much improved launch process

app.py

@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ def create_app():
     app.config['CSS_VERSION'] = os.getenv('CSS_VERSION', '1.0.3')  # Add CSS version for cache busting
     app.config['SERVER_NAME'] = os.getenv('SERVER_NAME', '127.0.0.1:5000')
     app.config['PREFERRED_URL_SCHEME'] = os.getenv('PREFERRED_URL_SCHEME', 'http')
+    
+    # Configure request timeouts for long-running operations
+    app.config['REQUEST_TIMEOUT'] = int(os.getenv('REQUEST_TIMEOUT', '300'))  # 5 minutes default
+    app.config['STACK_DEPLOYMENT_TIMEOUT'] = int(os.getenv('STACK_DEPLOYMENT_TIMEOUT', '300'))  # 5 minutes for stack deployment
 
     # Initialize extensions
     db.init_app(app)