BUG: Fix Dockerfile: remove --user flag from pip install (incorrect in container context)

[DewaldOosthuizen]

Summary

web/Dockerfile runs pip install --user, which installs packages into /root/.local instead of the system site-packages. When Python is invoked as python app.py (the CMD), packages installed to --user may not be on sys.path depending on the base image configuration, leading to ModuleNotFoundError at container startup.

Background

The --user flag is intended for non-root installs on shared machines where the user cannot write to system site-packages. Inside a Docker container running as root (the default), it adds unnecessary complexity and can cause import failures. The correct pattern is a plain pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt.

Affected Areas

• web/Dockerfile line 8

Recommended Fix

# Before
RUN python3 -m pip install --user --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

# After
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

Acceptance Criteria

• --user flag removed from Dockerfile
• docker-compose build && docker-compose up succeeds
• curl http://localhost:5000/hello returns Hello World!

Complexity Estimate

XS — single-line Dockerfile change.

Priority

Medium — may silently work on some base images but is incorrect practice and a latent failure risk.

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Auto-identified by workspace issue-logger
Category: coding standards / style / linting
Complexity: XS
Repository: DewaldOosthuizen/python_rest_tutorial