Deploy and Host AI Marking App on Railway

AI Marking App is an AI-powered tool that helps teachers mark student scripts
using vision AI. Upload scanned handwritten papers with an answer key or rubrics, and get detailed per-question feedback, marks, and downloadable PDF
reports. Supports multiple AI providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Qwen) and both single and bulk class marking.

About Hosting AI Marking App

Hosting AI Marking App on Railway gives you a ready-to-use marking tool
accessible from any browser. The app runs as a single Python Flask service with no database required — all processing happens in-memory. You'll need at least
one AI provider API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Qwen) to power the marking. Set PROVIDE_KEYS=TRUE to use server-side keys for a demo, or FALSE to let users bring their own keys. An access code gate protects the app from unauthorized use.

Common Use Cases

Formal assessment marking — Upload question papers, answer keys, and
scanned student scripts to generate consistent, detailed feedback across an entire level
Essay evaluation with rubrics — Upload band descriptor rubrics for essay-type assignments; AI places students in correct bands and identifies
line-by-line errors
Bulk class marking — Scan all student scripts into one PDF, upload a class list CSV, and download individual PDF reports for every student in a ZIP file

Dependencies for AI Marking App Hosting

Python 3.10+ (auto-detected by Railway's Nixpacks builder)
At least one AI provider API key: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, or QWEN_API_KEY

Deployment Dependencies

Anthropic API — Claude models for marking
OpenAI API — GPT models for marking
[Qwen API](https://help.aliyun.com/zh/model-studio/developer-reference/use-qwe n-by-calling-api) — Qwen models via DashScope

Implementation Details

Set these environment variables in your Railway service:

Variable	Required	Description
`ACCESS_CODE`	Yes	Gate code users enter to access the app
`PROVIDE_KEYS`	No	`TRUE` (default) uses server keys; `FALSE` requires
users to input their own
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	No*	Enables Anthropic Claude provider
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	No*	Enables OpenAI GPT provider
`QWEN_API_KEY`	No*	Enables Qwen provider
`FLASK_SECRET_KEY`	No	Session encryption key (auto-generated if not set)

*At least one API key is required when PROVIDE_KEYS=TRUE.

Why Deploy AI Marking App on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying AI Marking App on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.