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shopdb-flask/plugins/employees/README.md
cproudlock f04deba011 docs: employee README - in-app self-hosted management now built
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-10 08:56:50 -04:00

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# Employees plugin - directory database contract
Read-only lookups against a **separate** employee/HR directory database. Powers:
- Employee search (add people to a notification, browse the directory)
- Single + batch SSO lookup
- Recognition notifications (name + photo on the shopfloor / lobby displays)
The plugin never writes to this database. Use a read-only account.
> **This is the integration most likely to differ per site.** HR / directory
> systems vary widely, so expect to map a site's schema to the contract below -
> the `CREATE VIEW` recipe at the end is the normal way to do it.
## Connection
Credentials resolve **settings-first, then environment**, except the password
which is env-only (never stored in the app database).
| Field | Setting key (editable in the setup wizard) | Env var (fallback) |
| -------- | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------- |
| Host | `employee_db_host` | `EMPLOYEE_DB_HOST` |
| Database | `employee_db_name` | `EMPLOYEE_DB_NAME` |
| User | `employee_db_user` | `EMPLOYEE_DB_USER` |
| Password | (not stored) | `EMPLOYEE_DB_PASSWORD` |
Set the password in `.env`; the setup wizard's Features step shows the exact
line to paste. Engine is MySQL/MariaDB (pymysql).
## Required schema
The plugin runs these queries verbatim, so a site's database must expose a
table (or **view** - see below) named `employees` with these columns:
| Column | Type | Notes |
| ------------ | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| `SSO` | INT | Unique person id. Lookups require it to be numeric |
| `First_Name` | VARCHAR | Displayed as the given name |
| `Last_Name` | VARCHAR | Displayed as the surname; sort key |
| `Team` | VARCHAR | Team / group label |
| `Role` | VARCHAR | Job title / role |
| `Picture` | VARCHAR | **Image filename** (see Photos) |
Queries actually executed:
```sql
-- search
SELECT SSO, First_Name, Last_Name, Team, Role, Picture
FROM employees
WHERE First_Name LIKE %s OR Last_Name LIKE %s OR CAST(SSO AS CHAR) LIKE %s
ORDER BY Last_Name, First_Name LIMIT %s;
-- single / batch
SELECT SSO, First_Name, Last_Name, Team, Role, Picture FROM employees WHERE SSO = %s;
SELECT SSO, First_Name, Last_Name, Team, Role, Picture FROM employees WHERE SSO IN (...);
```
Rows are returned to the API **with these exact column names**. The frontend
(EmployeeSearch, NotificationForm, EmployeeDetail, ShopfloorDashboard) reads
`SSO`, `First_Name`, `Last_Name`, `Team`, `Role`, `Picture` as-is - do not
rename them in the response.
## Photos
`Picture` holds an **image filename** (e.g. `123456.jpg`), not a path or blob.
The app renders it as `/static/employees/<Picture>`, so the image files must
live in the app's `static/employees/` directory. Leave `Picture` empty/NULL for
people with no photo; the UI falls back to initials.
## Two ways to provide the directory
**Option A - map an existing HR/directory database** (see the view recipe
below). Use this when the site already has a system of record for people.
**Option B - self-hosted directory (managed in-app)** for sites with no HR
database. Set `employee_directory_mode` to `selfhosted` and manage people under
**Settings > Employee Directory** (add / edit / delete + CSV import) - no SQL
needed. The app owns a `directoryemployees` table (migration 7d16); the lookup
APIs read it automatically in this mode.
If you would rather load it with SQL, the canonical table is equivalent to:
```sql
CREATE DATABASE shopdb_directory CHARACTER SET utf8mb4;
USE shopdb_directory;
CREATE TABLE employees (
SSO INT NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
First_Name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
Last_Name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
Team VARCHAR(100) NULL,
Role VARCHAR(100) NULL,
Picture VARCHAR(255) NULL
);
-- add people (or bulk-load from CSV with LOAD DATA INFILE)
INSERT INTO employees (SSO, First_Name, Last_Name, Team, Role, Picture)
VALUES (123456, 'Jane', 'Doe', 'Inspection', 'Quality Tech', '123456.jpg');
```
Put photo files (named as in `Picture`) under the app's `static/employees/`.
In self-hosted mode the `directoryemployees` table lives in the main app DB, so
no separate database is required.
## Adapting a different site schema (recommended: a view)
Sites whose HR/directory database uses different table or column names should
**not** be forced to rename anything. Instead, create a read-only **view**
named `employees` that maps local columns to the names above:
```sql
CREATE VIEW employees AS
SELECT
person_id AS SSO,
given_name AS First_Name,
surname AS Last_Name,
department AS Team,
job_title AS Role,
photo_filename AS Picture
FROM hr_people
WHERE active = 1;
```
Grant the app's read-only user `SELECT` on the view. No app code changes -
point `employee_db_*` at that database and the plugin works.
Notes:
- `SSO` must be numeric (single/batch lookup validate `isdigit()`).
- Column-name case follows your database's identifier casing; match the names
above exactly on case-sensitive platforms.
- If the directory is unreachable or the `employees` object is missing, lookups
return a 500 and the rest of the app keeps working (the feature degrades, it
does not crash the app).