Hosting
Hosting/serving the app is where things can become a bit tricky for users new to python. It is hard to provide a detailed tutorial, as hosting is out of the scope of this project. However, here are a few resources that can help get you started!
https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.2.x/deploying/
Essentially, you are just looking to have the app run on a computer (virtual machine) that will be up 24/7.
The most common hosts like AWS, Linode, Heroku, DigitalOcean, etc.
I have personally found DigitalOcean to be the best.
Using the referral link below, you can get up to $200 in credits for 60 days.
https://m.do.co/c/2865cad8f863
You can use your personal PC and it isn't the worst idea in the world for a project of this size. However, I would highly recommend using a free service called Ngrok. This will allow you to tunnel traffic from your computer to the internet. Otherwise, you would have to open ports which can be a headache and a security risk.
Below is a general idea of what one would need to do.
- Set up Ngrok (Getting started with Ngrok)
- Use the command
python3 tvwb.py startto start the TVWB service. - Tunnel port 5000 (
ngrok http 5000) - Send your webhooks to the Ngrok URL (keep in mind the /webhook endpoint)
Sorry for the lack of details regarding this part. The scope of hosting can be dependent on too many things to count. However, I would gladly accept any recommendations/documentation to expand on this part!