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Multitenancy in Flask

The concept of Multitenancy in Flask

A comprehensive introduction to Flask

Flask is a lightweight and flexible Python web framework that allows you to implement multitenancy in your web applications. Like in Django, there are several approaches to implement multitenancy in Flask.

Multitenancy in Flask - Tutorial provided by AppSeed

Here's a basic overview of how you can achieve multitenancy in Flask:

Shared Database Schema​

  • Similar to the shared schema approach in Django, all tenants share the same database schema, but data is segregated using a tenant identifier.
  • You can create a middleware or context manager to set the current tenant for each request based on a URL parameter, subdomain, or any other criteria.
  • When querying the database, you include the tenant identifier in your queries to ensure data separation.

Isolated Database Schemas​

  • Each tenant has its own isolated database schema. This approach ensures complete data isolation but can be more resource-intensive.
  • Flask allows you to connect to multiple databases using database connectors like SQLAlchemy.
  • You can dynamically switch between database connections based on the current tenant during request processing.

Here's a simplified example of implementing multitenancy in Flask using the shared database schema approach:

from flask import Flask, request
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

app = Flask(__name__)
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'your_database_uri_here'
db = SQLAlchemy(app)

# Middleware to set the current tenant based on request data
@app.before_request
def set_current_tenant():
    # Determine the current tenant based on request data (e.g., URL parameter)
    tenant = request.args.get('tenant')
    if tenant:
        g.current_tenant = tenant
    else:
        g.current_tenant = 'default'  # Set a default tenant if none is specified

# Sample model with a tenant identifier
class MyModel(db.Model):
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    name = db.Column(db.String(255))
    tenant = db.Column(db.String(50))

# Example usage in a view
@app.route('/')
def my_view():
    # Query the model for records of the current tenant
    data = MyModel.query.filter_by(tenant=g.current_tenant).all()
    return render_template('template.html', data=data)

In this example, we use Flask with SQLAlchemy to create a basic multitenant application. The set_current_tenant middleware sets the current tenant based on a query parameter, and we use it to filter records by the current tenant in the view.

✅ In Summary​

Keep in mind that this is a simplified example, and in a real-world application, you would need to handle database connection pooling, migrations, and security concerns carefully. Additionally, you can explore extensions and libraries for Flask, such as Flask-SQLAlchemy or Flask-Talisman, to help with database management and security in a multitenant context.

The specific implementation may vary depending on your project's requirements and the level of isolation needed for your tenants.

✅ Resources​