render-deploy.md

🚀 Deploy SafetyMaster Pro to Render (Free)

Why Render?

• Free tier: 512 MB RAM, automatic HTTPS, zero-downtime deploys
• Easy setup: Similar to Railway, just connect your GitHub repo
• No credit card required for free tier
• Perfect for Flask apps with AI models

📋 Prerequisites

• GitHub account with your SafetyMaster Pro code
• Clean repository (large files already removed via .gitignore)

🔧 Step 1: Prepare Your App

Your app is already configured for cloud deployment! The existing files work perfectly:

• ✅ Dockerfile - Ready for containerized deployment
• ✅ requirements.txt - Python dependencies
• ✅ web_interface.py - Uses PORT environment variable
• ✅ .dockerignore - Excludes unnecessary files

🌐 Step 2: Deploy to Render

Option A: Web Interface (Recommended)

1. Sign up: Go to render.com and create free account
2. Connect GitHub: Link your GitHub account
3. Create Web Service:
   • Click "New +" → "Web Service"
   • Select your SafetyMaster repository
   • Choose "Docker" as environment
   • Set service name: safetymaster-pro

Option B: Using render.yaml (Advanced)

Create render.yaml in your project root:

services:
  - type: web
    name: safetymaster-pro
    env: docker
    plan: free
    dockerfilePath: ./Dockerfile
    envVars:
      - key: PORT
        value: 10000
      - key: PYTHONUNBUFFERED
        value: 1

⚙️ Step 3: Configuration

Environment Variables (if needed)

• PORT: Automatically set by Render
• SECRET_KEY: Add your own secret key for Flask sessions

Build Settings

• Build Command: Automatically detected from Dockerfile
• Start Command: Automatically detected from Dockerfile

🎯 Step 4: Deploy

1. Push to GitHub: Make sure your latest code is pushed
2. Auto-deploy: Render will automatically build and deploy
3. Monitor: Watch the build logs in Render dashboard
4. Access: Your app will be available at https://safetymaster-pro.onrender.com

📊 Expected Performance

Free Tier Limits

• RAM: 512 MB (sufficient for your Flask app)
• CPU: 0.1 CPU units (shared)
• Storage: Ephemeral (files reset on restart)
• Bandwidth: 100 GB/month
• Build time: 15 minutes max

AI Model Considerations

• Models download automatically on first run
• May take 2-3 minutes for first startup (cold start)
• Subsequent requests are fast
• App sleeps after 15 minutes of inactivity (free tier)

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Build timeout: Models are too large

   • Solution: Models download at runtime (already configured)

2. Memory issues: App uses too much RAM

   • Solution: Optimize model loading in safety_detector.py

3. Slow startup: First request takes time

   • Solution: Normal behavior, subsequent requests are fast

Optimization Tips

# In safety_detector.py - already implemented
# Models download only when needed
# Efficient memory usage
# Automatic cleanup

🆓 Alternative Free Hosts

If Render doesn't work, try these:

1. Fly.io

• Free tier: 3 VMs, 3GB storage
• Setup: flyctl launch (requires credit card)
• Pros: Better performance, global edge

2. Koyeb

• Free tier: 1 web service
• Setup: Connect GitHub repo
• Pros: No credit card required

3. PythonAnywhere

• Free tier: 512MB storage
• Setup: Upload files manually
• Pros: Python-focused, very simple

🎉 Success!

Once deployed, your SafetyMaster Pro will be live at: https://your-app-name.onrender.com

Features available:

• ✅ Real-time safety monitoring
• ✅ PPE detection (Hard Hat, Safety Vest, Mask)
• ✅ Violation alerts
• ✅ Web dashboard
• ✅ Image capture

📞 Need Help?

• Render Docs: render.com/docs
• Community: community.render.com
• Support: Free tier includes community support

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Ready to deploy? Just push your code to GitHub and connect it to Render! 🚀