Deploying Python Web Apps

It runs on your machine, but how do you share it with the world?

When deploying a Python app that uses Google Sheets, you need to be careful with your secrets. You can't just upload your credentials.json to GitHub!

Instead, efficient deployments use Environment Variables.

1. Convert your JSON key to a string.
2. Save it as a secret variable (like G_SHEETS_CREDENTIALS) on your hosting platform (Render, Heroku, Vercel, etc.).
3. Update your code to read from the environment variable instead of a file.

import os
import json

json_creds = os.getenv("G_SHEETS_CREDENTIALS")
creds_dict = json.loads(json_creds)
gc = gspread.service_account_from_dict(creds_dict)

Now your app is secure and ready for the public!

I cover secure deployment strategies in depth in my Full Stack Google Sheets course.