How to Set Up Django with PostgreSQL, Nginx, and Gunicorn on Ubuntu 22.04

In this guide, we’ll walk you through setting up Django with PostgreSQL, Nginx, and Gunicorn on an Ubuntu 22.04 server. Django, a robust Python-based web framework, follows the Model-Template-View (MTV) architecture, and while it includes a development server for local testing, a more powerful setup is required for production environments.

This tutorial covers creating a Python virtual environment, installing Django, setting up PostgreSQL, configuring Gunicorn as the application server, and using Nginx as a reverse proxy for enhanced security and performance.

Prerequisites:

• A server running Ubuntu 22.04
• Root or administrative privileges
• A domain name pointing to your server’s IP address

Step 1: Update Your Server

Start by ensuring your server is up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Necessary Packages

Install the essential packages for Python, PostgreSQL, and Nginx:

sudo apt install python3-pip python3-dev python3-venv libpq-dev postgresql postgresql-contrib nginx -y

Step 3: Configure PostgreSQL Database

Create a PostgreSQL database and user for Django.

Access PostgreSQL:

sudo -u postgres psql

Create a new database:

CREATE DATABASE databasename;

Create a user for the database:

CREATE USER databaseuser WITH PASSWORD 'password';

Set connection parameters:

ALTER ROLE databaseuser SET client_encoding TO 'utf8';
ALTER ROLE databaseuser SET default_transaction_isolation TO 'read committed';
ALTER ROLE databaseuser SET timezone TO 'UTC';

Grant the user privileges:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE databasename TO databaseuser;

Exit the PostgreSQL prompt:

\q

Step 4: Create a Python Virtual Environment

First, upgrade pip:

sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip

Create a directory for your project:

sudo mkdir /var/www/django_project && cd /var/www/django_project

Change the directory owner to your user:

sudo chown -R user:user ../django_project

Create and activate the virtual environment:

python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate

Install Django, Gunicorn, and PostgreSQL dependencies:

pip install django gunicorn psycopg2-binary

Step 5: Create and Configure Django Project

Create a new Django project:

django-admin startproject django_project /var/www/django_project

Edit the settings.py file to add your domain and database configuration:

nano django_project/settings.py

Add your domain to ALLOWED_HOSTS:

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['django.example.com', 'localhost', 'server_ip']

Configure the PostgreSQL database:

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

Add static file settings:

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

Run database migrations and collect static files:

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py collectstatic

Step 6: Test Django Development Server

Allow Django’s default development port through the firewall:

sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp

Start the Django server:

python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

Visit http://server_ip_or_domain_name.com:8000 in your browser to check if the setup works, then stop the server.

Step 7: Test Gunicorn

Run Gunicorn to verify it can serve your Django application:

gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 django_project.wsgi

Visit your server IP with port 8000 in the browser, and if all is fine, stop Gunicorn and deactivate the virtual environment:

deactivate

Step 8: Create Systemd Service and Socket for Gunicorn

Create a systemd socket file for Gunicorn:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.socket

Add:

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn socket

[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/gunicorn.sock

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

Next, create the systemd service file:

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

Add:

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

[Service]
User=[username]
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/django_project
ExecStart=/var/www/django_project/env/bin/gunicorn \ 
          --access-logfile - \ 
          --workers 3 \ 
          --bind unix:/run/gunicorn.sock \ 
          django_project.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Replace [username] with your user.

Reload systemd and enable Gunicorn:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start gunicorn.socket
sudo systemctl enable gunicorn.socket
sudo systemctl start gunicorn
sudo systemctl enable gunicorn

Step 9: Configure Nginx as Reverse Proxy

Create an Nginx configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/django.conf

Add:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name django.example.com;

    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }

    location /static/ {
        root /var/www/django_project;
    }

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/run/gunicorn.sock;
    }
}

Create a symbolic link to enable the configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/django.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test Nginx configuration:

sudo nginx

 -t

Restart Nginx:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up Django with PostgreSQL, Nginx, and Gunicorn on your Ubuntu 22.04 server.