Operational Notes and Troubleshooting

Keep your development environment healthy and your API running smoothly. This section lists common issues and checks to diagnose and resolve them quickly.

🔧 Missing Dependencies

Ensure all required packages are installed in the correct environment.

Steps to verify:

• Activate your virtual environment before installing .
• Run pip list to confirm packages are present.
• If you still see an ImportError, reinstall dependencies with:

  pip install -r requirements.txt
  

  or individually as needed.

{
  "title": "Activate Venv",
  "content": "Always activate your virtual environment before installing dependencies."
}

🐍 Wrong Python Version

The project targets Python 3.8. Running it on a substantially different version may cause compatibility issues, especially with older Flask-JWT releases .

• Verify your interpreter:

  python --version
  

• If needed, create a new virtual environment with Python 3.8:

  virtualenv venv --python=python3.8
  

💾 Database Not Updating

If your POST/PUT/DELETE requests appear successful but the database does not change, check the following:

• Debug Mode
  Ensure the app runs with debug enabled for full error output :

  if __name__ == '__main__':
      db.init_app(app)
      app.run(port=5000, debug=True)
  

• Correct Base URL
  Send requests to http://localhost:5000/... (or your configured host and port).
• Commit Calls
  Confirm save_to_db and delete_from_db invoke db.session.commit() :

  def save_to_db(self):
      db.session.add(self)
      db.session.commit()
  
  def delete_from_db(self):
      db.session.delete(self)
      db.session.commit()
  

• Server Logs
  Inspect console output for swallowed exceptions or SQL errors.

🔐 JWT Token Not Set in Postman

Protected endpoints require a valid JWT. If you receive 401 Unauthorized, follow these checks:

• Run /auth First
  Authenticate and obtain a token via the Postman /auth request.
• Test Script Enabled
  Verify the test script saves access_token to jwt_token :

  pm.test("JWT Token Not Empty", function () {
      var jsonData = pm.response.json();
      pm.globals.set("jwt_token", jsonData.access_token);
  });
  

• Correct Header
  Use the variable in subsequent requests:

  Authorization: JWT {{jwt_token}}
  

• Order of Requests
  Ensure /auth runs and passes before any protected call.

Stay proactive: monitor logs, keep dependencies current, and verify environment settings. Happy coding!