Python Email Messaging System

This is a Flask-based email messaging system that uses RabbitMQ and Celery for asynchronous task processing. It's designed to run on macOS and uses Nginx as a reverse proxy, with Ngrok for exposing the local server to the internet.

Features

• Send emails asynchronously
• Real-time status updates using Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Logging system for tracking email sending status
• Web interface for viewing logs
• Scalable architecture using Celery and RabbitMQ

Prerequisites

• macOS
• Homebrew
• Python 3.7+
• pip
• Nginx
• RabbitMQ
• Ngrok

Installation

1. Install the required system dependencies using Homebrew:

brew install python nginx rabbitmq

2. Install Ngrok following the official documentation:

brew install ngrok/ngrok/ngrok
ngrok config add-authtoken <token>

3. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/Rob-in-son/HNG-stage3.git
cd HNG-stage3

4. Create a virtual environment and activate it

python3 -m venv messaging_env
source messaging_env/bin/activate

5. Install the required Python packages:

pip install Flask celery pika smtplib

6. Copy the sample.config.py file to config.py and update it with your SMTP and Celery settings:

cp sample.config.py config.py

Edit config.py with your actual SMTP and Celery settings.

Nginx Configuration

The Nginx configuration file is located at /opt/homebrew/etc/nginx/nginx.conf. Add the following server block to this file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

RabbitMQ Configuration

RabbitMQ should work with its default configuration. If you need to make changes, refer to the RabbitMQ documentation. Usage

1. Start RabbitMQ:

brew services start rabbitmq

2. Start Celery worker:

celery -A app.celery worker --loglevel=info

3. Start the Flask application:

python app.py

4. Start Nginx:

brew services start nginx

5. Start Ngrok to expose your local server:

ngrok http http://localhost:80

API Endpoints

• http://<ngrok-url>/?sendmail=email@example.com: Sends an email to the specified address
• http://<ngrok-url>/?talktome: Logs the current time
• http://<ngrok-url>//logs: Displays the application logs

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter permission issues with Nginx, make sure you're running it with sudo privileges.
• If emails are not being sent, check your SMTP settings in the config.py file.
• If Celery tasks are not being processed, ensure that RabbitMQ is running and the Celery worker is started.