Flask REST Server with Neo4j Integration Example

A minimal Flask application demonstrating a simple REST server integrated with a Neo4j database. This project serves as a basic testcase to illustrate Flask routing and Neo4j connectivity using a custom Neo4j driver wrapper.

Features

• Basic Flask web server with a root endpoint.
• Endpoint to initialize a Neo4j driver and run a test query.
• JSON response with the number of nodes retrieved from Neo4j.

Tech Stack

• Python 3
• Flask
• Neo4j Python Driver (custom wrapper neo_native_app)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6 or higher
• Neo4j database running and accessible

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/justin-napolitano/project-flask-modules.git
cd project-flask-modules

2. (Recommended) Create and activate a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

3. Install dependencies:

pip install flask neo4j

Note: The project imports a custom module neo_native_app which is not included in this repository. Ensure this module is available in your Python path.

Running the Server

python rest_server.py

The server will start on http://0.0.0.0:5000 by default.

Endpoints

• / : Returns a simple greeting message.
• /init_neo_driver : Initializes the Neo4j driver and returns the number of nodes in the database as JSON.

Project Structure

project-flask-modules/
└── rest_server.py  # Main Flask application

• rest_server.py: Contains the Flask app, routes, and logic to connect to Neo4j using a custom driver.

Future Work / Roadmap

• Add error handling for database connection failures.
• Include configuration management for database credentials and connection parameters.
• Expand API to support more complex queries and data manipulation.
• Add unit and integration tests.
• Package the custom Neo4j driver or include it as a submodule/dependency.
• Dockerize the application for easier deployment.