Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform™

The SEED Platform is a web-based application that helps organizations easily manage data on the energy performance of large groups of buildings. Users can combine data from multiple sources, clean and validate it, and share the information with others. The software application provides an easy, flexible, and cost-effective method to improve the quality and availability of data to help demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency, to implement programs, and to target investment activity.

The SEED application is written in Python/Django. The front end includes the legacy AngularJS application and a newer Angular application in the ng_seed/seed-angular submodule. The back-end database is PostgreSQL with PostGIS; Docker development currently uses the repository's configured TimescaleDB/Postgres image.

The SEED web application provides both a browser-based interface for users to upload and manage their building data, as well as a full set of APIs that app developers can use to access these same data management functions. From a running server, the Swagger API documentation can be found at /api/swagger or from the front end by clicking the API documentation link in the sidebar.

Installation

• Production on Amazon Web Service: See Installation Notes
• Development on macOS or Windows: Installation Notes
• Development using Docker: Installation Notes

For local development, initialize the Angular UI submodule before installing dependencies or building Docker images:

git submodule update --init ng_seed/seed-angular

Starting SEED Platform

In production the following two commands will run the web server (Hypercorn) and the background task manager (Celery) with:

bin/start_hypercorn.sh
bin/start_celery.sh

For basic local development only, run Celery tasks eagerly in the Django process by setting CELERY_TASK_ALWAYS_EAGER = True and CELERY_TASK_EAGER_PROPAGATES = True in config/settings/local_untracked.py. Then start Django with:

uv run manage.py runserver

Run Django management commands through uv as uv run manage.py <command>.

Testing workflows that need real asynchronous behavior and production deployments should run Celery as a separate worker/task. For that mode, set CELERY_TASK_ALWAYS_EAGER = False and run the worker separately:

uv run celery -A seed worker -l INFO -c 4 --max-tasks-per-child 1000 -EBS django_celery_beat.schedulers:DatabaseScheduler

The legacy AngularJS app is served at /app/. The newer Angular app is served at /ng-app/ after its static assets have been built.

Deployment appearance

Both UIs read deployment settings from Django. With no overrides, their current appearance, navigation, and integrations remain unchanged. To customize a deployment (custom logo, remove specific functionality, etc.), set environment variables on the web container (and the Celery worker for integration policy). The SEED_HOME_CONTENT_MODE can be set to custom to replace the content on the home page or dashboard page (accessible after login). If this variable is set to custom, the SEED_HOME_HERO_IMAGE_URL can be used to replace to large image at the top of the page, and SEED_HOME_HEADING and SEED_HOME_TEXT can be used to add a custom heading and some custom text. Similarly, SEED_BRAND_LOGO_URL can be used to replace the SEED logo on the login page and in the top left of the site with a custom logo. And SEED_HIDDEN_NAVIGATION can be assigned a list of links to hide from the UI. See below for the full list of environment variables that can be used to customize your SEED instance.

Variable	Default	Effect
SEED_BRAND_LOGO_URL	unset	Public /branding/... SVG, PNG, or WebP path; replaces the Angular sign-in, splash, and left-nav logos, and appears beside the legacy header text and above its configured sign-in form. Suggested logo image ratio 2:1 to 3:1.
SEED_HOME_HERO_IMAGE_URL	unset	Public /branding/... image path for the home-page hero; can also replace the stock legacy login background when branding is configured. Suggested size 2000 × 800 px.
SEED_LOGIN_HEADING, SEED_LOGIN_TEXT	unset	Sign-in heading and supporting copy. The legacy sign-in displays these above the form instead of its split marketing panel.
SEED_HOME_HEADING, SEED_HOME_TEXT	unset	Home heading and copy. Text is displayed as plain text, not HTML.
SEED_HOME_CONTENT_MODE	default	Set custom to replace legacy Getting Started buttons and show custom content on the new home page.
SEED_HIDDEN_NAVIGATION	empty	Comma-separated navigation IDs: documentation,api,contact,about.
SEED_SALESFORCE_ENABLED, SEED_BETTER_ENABLED	true	Set either to false to hide its UI and block its backend actions. Audit Template remains separate.
SEED_BRANDING_DIR	./branding	Compose host directory mounted read-only at /seed/branding for nginx. Set an absolute host path in production.

SEED_BRAND_LOGO_URL=/branding/client-logo.svg
SEED_HOME_HERO_IMAGE_URL=/branding/client-home.webp
SEED_LOGIN_HEADING=Welcome to the client portal
SEED_LOGIN_TEXT=Sign in with your account.
SEED_HOME_HEADING=Client buildings
SEED_HOME_TEXT=Your deployment-specific home page copy.
SEED_HOME_CONTENT_MODE=custom
SEED_HIDDEN_NAVIGATION=documentation,api,contact,about
SEED_SALESFORCE_ENABLED=false
SEED_BETTER_ENABLED=false

Only root-relative /branding/ image paths are allowed. Copy the corresponding image files into a deployment-owned directory, not this repository: Compose mounts ${SEED_BRANDING_DIR:-./branding} read-only at /seed/branding in the web container. Set SEED_BRANDING_DIR to an absolute host path in production. Non-Compose deployments must mount that directory at /seed/branding for nginx; Django's debug server uses the repository's ignored branding/ directory. The logo is public so it works before sign-in. Use a suitably sized SVG or WebP and confirm both image URLs load before enabling them. For a local preview, place us-army.svg in that ignored directory, start Django with SEED_BRAND_LOGO_URL=/branding/us-army.svg, and restart the Angular dev server so its /branding/ proxy is loaded. No frontend rebuild is needed when the image or Django settings change. Leave image variables unset when no corresponding file is present.

custom replaces the legacy Getting Started buttons with SEED_HOME_TEXT and shows custom copy on the new home page; leaving it unset retains each UI's existing home. The custom hero appears above the heading and text at the content width, with its full aspect ratio preserved instead of being cropped to a fixed height. Hidden navigation only removes menu entries; direct URLs and other outbound links remain accessible. Audit Template is independent of the Salesforce and BETTER flags.

Developer Resources

• Source code documentation is on the SEED website and there are links to [older versions][code-documentations-links] as needed.
• Several notes regarding Django and AngularJS integration: See Developer Resources

Testing

• Running tests: See Testing Notes

Copyright

See the information in the LICENSE.md file.