## Protect your backend APIs with Flask (Python) SDK

Check out the repo on GitHub

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Prerequisites
Python ≥ 3.8

### Install the SDK

Before installation make sure that your app using the minimum Python version


```
pip install frontegg
```

### Initialize Frontegg

Regions
The SDK defaults to Frontegg's EU region, in case you're running on one of the other regions, make sure to change the `FRONTEGG_API_GATEWAY_URL` to use your region's URL, instead of `api.frontegg.com`.

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Import and initialize Frontegg along with your Flask application


```python
from frontegg.flask import frontegg
from flask import Flask
    
fe_client_id = 'REPLACE_WITH_FRONTEGG_CLIENT_ID'
fe_api_key = 'REPLACE_WITH_FRONTEGG_API_KEY'

frontegg.init_app(fe_client_id, fe_api_key)

app = Flask('my_first_frontegg_app')

app.run()
```

### Protect backend routes

When using Frontegg's secure access, you can protect your baceknd routes using the authentication middleware


```python
from flask import g
from frontegg.flask.secure_access import with_authentication

@app.get("/protected")
@with_authentication(role_keys=['my-role'], permission_keys=['my-permission'])
def protected(request):  
    return g.user
```

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The `with_authentication`    decorator gets the optional arguments `role_keys` and `permission_keys` to specify which roles and permissions are required in order to access the route.

When using the `with_authentication` decorator, the user data will be set on the request context, as you can see in the example above.

### Use access tokens

When using M2M authentication, access tokens will be cached by the SDK. By default access tokens will be cached locally, however you can use one other kind of cache:

- redis


#### Use Redis as your cache

When initializing your context, pass an access tokens options object with your redis parameters


```python
access_tokens_options = {
  cache: {
    type: 'redis',
    options: {
      host: 'localhost',
      port: 6379,
      password: '',
      db: 10,
    },
  },
};

frontegg.init_app(fe_client_id, fe_api_key, options)
```

### Cross-Origin resource sharing (CORS)

In order to use Frontegg, it is required that your app will be able to handle CORS. It's easy to set up:

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```python
from flask_cors import CORS

CORS(app, supports_credentials=True)
```

### Working with the REST API

Frontegg offers a comprehensive REST API for your application. To use the API from your backend, you'll need to initialize the HTTP client with your credentials.

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```python
// define your base url
base_url = "https://api.frontegg.com/audits"
http_client = HttpClient(client_id=<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>, api_key=<YOUR_API_KEY>, base_url=base_url)
```

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The http client can now be used to make API requests to Frontegg's REST API (base on the provided base url).

#### Using the audits client

Frontegg’s Managed audit logs feature allows collecting custom audit logs that are specific for your application and displaying these in Frontegg's [self-service component](/ciam/guides/admin-portal/workspace-modules#audit-logs).

#### Creating a new client


```python
from frontegg.common.clients import AuditsClient, HttpClient, Severity

http_client = HttpClient(client_id=<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>, api_key=<YOUR_API_KEY>, base_url=frontegg_urls.audits_service['base_url'])
audits_client = AuditsClient(http_client)
```

#### Sending audits using the client


```python
audits_client.send_aud
```

### Debugging

Frontegg uses python 3 built-in [logging libary](https://docs.python.org/3/library/logging.html) to log useful debugging information.
To utilize this functionality, add the variable `FRONTEGG_DEBUG`:


```python
FRONTEGG_DEBUG=True
```

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Or configure it in the application:


```python
from frontegg import frontegg_logger  
import logging  
  
frontegg_logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
```