python flask not creating cookie when setting expiration

Question

I have this python-flask project and I require logic that will create a cookie if the cookie does not exist.

Once the cookie is created, I need to store the cookie, among other values, into a database for tracking purposes.

Here is a partial of my current code:

import uuid
from flask import render_template, request, make_response

def load_cookie_config(context):
    #context is a dictionary that is passed

    key = 'some_key'
    template_name = 'some_template'
    cookie = request.cookies.get(key, None)

    if not cookie:
        guid = str(uuid.uuid4())
        context['cookie_quid'] = guid

        rsp = make_response(render_template(template_name, **context))

        rsp.set_cookie(key, guid)

        #... some method call insert values into db

    else:
       result = '' #.. some method call to get values from db
       context['cookie_quid'] = cookie
       rsp = make_response(render_template(template_name, **context))

    return rsp

The code above works and it creates the cookie as expected, however it defaults the cookie to expire whenever the browser session ends.

I need to set the cookie to where it will expire after an X amount of days vs. browser session, but when I change this line:

rsp.set_cookie(key, guid)

to

rsp.set_cookie(key, guid, expires=90)

It does not create the cookie at all.

Does anybody have thoughts or ideas on to why this might be?

Answer 1

You need to set the max_age=90 * 60 * 60 * 24, or use a datetime for your expires:

Example:

import datetime
expire_date = datetime.datetime.now()
expire_date = expire_date + datetime.timedelta(days=90)
response.set_cookie(key, guid, expires=expire_date)