Inventory Management System

A Flask-based Inventory Management System designed for small retail companies. This application allows employees to manage product inventory with full CRUD operations and real-time product data fetching from the OpenFoodFacts API.

Features

• Complete CRUD operations: Create, Read, Update, and Delete inventory items
• External API integration: Fetch product details automatically from OpenFoodFacts by product name
• CLI interface: Command-line tool for easy inventory management
• Flask Shell: Interactive shell for direct database interaction
• Database: SQLite for lightweight, file-based data storage
• Unit Testing: pytest suite for reliability

Project Structure

flaskSammative/
│
├── app.py                 # Flask application, routes, and database models
├── models.py              # Database model definitions
├── cli.py                 # CLI interface for API interaction
├── tests/
│   └── test_app.py        # Unit tests
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── README.md              # Project documentation
└── .gitignore             # Git ignore rules

Setup & Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Git

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/devbysamcloudy/flaskSammative
cd flaskSammative

2. Create a virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
# or
venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

3. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the Flask application

python app.py

The application will start at http://127.0.0.1:5000

API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/items	Add a new inventory item
GET	/items	Get all inventory items
PATCH	/items/<id>	Update an item by ID
DELETE	/items/<id>	Delete an item by ID
GET	/fetch/<product_name>	Fetch product from OpenFoodFacts and add to inventory

Example Requests

Add an item

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:5000/items \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "Milk", "quantity": 10, "price": 1.99, "barcode": "123456"}'

Get all items

curl http://127.0.0.1:5000/items

Update an item

curl -X PATCH http://127.0.0.1:5000/items/1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"quantity": 20, "price": 2.49}'

Delete an item

curl -X DELETE http://127.0.0.1:5000/items/1

Fetch from OpenFoodFacts

curl http://127.0.0.1:5000/fetch/nutella

Using the CLI

Make sure the Flask app is running first, then in a separate terminal:

python cli.py

CLI Options:

• 1 - View all items
• 2 - Add a new item
• 3 - Delete an item by ID
• 4 - Fetch a product from OpenFoodFacts by name

Follow the interactive prompts to manage your inventory.

Flask Shell

Use the Flask shell to interact with the database directly:

export FLASK_APP=app.py
flask shell

Inside the shell:

from app import db, Item

# Create tables
db.create_all()

# Add an item
item = Item(name="Milk", quantity=10, price=1.99, barcode="123456")
db.session.add(item)
db.session.commit()

# Query all items
Item.query.all()

# Query one item
Item.query.get(1)

# Delete an item
item = Item.query.get(1)
db.session.delete(item)
db.session.commit()

Running Tests

Execute the test suite:

pytest

Note: Ensure the Flask app is not running when executing tests to avoid port conflicts.

Git Workflow

This project was developed using feature branches:

• feature-crud - CRUD operations implementation
• feature-api - OpenFoodFacts API integration
• feature-cli - Command-line interface development

All pull requests were merged before final submission.

Important Notes

• The database file (inventory.db) will be automatically created inside the instance/ folder on first run
• An active internet connection is required when fetching data from OpenFoodFacts
• Product prices and quantities can be modified via PATCH requests or the CLI
• The system uses SQLite, so no separate database server is needed

Troubleshooting

Issue: Database not found

• Solution: The system will create inventory.db automatically on first run

Issue: API fetch failing

• Solution: Check your internet connection and verify the product name exists in OpenFoodFacts

Issue: Port 5000 already in use

• Solution: Change the port in app.py or stop the application using that port

Issue: CLI not connecting

• Solution: Make sure the Flask app is running before starting the CLI

Author

Samuel Nganga

• Email: snganga685@gmail.com
• GitHub: devbysamcloudy/flaskSammative

License

This project is for educational purposes as part of a software development assessment.