Smart Attendance Management System with real-time sync and QR rotation

A comprehensive web-based attendance management system built with Python Flask, featuring real-time QR code scanning, dynamic QR rotation, cloud synchronization, and real-time updates via WebSocket.

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• pip (Python package manager)

Installation

1. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd python_attendance_system

2. Create and activate virtual environment:

   python -m venv venv
   
   # Windows
   venv\Scripts\activate
   
   # macOS/Linux
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the application:

   python run.py

5. Open in browser:

   • Main page: http://localhost:5000
   • Student login: http://localhost:5000/auth/student/login
   • Professor login: http://localhost:5000/auth/professor/login

Test Credentials

Role	Email	Password
Professor	professor@acem.ac.in	password123
Student	student@acem.ac.in	password123

✨ Features

For Professors

• ✅ Create and manage classes
• ✅ Start/stop attendance sessions
• ✅ Generate dynamic QR codes (rotate every 30 seconds)
• ✅ View real-time attendance
• ✅ Enroll students in classes
• ✅ Update attendance status
• ✅ View analytics and reports
• ✅ Complete sessions (auto-mark absent)
• ✅ Cancel sessions

For Students

• ✅ View enrolled classes
• ✅ Scan QR codes to mark attendance
• ✅ View attendance history
• ✅ Receive notifications
• ✅ Track attendance rate per class
• ✅ Update profile

Security Features

• 🔐 HMAC-SHA256 signed QR codes
• 🔐 30-second QR expiration
• 🔐 Nonce to prevent replay attacks
• 🔐 Device fingerprinting
• 🔐 IP address logging
• 🔐 Email domain restriction (@acem.ac.in)

📁 Project Structure

python_attendance_system/
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py           # Flask app factory
│   ├── models.py             # SQLAlchemy database models
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── auth.py           # Authentication routes
│   │   ├── main.py           # Home and common pages
│   │   ├── student.py        # Student dashboard and features
│   │   ├── professor.py      # Professor dashboard and features
│   │   └── api.py            # API endpoints
│   ├── templates/            # Jinja2 HTML templates
│   │   ├── base.html
│   │   ├── auth/
│   │   ├── main/
│   │   ├── student/
│   │   └── professor/
│   └── utils/
│       ├── qr_generator.py   # QR code generation & validation
│       ├── session_generator.py
│       └── seed_data.py      # Initial database data
├── config.py                 # Configuration settings
├── run.py                    # Application entry point
├── requirements.txt          # Python dependencies
└── FEATURES_DOCUMENTATION.md # Complete feature documentation

🔧 Configuration

Edit config.py to modify:

# QR Code settings
QR_EXPIRY_SECONDS = 30  # QR codes expire in 30 seconds
QR_ROTATION_INTERVAL = 30

# Email domain restriction
ALLOWED_EMAIL_DOMAIN = '@acem.ac.in'

# Attendance settings
LATE_THRESHOLD_MINUTES = 5  # Students marked late after 5 minutes

🎯 How It Works

QR Code Attendance Flow:

1. Professor starts session → Dynamic QR code generated
2. QR code displayed → Rotates every 30 seconds
3. Student scans QR → Using phone camera or web scanner
4. System validates → Checks signature, expiration, enrollment
5. Attendance recorded → Present or Late (based on time)
6. Professor ends session → Absent students auto-marked

QR Code Security:

{
  "sessionId": "uuid-string",
  "timestamp": 1736697600000,
  "nonce": "random-16-byte-hex",
  "signature": "hmac-sha256-hex",
  "expiresAt": "2026-01-12T12:00:30Z"
}

📱 Supported Browsers

• Chrome (recommended)
• Firefox
• Safari
• Edge

Camera access required for QR scanning.

🤝 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /auth/login - General login
• POST /auth/student/register - Student registration
• POST /auth/professor/register - Professor registration
• GET /auth/logout - Logout

Student

• GET /student/dashboard - Dashboard
• GET /student/classes - Class list
• GET /student/scan - QR scanner
• POST /student/scan/process - Process scan
• GET /student/attendance - Attendance history

Professor

• GET /professor/dashboard - Dashboard
• GET /professor/classes - Class list
• POST /professor/classes/create - Create class
• GET /professor/sessions - All sessions
• POST /professor/sessions/<id>/activate - Start session
• POST /professor/sessions/<id>/complete - End session

API

• GET /api/health - System health check
• GET /api/sessions/<id>/qr - Get QR code
• GET /api/sessions/<id>/attendance - Get attendance

📄 Documentation

For complete feature documentation, see FEATURES_DOCUMENTATION.md

🛠️ Development

Database

SQLite database stored in instance/attendance.db

Real-time Updates

Flask-SocketIO for WebSocket connections

Templates

Jinja2 templates with Tailwind CSS styling

📝 License

This project is for educational purposes.

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Smart Attendance Management System - Making attendance tracking modern, secure, and efficient.