Deploying Your Django App

Deploying Your Django App with Gunicorn and Nginx

Deploying your Django app is a crucial step in making it accessible to users. This guide outlines a straightforward process using Gunicorn as the application server and Nginx as a reverse proxy to serve your Django app.

1. Set Up a Virtual Environment

Ensure isolation of project dependencies by creating and activating a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate    # On Unix/MacOS 
# source venv\Scripts\activate    # On Windows

2. Install Django and Dependencies

Install Django and required packages:

pip install django gunicorn psycopg2-binary

3. Configure Database

Update your Django app's settings.py to use the appropriate production database, e.g., PostgreSQL:

# settings.py

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'yourdbname',
        'USER': 'yourdbuser',
        'PASSWORD': 'yourdbpassword',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

4. Collect Static Files

Collect static files into a directory for easier serving:

python manage.py collectstatic

5. Configure Django Settings

Adjust your settings.py for production. Set DEBUG to False and update ALLOWED_HOSTS :

# settings.py

DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com']

6. Use Gunicorn as the Application Server

Run your Django app using Gunicorn:

gunicorn yourapp.wsgi:application

sudo apt-get install nginx
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourapp

Add the configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
    location /static/ {
        root /path/to/your/static/directory;
    }

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    }
}

Enable the Nginx site and restart the server:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

8. Configure Gunicorn as a Systemd Service

Create a systemd service for Gunicorn:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/yourapp.service

Add the configuration:

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn daemon for yourapp
After=network.target

[Service]
User=youruser
Group=yourgroup
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/your/app
ExecStart=/path/to/venv/bin/gunicorn --workers=3 --bind unix:/path/to/your/app/yourapp.sock yourapp.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the Gunicorn service:

sudo systemctl enable yourapp
sudo systemctl start yourapp

Conclusion

Following these steps carefully simplifies the deployment of your Django app using Gunicorn and Nginx, ensuring it runs smoothly in a production environment.