code fix and scripts to make demo app work

[hongchaodeng]

Description of your changes

Checklist

I have:

• [ ] Run make reviewable to ensure this PR is ready for review.
• [ ] Ensured this PR contains a neat, self documenting set of commits.
• [ ] Updated any relevant documentation, examples, or release notes.
• [ ] Updated the dependencies in app.yaml to include any new role permissions.
• [ ] Updated the stack resources documentation to include any new managed resources or classes.