Dokku Django

What is Dokku?

Dokku is an open-source project released in 2013 that aimed to make it easy to set up a docker-based application hosting platform. Dokku is written in ruby and uses docker to manage applications and containers.

Dokku is a container-based deployment platform for applications running in Docker containers. It is similar to Heroku, with a few key differences. One of the major differences is that Dokku does not use buildpacks but instead relies on containers to build and deploy your application.

Dokku also has a few more features than Heroku, such as the ability to run multiple apps on a single instance and easily add and remove plugins. Overall, Dokku is a great option for those looking for an easy way to deploy Docker-based applications.

To use Dokku with Django, you will need to create a Profile and add the following line to it:

web: gunicorn myproject.wsgi -b 0.0.0.0:$PORT

You will also need to create a requirements.txt file and add all your dependencies. Once you have done this, you can push your code to your Dokku instance, and it will automatically be deployed.

What is Django?

Django is a web development framework that enables developers to create web applications quickly and easily. It is written in the Python programming language and is free and open-source software released under the GNU General Public License.

How to use Dokku and Django together?

Dokku is a great way to host your Django applications. This chapter will show you how to set up Dokku and Django. We will also show you how to use Dokku’s built-in features to improve your development workflow.

How to set up a Dokku and Django development environment?

This will show you how to set up a Dokku and Django development environment. Dokku is a self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) that makes it easy to deploy web applications. Django is a web framework for Python that makes it easy to build web applications.

To set up a Dokku and Django development environment, you will need the following:

A computer with Ubuntu 16.04 installed.
A domain name.
A certificate for your domain.
Dokku is installed on your computer.
Django is installed on your computer.

First, you will need to install Ubuntu 16.04 on your computer. You can download this from the Ubuntu website:

Here are the steps to download Ubuntu:-

Go to the official Ubuntu website (https://ubuntu.com/download)
Select the version you want to download
Follow the instructions for your operating system
Wait for the download to finish; this usually takes around 20 minutes
After the download is complete, you can install Ubuntu on your computer

Next, you will need to purchase a domain name. You can find instructions on how to do this on the NameCheap website:

Here are the steps to purchase a domain name on Namecheap:-

Go to Namecheap’s website (https://www.namecheap.com/)
Enter the domain name you’d like to purchase in the search box
Look for available domains and select the one you want
Add the domain to your cart and proceed to checkout
Choose your payment method and complete the payment process
You will then receive an email confirming your purchase

Once you have a domain name, you will need to purchase a certificate for your domain. You can find instructions on how to do this on the Let’s Encrypt website:

Here are the steps to purchase a certificate for your domain on Let’s Encrypt:-

Go to Let’s Encrypt’s website (https://letsencrypt.org/)
Enter the domain you’d like to secure with a certificate
Follow the instructions provided to generate and install the certificate
Finally, configure your web server to use the new certificate steps to install Dokku on the Dokku website.

Once you have a domain name and a certificate, you will need to install Dokku on your computer. You can find instructions on how to do this on the Dokku website:

Here are the steps to install Dokku on the Dokku website:-

Go to Dokku’s website (https://dokku.viewdocs.io/)
Download and install the Dokku one-click installer
Follow the instructions provided to complete the installation process
Once the installation is complete, you will be able to access Dokku on your web server.

Once you have dokku installed, the next step is to install the dokku-alt plugin. This plugin provides some additional functionality not found in the standard dokku installation.

To install the plugin, run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/dokku-alt/dokku-alt.git /var/lib/dokku/plugins/dokku-alt

Now that the plugin is installed, you need to configure it. The configuration file is located at / etc / dokku – alt / dokku – alt . Conf. You will need to edit this file and set the DOKKU_ALT_DOMAIN variable to your domain name (e.g., example.com ). Additionally, you will need to set the DOKKU_ALT_HOSTNAME variable to your hostname (e.g., dokku.example.com ).

The next is to configure your Django project to work with dokku-alt. In your project’s settings file (typically called settings.py ), you will need to add the following lines:

import os  

  

SECRET_KEY = os.environ['SEC

Once you have installed Dokku, you need to install Django on your computer. You can find instructions on how to do this on the Django website:

Here are the steps to install Django on the Django website:

Go to Django’s official website (https://www.djangoproject.com/).
Follow the instructions to download and install the latest version of Django.
Once the installation is complete, you will be able to access Django on your computer.

Once you have installed Dokku and Django, you will be ready to start developing web applications.

How to set up a Django project?

Setting up a Django project can be a daunting task. But with a few simple steps, you can have your project up and running in no time. In this chapter, we’ll show you how to set up your environment and create your first Django project.

First, you’ll need to install Python. You can download it from the Python website if you don’t have Python installed. Once Python is installed, you’ll need to install Django. To install Django, open a terminal and run the following command:

pip install django

Next, you’ll need to create a new project. To do this, run the following command in your terminal:

django-admin startproject myproject

This will create a new directory, myproject, containing all the files and folders needed for your project.

Now, you’ll need to set up your environment. In your project directory, you’ll find a file called settings.py. This file contains all of the settings for your project. You’ll need to edit this file to set up your environment.

The first thing you’ll need to do is set the DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE environment variable. This variable tells Django which settings file to use. To set this variable, add the following line to your settings.py file:

DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=myproject.settings

Next, you’ll need to set the SECRET_KEY environment variable. This variable is used to encrypt cookies and other sensitive data. To set this variable, add the following line to your settings.py file:

SECRET_KEY='your_secret_key'

Finally, you’ll need to set the ALLOWED_HOSTS environment variable. This variable tells Django which hosts are allowed to access your project. To set this variable, add the following line to your settings.py

How to use Django templates

Django templates are a simple yet powerful way to create dynamic web pages. They are written in a Python-like language and allow you to insert Python code into your templates to create dynamically-generated content.

To create a Django template, create a new file with the .html extension. Inside the template, you can insert Python code by using the {% %} tags. For example, to insert the current time, you would use the following code:

{% now %}

This would print the current time, in the format “Tue, 05 Dec 2017 13:27:10.

You can also use the {% load %} tag to load in other templates. This can be useful if you reuse common HTML fragments in multiple templates.

To use a template in your Django project, add the template name to the TEMPLATES setting in your settings.py file. Django will automatically load the template and render it.

Deploying your Django application to dokku

Assuming that your Django application is ready and running on your local machine, you can deploy it to a dokku instance. Before we get started, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

A dokku instance is up and running.
The dokku client is installed on your local machine.
Your Django application codebase on your local machine.

Now let’s get started. You first need to create a file called Procfile in the root directory of your Django project. This file will tell dokku how to run your application. Add the following line to the Profile:

web: gunicorn myproject.wsgi -b 0.0.0.0:$PORT

This tells dokku to use gunicorn to run your Django application and bind it to port $PORT (which will be injected by dokku when the application is deployed). Next, create a file called requirements.txt in the root directory of your project. This file will contain a list of all the Python packages that your Django application depends on. For example:


Django==1.8.4



gunicorn==19.3

How to create a Dokku App?

Assuming you have a Dokku host already set up and accessible, creating a new app is as simple as running this command from your local development environment:

dokku apps:create myapp

This will create a new remote Git repository on the Dokku server and add a post-receive hook that will automatically deploy your code when pushed. Now you can add the newly created remote to your local Git repository and push your code to it:

git remote add dokku [email protected]:myapp git push dokku master

Basic code  

#!/bin/bash #  

  

# Set app name #  

app_name="my-dokku-app"  

  

# Create the app #  

dokku apps:create $app_name  

  

# Set environment variables (if any) #  

dokku config:set $app_name ENV_VAR_NAME=value  

  

# Add a database to the app (if needed) #    

#dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-postgres.git #  

#dokku postgres: create $app_name-database #  

#dokku postgres:link $app_name-database $app_name #  

  

# Deploy the app #  

# Git repository #  

#dokku git:remote $app_name <repo-url> #  

#dokku git: deploy $app_name #  

  

# Docker image #  

#dokku storage:mount $app_name /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/$app_name:/app  

#dokku config:set $app_name DOKKU_DOCKER_OPTS="--insecure-registry <registry-url>"  

#dokku tags:deploy $app_name <image-name> #

How to set up a Dokku Database?

Assuming you have a Dokku application deployed and running, the first step is to set up the Dokku database. This can be done using the Dokku command line tool.

First, SSH into your Dokku server and navigate to your app’s folder:

cd /var/dokku/apps/my-app

Then, use the `dokku` command to create a new Postgres database:

dokku postgresql: create my-db

This will create a new Postgres database named `my-db` for your application. Next, you need to configure your app to use this database. This can be done by setting the `DATABASE_URL` environment variable:

dokku config: set my-app DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres@dokku-postgresql-my-db:5432/my-db

Replace `my-app` with the name of your app and `my-db` with the name of your database. This will tell your app to use the `my-db` database when connecting to Postgres.

Now that your app is configured to use the `my-db` database, you can populate it with data. See the documentation for your specific database management system for more information on how to do this.

Dokku storage setup

One of the challenges of deploying applications is managing persistent data, such as file uploads, database data, and other files that need to persist even after the application has been restarted.

To address this, Dokku provides a storage plugin that allows you to manage persistent storage for your Dokku applications. With the Dokku storage plugin, you can create a storage directory on your server and then mount it to a specific Dokku application. This allows you to store data persistently and access it even after the application has been restarted.

Here are the steps to setup storage for a Dokku application:

Install the Dokku storage plugin: Dokku storage is a plugin for Dokku that allows you to manage persistent storage for your Dokku applications. To install it, you need to run the command dokku plugin: install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-storage.git on your Dokku server. This will download and install the plugin for you.
Create a storage directory: To store your data persistently, you need to create a directory on your server. You can use any location you prefer, but it’s recommended to use a location that’s not directly accessible from the internet, such as /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/<app-name>.
Map the storage directory to a Dokku application: This step involves mounting the storage directory you created in the previous step to a specific Dokku application. You can do this by running the command dokku storage: mount <app-name> /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/<app-name>:/app/storage. The <app-name> in the command refers to the name of the Dokku application you want to mount the storage. The /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/<app-name> is the path to the storage directory, and /app/storage is the path inside the application where the storage will be mounted.
Restart the Dokku application: To apply the changes you made in the previous step, you need to restart the Dokku application. You can do this by running the command dokku ps: restart <app-name>. This will restart the application and activate the storage plugin.
Verify the storage: After restarting the application, you can verify if the storage has been successfully mounted by accessing the /app/storage directory in your Dokku application. You can use the ls command or any other file management tool to check if the data stored in the directory is persistent and can be accessed even after the application has been restarted.

Basic code for storage:



# Install the Dokku storage plugin #  



dokku plugin: install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-storage.git  



  



# Create a storage directory #  



mkdir /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/<app-name>  



  



# Map the storage directory to the Dokku application  



dokku storage:mount <app-name> /var/lib/dokku/data/storage/<app-name>:/app/storage  



  



# Restart the Dokku application #  



dokku ps:restart <app-name>  



  



# Verify the storage #  



# (from inside the application) #  



ls /app/storage

Django Admin access on dokku

To access the Django admin in a Dokku-deployed application, you need to expose the Django admin URL to the internet and secure it with a username and password. To do this, you can use an authentication plugin such as Apache basic authentication or set up an SSL certificate and serve the Django admin over HTTPS.

Once you have set up access to the Django admin, you can log in to the admin interface and manage the data in your Django application. This can be useful for adding and editing content, managing users, and modifying other data stored in your Django application.

To access the Django admin interface on a Dokku-deployed Django application, you need to follow these steps:

Set the DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE environment variable in your Dokku application: You can set the environment variable in Dokku by running the following command: dokku config:set <app-name> DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=<project-name>.settings. Replace <app-name> with the name of your Dokku application and <project-name> with the name of your Django project.
Update the ALLOWED_HOSTS setting in your Django settings file: You need to add the hostname of your Dokku application to the ALLOWED_HOSTS setting in your Django settings file. This will allow your Django application to accept requests from the specified host. For example, if your Dokku application is deployed at myapp.example.com, you would add myapp.example.com to the ALLOWED_HOSTS setting.
Create a superuser account: You need to create a superuser account in your Django application to access the admin interface. You can do this by running the following command: dokku run <app-name> python manage.py createsuperuser.
Access the admin interface: After completing the above steps, you can access the Django admin interface by visiting http://<app-name>.<domain>.com/admin in your web browser, replacing <app-name> with the name of your Dokku application and <domain> with the domain of your server. You will be prompted to log in with the superuser account you created in the previous step.

Add Domain

Adding a custom domain to your Dokku application is a process of mapping a domain name to the IP address of your Dokku server. This allows users to access your application using a memorable and easy-to-type domain name instead of remembering your server’s IP address.

To add a custom domain to your Dokku application, follow these steps:

Purchase a domain: Purchase a domain from a domain registrar, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Google Domains.
Configure domain name servers (DNS): Configure the DNS settings for your domain to point to your Dokku server’s IP address. This is typically done through the domain registrar’s control panel.
Add the domain to Dokku: To add the domain to your Dokku application, you can use the dokku domains: add command. For example, if your domain name is example.com, you would run the following command: dokku domains:add <app-name> example.com. Replace <app-name> with the name of your Dokku application.
Restart your Dokku application: After adding the domain, you need to restart your Dokku application to apply the changes. You can do this with the following command: dokku ps:restart <app-name>.
Verify the domain: Finally, you can verify that the domain is correctly configured by visiting the domain in your web browser. You should see your Dokku application hosted at the custom domain if everything is set up correctly.

Basic code

# Add the domain to the Dokku application  

dokku domains:add <app-name> <domain-name>  

  

# Verify the domain has been added  

dokku domains <app-name>

What are some of the benefits of using a Dokku and Django development environment?

A Dokku and Django development environment can provide a number of benefits for your project. By keeping your development environment in sync with your production environment, you can avoid some common problems. Additionally, using a Dokku and Django development environment can help you to learn more about Django and how it works.

With Dokku and Django, you can create a powerful web development environment that is easy to set up and use.

Dokku and Django make a great pair for a number of reasons. Dokku is a lightweight Platform as a Service (PaaS) that makes it easy to deploy and manage your applications. Django is a powerful web development framework that helps you build high-quality websites quickly and easily. When used together, Dokku and Django provide a fast, easy, and reliable way to develop and deploy web applications.

Some of the benefits of using Dokku and Django together include the following:-

Quick and easy deployment: Dokku makes it easy to deploy your applications, and Django provides a fast and reliable web development framework.
Scalability: Django is a scalable web development framework that can handle large amounts of traffic.
Ease of use: Dokku is a lightweight PaaS that is easy to use and configure.
Flexibility: Dokku and Django provide great flexibility and allow you to customize your applications easily.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Dokku is a powerful and lightweight PaaS solution for developers looking to deploy their applications quickly and easily. By combining it with Django, you can take advantage of the stability and scalability of Dokku while still utilizing all the features that make Django such an attractive development framework.

With its easy setup process, pre-configured environments, and support for multiple languages, Dokku is a great choice for any web application development project.