Poetry

What is Poetry?

Poetry is a dependency and package manager for Python. It simplifies project management by handling dependencies, virtual environments, and packaging in a structured way. Unlike pip and requirements.txt, Poetry provides a centralized configuration (pyproject.toml) and ensures consistent dependency resolution.

Why Use Poetry?

• Simplifies dependency management: Handles installing/updating dependencies efficiently.

• Manages virtual environments: Creates an isolated environment for the project.

• Improves reproducibility: Ensures the same dependencies are installed across systems.

• Supports publishing: Makes it easy to publish packages to PyPI.

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Step-by-Step Poetry Setup for Your reverse-name-app

Step 1: Install Poetry

If you haven’t installed Poetry yet, run:

curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -

Or, for macOS with Homebrew:

brew install poetry

After installation, verify:

poetry --version

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Step 2: Navigate to Your Project Directory

Move to the reverse-name-app folder:

cd path/to/reverse-name-app

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Step 3: Initialize a Poetry Project

Run:

poetry init

It will prompt you to enter:

• Package name (default: reverse-name-app)

• Version (default: 0.1.0)

• Description

• Author name and email

• License

• Dependencies (skip for now by pressing Enter)

Alternatively, use:

poetry init --no-interaction

This creates a pyproject.toml file.

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Step 4: Add Dependencies

Your app.py needs Flask, so install it with:

poetry add flask

This automatically updates pyproject.toml and creates poetry.lock.

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Step 5: Activate the Virtual Environment

Poetry manages a virtual environment. To enter it:

poetry shell

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Step 6: Run Your Flask App

Inside the Poetry shell, start your app:

python app.py

Or, if using Flask's built-in server:

flask run

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Step 7: (Optional) Add Development Dependencies

For testing/debugging tools, use:

poetry add --dev pytest

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Step 8: Lock and Export Dependencies

To ensure the same dependencies install everywhere:

poetry lock

For non-Poetry users (export requirements.txt):

poetry export -f requirements.txt --output requirements.txt

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Step 9: Deactivating Virtual Environment

Exit Poetry's virtual environment:

exit

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Step 10: Run Without Activating Poetry Shell

Instead of poetry shell, you can use:

poetry run python app.py

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Step 11: (Optional) Publish the Project

If needed:

poetry publish --build

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That’s it! Your reverse-name-app now runs with Poetry. 🚀