Here’s the entire README.md file, properly formatted with markdown syntax for your project:

# **Employee Directory Project**

This is a Flask-based web application that allows users to manage an employee directory. It includes:
- A front-end built with HTML templates.
- A back-end connected to a MySQL database hosted on AWS RDS.
- Deployment on an AWS EC2 instance with Nginx as a reverse proxy.

---

## **Features**

- Add new employees (name, position, department).
- View a list of all employees.
- Data is stored securely in a MySQL database.

---

## **Project Setup**

### **Prerequisites**
- Python 3.8 or later
- MySQL database (AWS RDS or local MySQL)
- AWS EC2 instance (optional for deployment)

---

### **Steps to Run Locally**

1. **Clone the Repository**:
   ```bash
   git clone https://github.com/Harrygithubportfolio/Employee-Directory.git
   cd Employee-Directory

2. Set Up a Virtual Environment:

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set Up the Database:

   • Create a MySQL database named employee_directory.
   • Use the following SQL script to create the employees table:

     CREATE TABLE employees (
         id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
         name VARCHAR(100),
         position VARCHAR(100),
         department VARCHAR(100)
     );

5. Configure Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the project root with the following content:

   DB_HOST=your-database-host
   DB_USER=your-database-username
   DB_PASSWORD=your-database-password
   DB_NAME=employee_directory
   

6. Run the Application:

   python3 app.py

7. Access the App: Open your browser and visit:

   http://127.0.0.1:5000
   

---

Deployment on AWS

Steps to Deploy on AWS EC2

1. Launch an Ubuntu EC2 instance and connect to it using SSH.

2. Install Python and required packages:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install python3 python3-venv python3-pip nginx -y

3. Set up the project on the EC2 instance:

   git clone https://github.com/Harrygithubportfolio/Employee-Directory.git
   cd Employee-Directory
   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:

   • Add a configuration file for the app:

     server {
         listen 80;
         server_name your-public-ip;
     
         location / {
             proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5000;
             proxy_set_header Host $host;
             proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
         }
     }
     

   • Restart Nginx:

     sudo systemctl restart nginx

5. Access the app using your EC2 public IP:

   http://your-public-ip
   

---

Future Enhancements

• Add user authentication for secure access.
• Implement search and filtering functionality.
• Deploy with HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt.

---

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

---

Author

Harry
GitHub: Harrygithubportfolio