c-ask

A Django form tool for c-base members and aliens (non-members) to formally request something from the circle (c-base's plenum group) in a structured, auditable way.

On submission, c-ask sends a formatted email to the appropriate address (circle@c-base.org, cultorga@c-base.org, or counselor@c-base.org) with a link to review the request on the c-ask dashboard. A backoffice lets staff examine requests, add comments, close/reopen items, generate plenum topic lists, and respond via templates.

Request types

Type	Who	Description
Event	Everyone	Request c-base infrastructure for an event (bar, projector, streaming, etc.)
Filming	Everyone	Use c-base as a filming location
Info Topic	Everyone	General announcement or member presentation
Dispute	Members	File a formal dispute between members
Funding	Members	Apply for project/EVA/event funding
Circle Membership	Members	Apply to join c-base's circle
CEY / Soundlab / C-Lab Membership	Members	Apply for group membership + key access

Tech stack

• Framework: Django 6.0 (ASGI)
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Auth: django-allauth (c-base OAuth provider, Apple, Discord, GitHub, Google, etc.) + MFA (TOTP, WebAuthn, recovery codes)
• Admin UI: django-unfold
• Forms/UI: Bootstrap 5, crispy-forms, HTMX, Chart.js
• Async: Django Channels (Redis channel layer)
• Email: django-mailer + template-based email composition
• Dev: Nix (devenv.sh), uv, pytest, pyright

Quick start

Prerequisites

• Nix with flakes
• devenv

Run locally

# Enter the dev environment (spawns PostgreSQL, Mailpit, dev server, Sass watcher)
devenv shell

# Run migrations and load fixtures
make setup

# Open the dev server at http://127.0.0.1:8000
# Mailpit catches all emails at http://127.0.0.1:8025

Tests

# Unit + integration tests
make test

# E2E tests (Playwright)
make e2e

Linting

make lint      # ruff check
make format    # ruff format
make typecheck # pyright strict mode
make watch-typecheck # file-watcher mode

Database

make migrate            # apply pending migrations
make makemigrations     # generate new migrations
make graphmodels        # draw model diagram to docs/models.png

Project structure

├── cask/                        # Django project config (settings, URLs, ASGI)
│   ├── settings.py              # all Django settings
│   ├── asgi.py                  # ASGI entry point (Channels)
│   └── urls.py                  # top-level URL routing
├── cask_requests/               # Django app (models, views, forms, emails)
│   ├── models.py                # request/appeal domain models
│   ├── views.py                 # list/create/detail/update views
│   ├── forms.py                 # form definitions with crispy
│   ├── emails.py                # email composition & templates
│   ├── email_templates/         # email body templates per request type
│   ├── markdown_templates/      # email header/footer markdown
│   ├── admin.py                 # unfold admin customizations
│   ├── filters.py               # django-filter filter sets
│   ├── signals.py               # post-save signal handlers
│   ├── widgets.py               # custom form widgets
│   ├── templatetags/            # template filters (cask_extras, json_serializer)
│   └── migrations/              # schema migrations (0001–0007)
├── templates/                   # project templates
│   ├── base.html                # base layout (navbar, bootstrap, htmx)
│   ├── index.html               # landing page (request type cards)
│   ├── office/                  # backoffice templates
│   ├── requests/                # request form/detail templates
│   └── account/                 # allauth template overrides
├── deploy/                      # production deployment (nginx, systemd, backup)
├── scripts/                     # utility scripts (runserver, sass, lint)
├── production_static/           # collected static files (auto-generated)
├── devenv.nix                   # dev environment definition
├── pyproject.toml               # dependencies & tool configs
├── .env.example                 # environment variable reference
└── docs/PLAN.md                 # domain logic & request type specs

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env and set the required values. The critical variables:

Variable	Required	Notes
SECRET_KEY	Yes	Never deploy without one
DB_PASSWORD	Yes	PostgreSQL password
DEBUG	No	False in production (required)
CASKDEV	No	Set to 1 for dev mode
ALLOWED_HOSTS_EXTRA	No	Comma-separated production domains
MAIL_HOST / MAIL_PORT	No	Mailpit default: localhost:1025

Production deployment

A one-shot bootstrap script is provided:

# Run on a fresh VM as root
sudo bash deploy/setup.sh [--domain circle.c-base.org]

This installs system packages, sets up PostgreSQL, configures nginx + systemd services, obtains an SSL cert via certbot, and starts the app. Post-deploy:

# Configure .env with real values
# Run daily backups (set up cron)
sudo bash deploy/backup.sh

Email routing

Request type	To	CC
Event	cultorga@c-base.org	—
Filming	cultorga@c-base.org	—
Dispute	circle@c-base.org	counselor@c-base.org
Funding	circle@c-base.org	—
Info Topic	circle@c-base.org	—
Circle Membership	circle@c-base.org	—

Contributing

1. devenv shell to enter the dev environment
2. Work on your feature
3. make lint && make typecheck && make test to verify
4. Commit with gitmoji prefix (e.g. feat:, fix:, chore:)
5. Open a PR

License: AGPL3

This project is licensed under the GNU Affero Public License 3.0 (AGPL-3.0) which you can find in fulltext in the provided LICENSE file.