KS Project Log 2/07/25

✅ QR Code S3 Integration

• Initially implemented to store QR codes in the local static/qrcodes folder
• Managed member card images with Flask + qrcode + static path
• Attempted Firebase Storage but ran into:
  • Complicated permission configuration in Python
  • Additional API key management burden with Firestore
  • Continuous permission errors during Flask integration tests → Decided to switch to AWS S3 instead

Preparation for AWS S3

• Created the bucket ks-qr-storage
  • Bucket owner enforced (ACLs disabled)
  • Block all public access → disabled
  • Bucket policy allows public-read for the qrcodes folder only
• Added environment variables in .env:

  AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=
  AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=
  AWS_BUCKET_NAME=ks-qr-storage
  AWS_REGION=us-east-1
  BASE_URL=https://korean-membership-app-747dba733427.herokuapp.com
  

• Installed boto3 and pillow packages

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Code Changes

• utils.py
  • Removed static file saving
  • Generate QR → in-memory → upload to S3
  • Removed public-read ACL, relied on bucket policy
  • Directly store public URL in the database
• member_model.py
  • When deleting a member, also delete the QR object from S3
  • Removed previous os.remove()
• member_card.html
  • Changed to <img src="">
  • Fixed issue with leading slash breaking absolute paths

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Challenges

• qrcode.make() returned PyPNGImage → .save(format=) failed
  • Solved after installing pillow
• ACL public-read → “ACL not supported” error
  • Bucket owner enforced mode prohibits ACL → fixed by removing ExtraArgs
• Used member_id instead of qr_token for member-card URL → 404 error
  • Fixed route to expect qr_token instead

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Final Result

• Successfully uploaded QR codes to S3
• Allowed public access via bucket policy
• Rendered directly on the member card page
• QR code scan → token-based member-card → member info displayed

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Improvement Ideas

• Use presigned URLs with expiry times
• Periodic QR token regeneration
• Display live QR preview in the admin page

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👍 As of 2025-07-02, Flask + S3-based digital membership card system fully implemented!