iotivate.dev

Simplifying IoT, One Module at a Time.

A platform for web-based IoT tools, project showcases, and ESP32 development resources.

Project Structure

iotivate.dev/
├── frontend/          # Next.js (React, Tailwind CSS, App Router)
├── backend/           # FastAPI (Python, SQLModel)
└── README.md

Frontend

Stack: Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, App Router

Setup

cd frontend
cp .env.example .env.local
npm install
npm run dev

Runs at http://localhost:3000.

Pages

Route	Description
/	Homepage
/tools	Tools hub
/tools/esp32-web-flasher	ESP32 Web Flasher (placeholder)
/tools/wirelessear-installer	WirelessEar Installer (placeholder)
/projects	Project showcase
/blog	Blog (placeholder)
/about	About page
/contact	Contact form

Backend

Stack: FastAPI, SQLModel, SQLite (dev) / PostgreSQL (prod)

Setup

cd backend
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env

Run

uvicorn app.main:app --reload

Runs at http://localhost:8000. API docs at /docs.

Seed Data

python -m app.seed

API Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	/health	Health check
GET	/api/tools/	List all tools
GET	/api/tools/{slug}	Get tool by slug
GET	/api/projects/	List all projects
GET	/api/projects/{slug}	Get project by slug

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
DATABASE_URL	sqlite:///./iotivate.db	Database connection string
SECRET_KEY	change-me-in-production	JWT signing key
CORS_ORIGINS	http://localhost:3000	Comma-separated allowed origins

Deployment (Render)

The backend is one shared FastAPI app (site + radar) deployed as a single Render Web Service. Migrations run automatically on startup, so a normal redeploy picks up new tables (e.g. radar's) with no manual DB step.

⚠️ Single worker / single instance. Radar keeps WebSocket connections, device presence, and the rules engine in process memory. Running more than one worker or instance breaks cross-connection fan-out and rule-cache invalidation. Keep the service at one process until a pub/sub layer (Postgres LISTEN/NOTIFY or Redis) is added for horizontal scaling.

• Start command: uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port $PORT (no --workers flag → one process). Do not use gunicorn -w N / --workers N>1.
• Scaling: instance count = 1.
• WebSockets: supported by Render natively; /ws/radar/* needs no extra config.
• Health check: /health.

An optional render.yaml Blueprint codifies the above. It is inert for existing manually-created services — committing it does not change a running deploy; it only applies if you adopt it as a Blueprint in the dashboard.

Next Steps

• Wire contact form to backend endpoint
• Implement Web Serial flashing UI in ESP32 Web Flasher
• Add blog content system (MDX or CMS)
• Connect frontend to backend API for dynamic tools/projects
• Add JWT auth scaffolding (login/register endpoints)
• Docker Compose for local development
• CI/CD pipeline
• Production deployment config (Render — see Deployment section)