Hi oTree Developers and Community,

I'm a beginner oTree user and have encountered a persistent and very unusual set of issues trying to set up a new oTree project on my Mac, and I'm hoping for some guidance.

My Environment:

OS: macOS m3mac sonoma 14.4
Python: 3.12.3 (installed from python.org, using venv for projects)
oTree Versions Tried: Primarily 5.11.2, also attempted 5.10.4. (Installed via pip install otree or pip install otree==<version> into a fresh venv).
Problem 1: otree startapp <appname> Creates Incorrect App Structure

No matter what I try (new project folders in different locations, new virtual environments, pip install --force-reinstall --no-cache-dir otree, different oTree 5.x versions, different app names), otree startapp <appname> consistently creates an app folder with the following incorrect structure directly inside the app folder:

MyPage.html
Results.html
__init__.py
__pycache__/
It's missing the standard tests.py file and, crucially, the templates/<appname>/ subdirectory (where MyPage.html and Results.html should be). I understand that for oTree 5+, models.py and pages.py are consolidated into __init__.py (the "noself" format), but the overall structure created by startapp still seems incorrect.

Diagnostic Finding:
When I inspect the oTree installation's own blueprint folder at venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/otree/app_template/, its contents are listed as:
__init__.py, __pycache__, _builtin, models.py, pages.py, templates, tests.py
It appears that models.py, pages.py etc., are directly in app_template, rather than within a nested subdirectory that startapp would normally copy and rename. This seems to be the root cause of startapp producing a malformed app. This flat structure in site-packages/otree/app_template/ appears consistently even after fresh, forced reinstalls of oTree.

Problem 2: Docker Image Pull Failure (Separate Troubleshooting Attempt)

In an attempt to bypass local installation issues, I tried using Docker:

docker pull hello-world works perfectly.
I have successfully run docker login.
However, docker pull otree/otree (and otree/otree-lite, and specific tags like otree/otree:5.11.2) consistently fails with: Error response from daemon: pull access denied for otree/otree, repository does not exist or may require 'docker login'
I also have difficulty accessing the https://hub.docker.com/r/otree/otree/tags page directly in my browser (it often fails to load or shows errors). This suggests a specific issue accessing this oTree Docker Hub repository from my machine/network.
Summary of Troubleshooting Done:

Multiple completely new project directories and virtual environments (venv).
pip install --upgrade pip within venvs.
pip install otree (latest 5.x).
pip install --force-reinstall --no-cache-dir otree.
pip install otree==5.11.2 and pip install otree==5.10.4.
Verified which otree points to the venv's executable.
Verified oTree version with otree --version.
Ensured commands are run in the correct directories.
Checked settings.py for completeness (including CSRF middleware/processors after initial KeyError: 'csrftoken' on a manually created page).
I'm at a loss as to why the oTree installation results in a malformed app_template structure and why I'm having such specific trouble with the official Docker images. Any insights or suggestions on how to get a correctly functioning oTree setup would be immensely appreciated. I had a project working previously, but encountered a CSRF token issue, and since attempting to resolve that and starting fresh, I've been stuck with these fundamental setup problems.

Thank you for your time and help

Have you tried running `otree devserver` after generating your app?

Or have you tried running `otree startproject example_games`, replied `y` to the question `Include sample games? (y or n)`, and then run `otree devserver`?

oTree should run perfectly fine. You will see that, e.g., example_games/survey also only contains

__init__.py
CognitiveReflectionTest.html
Demographics.html

That is, the “flat” contents of the app folder

MyPage.html
Results.html
__init__.py
__pycache__/

are not a bug, they are a feature. They are perfectly fine for oTree to function properly. You *can* still generate a templates/<appname>/ subdirectory, as you may be used to from using Django, but there is no need to do so!