MockStocks

A stock trading simulation web application that allows users to buy, sell, and track stocks in their portfolio. The platform fetches real-time stock prices, updates user balances, and maintains a transaction history.

Additionally, it features a peer-to-peer (P2P) market, where registered users can trade stocks with each other. You can create multiple profiles to test P2P trade proposals.

Installation Guide

Follow these steps to set up and run MockStocks on your local machine:

1.) Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.10+ (https://www.python.org/downloads/)
• pip (comes with Python)
• Git (https://git-scm.com/downloads)
• Virtual Environment (venv) (optional but recommended)

2.) Clone the Repository

Open a terminal and run:

git clone https://github.com/jlzlt/MockStocks.git
cd MockStocks

3.) Create a Virtual Environment (Optional, Recommended)

To keep dependencies isolated, create and activate a virtual environment:

Windows:
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

Mac/Linux:
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

4.) Install Dependencies

Run the following command to install required packages:
pip install -r requirements.txt

5.) Run the Application

Start the application by running:
python app.py

Or if port 5000 is taken use another port (for example 5001):
PORT=5001 python app.py

Project is also live on this address (however, it can take up to 1 minute to load at first because website needs to cold start):
https://mockstocks-qayz.onrender.com/

Features

Security & Authentication

• Secure user registration, login, and logout system
• Password hashing for secure storage
• Session management:
  • Timeout after 15 minutes of inactivity
  • Uses server-side storage (filesystem) instead of signed cookies
  • Prevents JavaScript from accessing the session cookie
  • CSRF protection (Cross-Site Request Forgery prevention)

Stock Trading System

• Real-time stock prices fetched from Yahoo Finance API
• Buy/sell stocks at current market prices
• Transaction history tracking all trades
• Portfolio management displaying owned stocks and balance

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Market

• Registered users can trade stocks with each other
• Funds and stocks are frozen while a trade proposal is active
• Users can edit or remove trade proposals

Security Enhancements

• Rate limiting to prevent malicious requests
• Race condition handling with atomic database transactions

Visualization & Analytics

• Stock data visualization using Plotly and yfinance

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python, Flask, SQLite3
• Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• APIs: Yahoo Finance API
• Libraries: Plotly, yfinance