Jiseoup / django-gunicorn-nginx

This document introduces how to set up django with gunicorn and nginx in ubuntu.

How to setup Django with Gunicorn and Nginx in Ubuntu

This document is created with reference to the corresponding tutorial.

1. System Configuration

I checked that all of the following works correctly in the two system configurations.
One is a local environment, one is a cloud environment.

• Local
  • Ubuntu 20.04 + Python 3.8.10 + PostgreSQL 12.12
• Oracle Cloud
  • Ubuntu 22.04 + Python 3.10.6 + PostgreSQL 14.5

The configuration below is the same for all environments.

• Django 4.1.2
• Gunicorn 20.1.0
• Nginx 1.18.0

2. Initial Environment Configuration

Update & Upgrade before starting setup

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get upgrade

Install packages

This document uses PostgreSQL as the database.

$ sudo apt-get install python-is-python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev
$ sudo apt-get install libpq-dev postgresql postgresql-contrib

Setting python path

$ echo "export PATH=\$PATH:\$HOME/.local/bin" >> ~/.bashrc
$ source ~/.bashrc

Create directories for project

$ mkdir project_dir
$ cd project_dir

$ mkdir project
$ mkdir sock
$ sudo chown {user_name}:www-data sock

3. Configuring a Virtual Environment

Now, create a virtual environment and install the required pip modules.

Create virtual environment

$ python -m venv venv
$ source venv/bin/activate

Install pip modules in virtual environment

(venv) $ pip install django gunicorn
(venv) $ pip install psycopg2-binary

4. Django Settings

Start Django project

(venv) $ cd project
(venv) $ django-admin startproject conf .

Create PostgreSQL database and user

(venv) $ sudo -u postgres psql

postgres=# CREATE DATABASE project_db;
postgres=# CREATE USER project_user WITH PASSWORD 'password';

postgres=# ALTER ROLE project_user SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
postgres=# ALTER ROLE project_user SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
postgres=# ALTER ROLE project_user SET timezone TO 'UTC';

postgres=# GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE project_db TO project_user;

postgres=# \q

Adjusting project settings

(venv) $ vi conf/settings.py

Enter the server address or domain that can connect to Django.
Addresses are separated by commas.

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']

Now modify the database information.
As mentioned earlier, this document uses PostgreSQL.

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
        'NAME': 'project_db',
        'USER': 'project_user',
        'PASSWORD': 'password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '',
    }
}

Add the contents below under STATIC_URL = 'static/'.

import os
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static/')

Completing initial setup

Now we can use the manage.py script to migrate the database schema to the PostgreSQL database.

(venv) $ python manage.py makemigrations
(venv) $ python manage.py migrate

Create a project manager using the commands below.

(venv) $ python manage.py createsuperuser

Static contents (js, css ...) can be collected using the command below.

(venv) $ python manage.py collectstatic

Open the port (for Cloud Environment)

If you are using cloud services, please follow the instructions below.
Open 8000 ports in the cloud, and the server also generates exceptions for 8000 ports.

(venv) $ sudo ufw allow 8000
(venv) $ sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp

Start Django server

Verify that the django server is working well.

(venv) $ python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

5. Gunicorn Settings

Testing Gunicorn’s ability to serve the project

First, make sure that you can serve the application through the Gunicorn test.

(venv) $ gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 conf.wsgi

If it works well, exits the virtual environment.

(venv) $ deactivate

Create Gunicorn service

Create a Gunicorn service file in the path below.

$ sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.service

Write the following content.

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

[Service]
User={user_name}
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/home/{user_name}/project_dir/project
ExecStart=/home/{user_name}/project_dir/venv/bin/gunicorn \
          --workers 2 \
          --bind unix:/home/{user_name}/project_dir/sock/gunicorn.sock \
          conf.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start the Gunicorn service

Start the Gunicorn service, and check the status.

$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
$ sudo systemctl enable gunicorn
$ sudo systemctl start gunicorn
$ sudo systemctl status gunicorn

6. Nginx Settings

Install Nginx and create configuration

Install Nginx and create an Nginx configuration file in the path below.

$ sudo apt install nginx
$ sudo vi /etc/nginx/site-available/project.conf

Write the following content.

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name {your_ip_address};   # your ip or domain address
    
    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }
    
    location /static/ {
        root /home/{user_name}/project_dir/project;
    }
    
    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/home/{user_name}/project_dir/sock/gunicorn.sock;
    }
}

Start the Nginx

Attach a symbolic link to the Nginx configuration file and test it to see if it works.

$ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/project.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
$ sudo nginx -t   # test

The results should be as follows.

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Restart the Nginx, and check the status.

$ sudo systemctl enable nginx
$ sudo systemctl restart nginx

7. Concluding

Now you can access your Django application without having to access the development server.
Instead, you need to open a firewall for normal traffic on port 80.
You may also remove exceptions for port 8000.

$ sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
$ sudo ufw delete allow 8000
$ sudo ufw delete allow 8000/tcp

Now enjoy your jango application!