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function get_user_id

Maturity: 32

Retrieves the current user's email address from the Flask session object, returning 'unknown' if not found.

File:
/tf/active/vicechatdev/vice_ai/complex_app.py
Lines:
517 - 519
Complexity:
simple

Purpose

This function provides a simple way to identify the current authenticated user in a Flask web application by extracting their email address from the session. It's commonly used for logging, auditing, or user-specific operations. The function safely handles missing session data by returning a default 'unknown' value.

Source Code

def get_user_id():
    """Get current user ID"""
    return session.get('user', {}).get('email', 'unknown')

Return Value

Returns a string representing the user's email address if present in session['user']['email'], otherwise returns the string 'unknown'. The return type is always str.

Dependencies

  • flask

Required Imports

from flask import session

Usage Example

from flask import Flask, session

app = Flask(__name__)
app.secret_key = 'your-secret-key'

def get_user_id():
    return session.get('user', {}).get('email', 'unknown')

@app.route('/profile')
def profile():
    user_id = get_user_id()
    return f'Current user: {user_id}'

# Assuming session is populated elsewhere:
# session['user'] = {'email': 'user@example.com'}
# Then get_user_id() returns 'user@example.com'
# If session is empty, get_user_id() returns 'unknown'

Best Practices

  • Ensure Flask session is properly configured with a SECRET_KEY before using this function
  • This function assumes the session structure has 'user' dictionary with 'email' key - ensure consistency across the application
  • Consider using a more robust user identification method (like user ID) instead of email for internal operations
  • The function name 'get_user_id' is misleading as it returns email, not a numeric ID - consider renaming to 'get_user_email' for clarity
  • Always validate that the session is active and user is authenticated before relying on this function in security-critical operations
  • The 'unknown' default may not be suitable for all use cases - consider raising an exception or returning None for unauthenticated users in security contexts

Tags

authentication session user-identification flask web-application user-management email session-management

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