Plaid Web Application - Python Version

Overview

This is the Python version of the Plaid Web App. It integrates with Plaid to securely link financial accounts and retrieve transaction data. The project includes a web-based front-end and a Python-based back-end.

Features

• User Authentication: Users can log in and out.
• Plaid Integration: Allows users to securely link their financial accounts using Plaid.
• Transaction Retrieval: Fetches and displays user transactions.

Project Structure

.
├── app.py             		# Python server handling API endpoints
├── templates/index.html  # Frontend HTML file
├── static/client.js      # Folder for static files like CSS and JS
└── requirements.txt     	# Python dependencies

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Pip (Python package manager)

Steps

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd <repository-folder>

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Start the server:

   python app.py

4. Open the index.html file in a web browser or host it using a web server.

Usage

Frontend

1. Open the index.html file in your browser.
2. Log in using the authentication form.
3. Click "Create Link Token" to link your financial account.
4. View transaction data under the Transactions section.

Backend

The Python server provides the following endpoints:

• /login: Handles user login.
• /logout: Logs out the user.
• /create_link_token: Creates a Plaid link token.
• /exchange_public_token: Exchanges a public token for access tokens.
• /transactions: Fetches transaction data.

Key Files

• index.html: Contains the structure and layout of the web app.
• client.js: Implements the JavaScript logic for user interaction and API calls.
• app.py: Python server responsible for handling API requests and interacting with Plaid.

Dependencies

Install the Python dependencies listed in requirements.txt.

Environment Variables

Create a .env file to store sensitive information such as:

PLAID_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
PLAID_SECRET=your_secret
PLAID_ENV=sandbox

Plaid Setup

1. Sign up for a Plaid account.
2. Retrieve your API keys from the Plaid dashboard.
3. Set the keys in your .env file.

Running the Project

1. Start the backend server:

   python app.py

2. Open the index.html in your browser or deploy it to a web server.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bugfix.
3. Submit a pull request with a detailed description of your changes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.