Deploying django project to vps:

• Prerequisites:

  • Create a requirements.txt file that contains all packages used in project:

    • pip freeze > requirements.txt

  • Set up static files:

    • Install whitenoise:
      • pip install whitenoise
      • pip freeze > requirements.txt
    • Paste the following at the top of middleware list:
      • "whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware",
    • Add the following:

      STATIC_URL = '/static/'
      STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "staticfiles"
      STATICFILES_DIRS = [
          os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static'),
      ]
      
      STATICFILES_STORAGE = "whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage"

    • Collect static files:
      • python manage.py collectstatic

  • Push to github repository

1. Ssh into server:

   • run:
     • ssh username@server_ip_address
     • Enter password  

2. Update & Upgrade Server:

   • sudo apt-get update
   • sudo apt-get upgrade  

3. Install python & pip:

   • sudo apt install python3
   • sudo apt install python3-pip  

4. Create & activate virtual environment:

   • virtualenv /opt/myproject
   • source /opt/myproject/bin/activate  

5. Clone Repository:

   • cd /opt/myproject
   • mkdir myproject
     • It may seem redundant to have two directories with the same name; however, it makes it so that your virtualenv name and project name are the same.
   • cd myproject
   • check if git is installed:
     • git status
     • sudo apt-get install git
   • Clone repo: git clone repo-url
   • install requirements:
     • cd repo-name
     • pip install -r requirements.txt
     • pip install gunicorn  

6. Nginx Configuration:

   • Install nginx:

     • sudo apt install nginx

   • sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject

   • Type the following into the file:

     server {
        listen 80;
        server_name yourip;
     
        access_log /var/log/nginx/website-name.log;
     
        location /static/ {
            alias /opt/myproject/myproject/path-to-static-files/;
        }
     
        location / {
            proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $server_name;
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            add_header P3P 'CP="ALLDSP COR PSAa PSDa OURNOR ONL UNI COM NAV"';
        }
     }

   • Now we need to set up a symbolic link in the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled directory that points to this configuration file. That is how NGINX knows this site is active. Change directories to /etc/nginx/sites-enabled like this:

     • cd /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
     • sudo ln -s ../sites-available/myproject

   • Go to:

     • /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
     • uncomment this line:
       • # server_names_hash_bucket_size 64;

   • Restart nginx:

     • sudo service nginx restart

    

7. Adjusting the Firewall

   • Before testing Nginx, the firewall software needs to be adjusted to allow access to the service. Nginx registers itself as a service with ufw upon installation, making it straightforward to allow Nginx access.

   • sudo apt-get install ufw

   • sudo ufw allow 8000

   • Restart nginx:

     • sudo service nginx restart  

8. Testing configuration:

   • Run gunicorn:
     • cd /opt/myproject/myproject/repo-name
     • gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 project_name.wsgi
   • Visit your project on your server ip address on port 8000:
     • yourServerIp:8000

    

9. Connecting domain:

   • open your domain registrar and open your dns settings for the specified domain

   • Add an A record with name @, pointing to the ip address of the server you are hosting your project on

   • Save changes

   • Open your nginx configuration file:

     • sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject

   • Make the following changes:

     server {
         listen 80;
         server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
     
         access_log /var/log/nginx/website-name.log;
     
         location /static/ {
             alias /opt/myproject/myproject/path-to-static-files/;
         }
     
         location / {
             proxy_pass yourServerIp:8000;
             proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $server_name;
             proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
             add_header P3P 'CP="ALL DSP COR PSAa PSDa OUR NOR ONL UNI COM NAV"';
         }
     }

   • Restart nginx:

     • sudo service nginx restart

   • Wait for dns changes to propagate and check your website on your connected domain  

10. Install SSL on vps with Let's Encrypt (Requires domain):

    • sudo apt install certbot
    • sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
    • run the following and follow the process:
      • sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain.com
    • check nginx configuration:
      • sudo nginx -t
    • reload nginx: sudo systemctl reload nginx
    • run gunicorn:
      • gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 project_name.wsgi

• Run gunicorn in the background: nohup gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 project_name.wsgi &  

• kill gunicorn running in background:

  • pkill gunicorn  

• Making changes

Refrences

Articles:

• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-deploy-a-local-django-app-to-a-vps

• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-django-with-postgres-nginx-and-gunicorn-on-ubuntu-22-04

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37339383/nginx-gunicorn-django-not-working