aspacelocs

A mobile-friendly Flask web application for managing storage locations and top containers in ArchivesSpace. Designed for use in a stacks setting, staff scan QR codes posted at each physical location to view and move containers between locations.

How it works

1. Staff scans a QR code at a physical location with a phone or tablet.
2. The app queries the ArchivesSpace API for all top containers across all repositories at that location.
3. Containers are displayed with details (name, repository, profile, associated collections).
4. To move a container, staff taps "Move" on a container card, then scans the QR code at the destination location and confirms the move.
5. A standalone script (genlabels.py) generates printable QR code PNG labels for all defined locations.

Project structure

application.py           Flask app and routes
aspace_api_asnake.py     ArchivesSpace API client (ArchivesSnake)
aspace_api.py            ArchivesSpace API client (raw requests, unused)
genlabels.py             Standalone QR code label generator
templates/
  index.html             Base template (Bootstrap 5)
  container-list.html    Container card grid
  move-container.html    "Scan destination" prompt
  execute-move.html      Move confirmation screen
qrcodes/                 Pre-generated QR code PNGs

Configuration

The app connects to ArchivesSpace via environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
ASPACE_BASEURL	https://sandbox.archivesspace.org/staff/api/	ArchivesSpace API URL
ASPACE_USER	admin	ArchivesSpace username
ASPACE_PASSWORD	admin	ArchivesSpace password

Running locally

uv run application.py

The app starts on http://localhost:5000 in debug mode.

Running with Docker

docker build -t aspacelocs .
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 aspacelocs

The production server (gunicorn) listens on port 8000.

Generating QR code labels

python genlabels.py

This fetches all location IDs from ArchivesSpace and saves QR code PNGs to qrcodes/. Each QR code encodes a URL like https://locs.ukrhec.org/locations/{id}.

Notes

• The ArchivesSpace Solr indexer may lag behind API changes, so moved containers may not appear at their new location immediately.
• The Flask secret key is regenerated on each restart, which invalidates all active sessions.