Flask + SOAP + MariaDB API (Raspberry Pi Project)

A simple full-stack API project built with Flask and MariaDB — containerized using Docker Compose and deployable to a Raspberry Pi. Includes REST and SOAP endpoints and auto-seeded database. Two HTML dashboards included for REST and SOAP testing.

Using as I brush up on some skills with my Raspberry Pi.

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Features

• REST API built with Flask
• SOAP API using Spyne (accessible at /soap)
• Data stored in MariaDB
• Containerized with Docker Compose
• .env support for secure credentials
• Auto-creates & seeds a greetings table
• HTML dashboards for REST and SOAP
• Tested on Raspberry Pi (ARMv8)

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Setup

1. Clone the Repo

Clone using SSH:

git clone git@github.com:mbulkeley/flask-api.git
cd flask-api

Or with HTTPS:

git clone https://github.com/mbulkeley/flask-api.git
cd flask-api

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2. Create a .env File

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=yourpassword
MYSQL_DATABASE=flaskdb
MYSQL_USER=flaskuser
MYSQL_PASSWORD=yourpassword
DB_HOST=db

Don't commit your .env file — it's in .gitignore.

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3. Build and Run

docker compose up --build

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Accessing the App

REST Dashboard:

http://<pi-ip>:5000/

SOAP Dashboard:

http://<pi-ip>:5000/soap-ui

Replace <pi-ip> with your Raspberry Pi’s IP address.

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API Endpoints

REST

Route	Method	Description
/greet	GET	Returns all greetings
/greet	POST	Add a new greeting
/health	GET	Simple health check

SOAP

Path	Method	Description
/soap	POST	SOAP greeting method
/soap/?wsdl	GET	SOAP WSDL (service definition)

The SOAP method say_hello(name) returns a greeting based on the latest message stored.

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Example: REST

curl -X POST http://<pi-ip>:5000/greet \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Hello, world!"}'

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Example: SOAP XML Payload

Use in Postman or the /soap-ui HTML form:

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
                  xmlns:hel="spyne.greetings.soap">
  <soapenv:Header/>
  <soapenv:Body>
    <hel:say_hello>
      <hel:name>Alice</hel:name>
    </hel:say_hello>
  </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

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Database Seeding

On first run, init.sql:

• Creates the greetings table
• Inserts sample messages (including personalized ones)

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

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Future Ideas

• CI pipeline with GitHub Actions
• GitHub Container Registry (GHCR) publishing
• Pi-to-Pi GitOps deployment
• K3s / Kubernetes multi-node deployment
• Add tests using pytest
• Webhook-based auto-deploy