Experimental Economics: Data Workflow

oTree: Online Deployment

Author

Matteo Ploner

Published

May 9, 2023

1 oTree: Online Deployment

1.1 From local to online

  • When you test your software you deploy it locally with command
otree devserver
  • To deploy it online we need to take the app to an oline server
  • We can use the oTree hub or a cloud service
    • A possible cloud solution is render.com
      • Free with limitations
      • Works with Github
    • In the past we used Heroku but it is not free anymore

2 Github

2.1 Step 1: create a Github account

  • Go to github.com and create an account
  • Create a new repository

  • Name it something like otree-experiments
    • Name is free

3 Render.com

3.1 Step 2: create a render.com account

  • I signed in with my existing Github account

  • Choose a free plan
    • Individual is free but limited

3.2 Step 3a: create a render.com web service

  • Create a new web service

  • Set properties like in the figure

3.3 Step 3b: create a render.com web service

  • Setup environment variables

  • Set properties like in the figure
    • OTREE_ADMIN_PASSWORD: [here your password]
    • OTREE_AUTH_LEVEL: STUDY
    • OTREE_PRODUCTION: 1
    • PYTHON_VERSION: 3.9.13

4 Github → Render.com

4.1 Step 4: upload your files to Github

  • Upload your oTree repository to Github
    • App + settings.py +requirements.txt

r

  • Commit your changes
    • The process is smoother if you clone the repository on your computer
      • Better to use Gitub Desktop to manage the commits

4.2 Step 5: test your app

  • If you go to the webpage

  • You should see the app running

  • Enter your admin password