Deploy a Django project on a VPS

This is a compact checklist for deploying a Django project on an Ubuntu VPS with Gunicorn and Nginx.

Prepare the server

Create a dedicated user and install the system packages:

sudo adduser django
sudo usermod -aG sudo django
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-venv python3-pip nginx git

Clone the project and create the virtual environment:

git clone git@example.com:project.git
cd project
python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Configure Django

Use production settings, set DEBUG = False, configure ALLOWED_HOSTS, and provide the required secrets through environment variables or a local settings file.

Run migrations and collect static files:

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py collectstatic --no-input

Run Gunicorn with systemd

Create a systemd service similar to this:

[Unit]
Description=Django application
After=network.target

[Service]
User=django
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/home/django/project
ExecStart=/home/django/project/env/bin/gunicorn project.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now django.service

Put Nginx in front

Configure Nginx as a reverse proxy:

server {
    server_name example.com;

    location /static/ {
        alias /home/django/project/staticfiles/;
    }

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx