page:recipes:company website:flask:relational content

Host company website with Flask: Postgres-backed content

Deploy a company website built with Flask on Ample using the relational records pattern. Compute runs the app in an isolated microVM behind a public HTTPS URL, a managed PostgreSQL 16 database is auto-provisioned and injected as DATABASE_URL, and a published bucket serves public assets from the CDN host. Verified on Flask: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true). Not separately tested: your record schema, states and access rules; treat the company website-specific behavior as your application code.

Prerequisites

• A Flask project that builds and starts with the documented commands (pip install into .ample/python from requirements.txt, then waitress from app.py reading PORT on the python-3.12 template)
• A PostgreSQL driver reading DATABASE_URL at runtime (auto-provisioned when omitted, or supplied with --env)
• A bucket from ample bucket create with its credentials passed as encrypted S3_* environment variables
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read, buckets:read

Resource Requirements

• primitive:compute
• primitive:postgres
• primitive:cdn

Workflow Steps

1. Build and start
   pip install into .ample/python from requirements.txt, then waitress from app.py reading PORT on the python-3.12 template. The server must bind 0.0.0.0 on PORT.

2. Implement the pattern on PostgreSQL
   The fixture's module implements relational records: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true). Copy the approach into your schema; keep migrations idempotent and run them with --release-command.

3. Wire object storage
   Create the bucket(s), then pass endpoint, region, bucket and keys as --env values. Use path-style addressing. Keep private data in an unpublished bucket. Publish only the bucket that serves public assets and reference its CDN URL.

4. Deploy
   Run the synchronous deploy once and read the result (exit 0 live, 1 failed, 2 blocked). Re-running with no change is a no-op.
   Command: ample deploy . --name --public --start "python3 app.py" --env S3_ENDPOINT=... --env S3_REGION=... --env S3_BUCKET=... --env S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=... --env S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=... --env CDN_PUBLIC_URL=...

5. Verify
   Fetch the live URL and the pattern self-test route(s) (/p/relational-records) from the example; then run your own checks. On failure read ample logs --kind build then --kind runtime.
   Command: ample logs --kind build

Success Checks

• app responds on its public URL
• relational-records self-test

Limitations

• Verified on the python-3.12 template at s-1vcpu-1gb with the example fixture; other sizes, templates and Flask major versions are not verified.
• The company website itself (your record schema, states and access rules) is application code and was not separately tested; the pattern checks are what was verified.
• Apps auto-pause when idle and wake on the next request; always-on is an operator setting, not a plan feature.

Cost Estimate

Monthly Amount: $10.00 USD

• App server: $5.00
• Managed PostgreSQL database: $5.00

Tested Configuration

• Template: python-3.12
• Runtime: python
• Size: s-1vcpu-1gb

Install: python3 -m pip install --target .ample/python -r requirements.txt Start: PYTHONPATH=.ample/python:${PYTHONPATH:-} python3 app.py

Examples

• Flask pattern fixture
  Multi-pattern Flask app whose relational records module was checked live; the module is under tests/deploy-canaries/_pattern-modules. Source: tests/deploy-canaries/flask-patterns