TFG_HALO - HaloFiles Web Application

Summary

This repository contains my TFG code about HaloFiles, a web application built with Django that works as a GUI to share & commit information about biological microorganism data.

⚠️ Important Update (February 2026)

This project has been recently updated with critical security fixes and improvements.

Key Changes:

• ✅ Django updated to 5.2.9 (fixes 10 CVEs)
• ✅ All dependencies updated with fixed versions
• ✅ SECRET_KEY moved to environment variables
• ✅ Enhanced security configurations
• ✅ Improved error handling and logging
• ✅ Docker configuration improved

📖 See MIGRATION_GUIDE.md for detailed migration instructions.

---

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)
• virtualenv (recommended)
• Docker & Docker Compose (optional, for containerized deployment)

---

Installation Guide

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/MiquelMontero02/TFG.git
cd TFG

2. Navigate to the project directory

cd Halo_Web

3. Create a virtual environment

Create a virtual environment to isolate dependencies. You can name it anything, but we'll use "halo_env" in this example.

python -m venv halo_env

For more information on virtual environments, check the Python venv documentation.

4. Activate the virtual environment

Windows:

halo_env\Scripts\activate

Linux / macOS:

source halo_env/bin/activate

5. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

6. Configure environment variables

Copy the example environment file and configure it:

copy .env.example .env  # Windows
# or
cp .env.example .env    # Linux/macOS

Edit the .env file with your configuration:

# Environment (DEV or PROD)
ENV=DEV

# Django Secret Key (IMPORTANT: Generate a new one!)
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here

# Database API URL
DB_PATH=https://your-backend-api-url.com/api/

# Email Configuration
EMAIL_HOST=smtp.outlook.com
EMAIL_PORT=587
EMAIL_HOST_USER=your-email@example.com
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD=your-email-password
EMAIL_USE_TLS=True
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL=no-reply@example.com

7. Generate a SECRET_KEY

Run the provided script to generate a secure SECRET_KEY:

python generate_secret_key.py

Copy the generated key to your .env file.

8. Run database migrations

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

9. Create a superuser (for admin access)

python manage.py createsuperuser

10. Collect static files

python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

11. Run the development server

python manage.py runserver

The application should now be running at http://127.0.0.1:8000/

---

Docker Deployment

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

1. Configure your .env file (as described above)

2. Build and run the containers:

docker-compose build
docker-compose up -d

3. Run migrations inside the container:

docker-compose exec web python manage.py migrate
docker-compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser

4. Access the application:

• Web: http://localhost:8000/
• Admin: http://localhost:8000/admin/

Stop the containers:

docker-compose down

---

Project Structure

Halo_Web/
├── Forms/                      # Main Django app
│   ├── middleware.py          # Authentication middleware
│   ├── models.py              # Database models
│   ├── utils.py               # Utility functions
│   ├── views/                 # View controllers
│   │   ├── views_auth.py     # Authentication views
│   │   ├── views_api.py      # API views
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── static/               # Static files (CSS, JS)
│   └── templates/            # HTML templates
├── Halo_Web/                 # Django project settings
│   ├── settings.py           # Configuration
│   ├── urls.py               # URL routing
│   └── wsgi.py               # WSGI config
├── logs/                     # Application logs
├── requirements.txt          # Python dependencies
├── .env.example              # Environment template
├── docker-compose.yaml       # Docker Compose config
├── Dockerfile               # Docker image definition
├── manage.py                # Django management script
└── MIGRATION_GUIDE.md       # Migration instructions

---

Features

• 🔐 User Authentication - Login, registration, and email verification
• 👤 User Profiles - Manage user information
• 📊 Data Management - Handle biological microorganism data
• 🔗 REST API - External API integration
• 📧 Email Notifications - Automated email system
• 🎨 Bootstrap UI - Modern, responsive interface
• 🐳 Docker Support - Easy deployment
• 🔒 Security - HTTPS, CSRF protection, secure sessions

---

API Endpoints

• /api/get/public/<query_params>/ - Public API access (no auth required)
• /api/get/<query_params>/ - Protected API access (auth required)
• /api/put/<src>/ - Update resources
• /api/put_file/<src>/ - Upload files
• /api/get_file/<src>/ - Download files

---

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
ENV	Environment (DEV/PROD)	DEV
SECRET_KEY	Django secret key	(required)
DB_PATH	Backend API URL	(required)
EMAIL_HOST	SMTP server	smtp.outlook.com
EMAIL_PORT	SMTP port	587
EMAIL_HOST_USER	Email username	(required)
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD	Email password	(required)
EMAIL_USE_TLS	Use TLS	True

---

Security

This application implements several security measures:

• ✅ HTTPS enforcement in production
• ✅ HSTS headers
• ✅ Secure cookies
• ✅ CSRF protection
• ✅ XSS protection
• ✅ Content-Type sniffing prevention
• ✅ Session security
• ✅ File upload limits

---

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. ModuleNotFoundError for django_redis

   pip install django-redis

2. SECRET_KEY not found

   • Make sure you have a .env file with SECRET_KEY configured

3. Database errors

   python manage.py migrate

4. Static files not loading

   python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

For more help, check the logs in logs/django.log

---

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

---

License

This project is part of a Final Degree Project (TFG).

---

Contact

For questions or support, please open an issue in the repository.

---

Last Updated: February 14, 2026
Django Version: 5.2.9
Python Version: 3.12+