Python Quickstart

Learn how to query data from Convex in a Python app.

1. Create a Python script folder

   Create a folder for your Python script with a virtual environment.

   python3 -m venv my-app/venv

2. Install the Convex client and server libraries

   To get started, install the convex npm package which enables you to write your backend.

   And also install the convex Python client library and python-dotenv for working with .env files.

   cd my-app && npm init -y && npm install convex && venv/bin/pip install convex python-dotenv

3. Set up a Convex dev deployment

   Next, run npx convex dev. This will prompt you to log in with GitHub, create a project, and save your production and deployment URLs.

   It will also create a convex/ folder for you to write your backend API functions in. The dev command will then continue running to sync your functions with your dev deployment in the cloud.

   npx convex dev

4. Create sample data for your database

   In a new terminal window, create a sampleData.jsonl file with some sample data.

   sampleData.jsonl

   {"text": "Buy groceries", "isCompleted": true}
   {"text": "Go for a swim", "isCompleted": true}
   {"text": "Integrate Convex", "isCompleted": false}

5. Add the sample data to your database

   Now that your project is ready, add a tasks table with the sample data into your Convex database with the import command.

   npx convex import --table tasks sampleData.jsonl

6. Expose a database query

   Add a new file tasks.js in the convex/ folder with a query function that loads the data.

   Exporting a query function from this file declares an API function named after the file and the export name, "tasks:get".

   convex/tasks.js

   import { query } from "./_generated/server";
   
   export const get = query({
     handler: async ({ db }) => {
       return await db.query("tasks").collect();
     },
   });

7. Create a script to load data from Convex

   In a new file main.py, create a ConvexClient and use it to fetch from your "tasks:get" API.

   main.py

   import os
   
   from convex import ConvexClient
   from dotenv import load_dotenv
   
   load_dotenv(".env.local")
   CONVEX_URL = os.getenv("CONVEX_URL")
   # or you can hardcode your deployment URL instead
   # CONVEX_URL = "https://happy-otter-123.convex.cloud"
   
   client = ConvexClient(CONVEX_URL)
   
   print(client.query("tasks:get"))
   
   for tasks in client.subscribe("tasks:get"):
       print(tasks)
       # this loop lasts forever, ctrl-c to exit it

8. Run the script

   Run the script and see the serialized list of tasks.

   venv/bin/python -m main

See the docs on PyPI for more details.