the following command:

psql -U postgres

• This will open the PostgreSQL command prompt.
• Run the following commands to create a new database and user:

CREATE DATABASE flaskbb;
CREATE USER flaskbbuser WITH PASSWORD 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE flaskbb TO flaskbbuser;

Replace password with a secure password of your choice.

• Exit the PostgreSQL command prompt by running the following command:

\q

Step 4: Configure FlaskBB

Next, you need to modify the FlaskBB configuration file to connect to the PostgreSQL database you created in the previous step. Open the flaskbb.cfg file in a text editor and modify the following lines:

SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI = 'postgresql://flaskbbuser:password@localhost/flaskbb'

Replace password with the password you chose in step 3.

Step 5: Start FlaskBB

With FlaskBB and its dependencies installed, and PostgreSQL configured, you are now ready to start the FlaskBB server. Run the following command to start the FlaskBB server:

flaskbb run

You should see the following output:

 * Serving Flask app "flaskbb.factory:create_app" (lazy loading)
 * Environment: production
   WARNING: This is a development server. Do not use it in a production deployment.
   Use a production WSGI server instead.
 * Debug mode: off
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl PostgreSQLImpl.
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume transactional DDL.
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running stamp_revision  -> 1a2b3c4d5e6f
 * Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)

Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost:5000/. You should see the FlaskBB homepage.

Congratulations! You've successfully installed FlaskBB on Windows 10. You can now customize the forum settings, add new categories and forums, and invite users to join the community.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!