ASTU Digital Lost & Found System

A full-stack web application built for Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) to help students report, search, and claim lost and found items on campus. The system streamlines the process of reuniting students with their belongings through an intuitive interface and role-based workflow.

Live Demo

The application is live and accessible at:
👉 https://astu-lostfound.onrender.com

Features

Feature	Description
User Authentication	Secure registration and login system with password hashing
Report Lost Items	Submit detailed reports for lost belongings with images
Report Found Items	Log found items to help others locate their property
Image Upload	Upload and manage item images securely
Search & Filter	Find items by category, date, location, and status
Claim Requests	Submit claims with proof descriptions for found items
Admin Dashboard	Comprehensive statistics and management interface
Approval Workflow	Admin review system for claim requests
Role-Based Access	Different permissions for students and administrators

Security Implementations

• Password hashing using Werkzeug security
• CSRF protection with Flask-WTF
• Session-based authentication with Flask-Login
• Secure file upload validation (allowed extensions, size limit)
• Input sanitization and validation
• Role-based access control middleware

Technology Stack

Backend Framework

• Flask (Python web framework)
• Flask-SQLAlchemy (ORM)
• Flask-Login (Authentication)
• Flask-WTF (Form handling & CSRF)
• Werkzeug (Security utilities)

Database

• SQLite (for development)
• SQLAlchemy (database abstraction)

Frontend

• HTML5
• Bootstrap 5
• Jinja2 Templating
• CSS3

Deployment

• Gunicorn (WSGI server)
• Render (cloud platform)

Project Structure

astu_lost_found/
├── app/
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── user.py
│   │   ├── item.py
│   │   └── claim.py
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── auth.py
│   │   ├── main.py
│   │   ├── items.py
│   │   └── admin.py
│   ├── templates/
│   │   ├── base.html
│   │   ├── index.html
│   │   ├── about.html
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   │   ├── login.html
│   │   │   ├── register.html
│   │   │   └── profile.html
│   │   ├── items/
│   │   │   ├── report.html
│   │   │   ├── search.html
│   │   │   ├── detail.html
│   │   │   ├── claim.html
│   │   │   └── my_items.html
│   │   └── admin/
│   │       ├── dashboard.html
│   │       ├── claims.html
│   │       ├── items.html
│   │       └── users.html
│   └── static/
│       └── uploads/
├── config.py
├── requirements.txt
├── run.py
└── README.md

Installation

Follow these steps to set up the project locally:

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/greattitandev/astu_lost_found.git
cd astu_lost_found

2. Create virtual environment

python -m venv venv

3. Activate virtual environment

Windows:

venv\Scripts\activate

Mac/Linux:

source venv/bin/activate

4. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Run the application

python run.py

6. Access the application
   Open your browser and navigate to:
   http://localhost:5000

Deployment (Render)

The application is deployed on Render using Gunicorn as the WSGI server.

Render Configuration

• Build Command: pip install -r requirements.txt
• Start Command: gunicorn run:app
• Python Version: 3.9+

Environment Variables

• FLASK_ENV: production
• SECRET_KEY: [Your secure secret key]
• DATABASE_URL: SQLite database path (or upgrade to PostgreSQL later)

Demo Credentials

Role	Email	Password
Admin	admin@astu.edu	admin123
Student	Register new account	User-defined

Note: Change the default admin password in production!

License

This project is developed for educational purposes at Adama Science and Technology University.
It is licensed under the MIT License.

See the LICENSE file for details.

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Developed by ASTU Student • 2026