Pollar

Pollar is an open-source, real-time polling app designed for classrooms, events, or any group setting. It supports multiple rooms, live voting, and instant result visualization. Built with Flask, Flask-SocketIO, Redis, and Docker.

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Features

• Multiple Rooms: Any number of rooms can be created for different sessions or classes.
• Live Polling: Real-time voting and result updates using WebSockets.
• Admin Controls: Start, stop, reset, and reveal poll answers.
• Anonymized Results: Votes are shuffled and anonymized for privacy.
• Session Management: Uses Redis for server-side session storage.
• Responsive UI: Built with Bootstrap and D3.js for interactive charts.
• Easy Deployment: Docker Compose for quick local setup.

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Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/bearz314/pollar.git
cd pollar

2. Run Locally with Docker

sudo docker compose up

This will start the Flask backend, Redis, and all required services.

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Usage

1. Create a Room and Load Questions

Visit:

http://127.0.0.1:12345/roomname/admin/new

Replace roomname with any room identifier.

2. Student Access

Students join the poll at:

http://127.0.0.1:12345/roomname

3. Admin Poll Controls

• Open Poll for Responses:

  http://127.0.0.1:12345/roomname/admin/open/example_poll
  

• Stop Accepting Responses (do not reveal answer):

  http://127.0.0.1:12345/roomname/admin/close/example_poll
  

• Stop Accepting Responses (reveal answer):

  http://127.0.0.1:12345/roomname/admin/reveal/example_poll
  

Replace example_poll with the actual poll ID. For testing, use example_poll and another_poll.

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API & Admin Endpoints

• /<room>/admin/new — Create/reset a room and load questions.
• /<room>/admin/close — Close a room (retain data).
• /<room>/admin/delete — Delete a room and all data.
• /<room>/admin/open/<poll_id> — Start accepting responses for a poll.
• /<room>/admin/reset/<poll_id> — Reset poll responses.
• /<room>/admin/close/<poll_id> — Stop accepting responses (no answer revealed).
• /<room>/admin/reveal/<poll_id> — Stop accepting responses and reveal the answer.

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Development Notes

• CORS: For local development, CORS is set to allow all origins. Remove or restrict this in production for security.
• WebSocket URL: Update the WebSocket URL in index.html for production deployments.
• Sessions: Server-side sessions are stored in Redis for scalability and reliability.
• Question Bank: Questions are loaded per room. Customize load_question_bank as needed.
• Vote Anonymization: Votes are shuffled using a seed based on the poll ID for privacy.

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Security

• Secret Key: The app generates a secure secret key if not provided For production, set a strong POLLAR_SECRET_KEY environment variable.
• Admin Verification: Admin endpoints are not currently protected. Add authentication before deploying publicly.

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Customization

• Frontend: Modify /app/templates/index.html for UI changes.
• Backend: Main logic is in /app/backend.py.
• Redis: Used for session and poll data storage.

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License

Pollar is dual-licensed:

• GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3): You may use, modify, and redistribute this software under the terms of the GPLv3.
• Commercial License: For organizations or individuals who wish to use Pollar under different terms (for example, to distribute closed-source versions or to obtain a commercial license), please contact the copyright holder.

By contributing to this project, you agree that your contributions may be incorporated into both the GPLv3 and commercial versions of the software.

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Contributing

Pull requests and issues are welcome!

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Acknowledgements

• Flask
• Flask-SocketIO
• Redis
• Bootstrap
• D3.js

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Pollar — Making classroom polling simple, fast, and open!