Django Deployment Guide with aaPanel, Nginx, and Python Manager

I get so bored when I have to search for more tutorials and solve more errors when deploying Django projects. So, I decided to write this tutorial to walk through the steps of how to deploy a Django project on your VPS server using aaPanel, Nginx, and Python Manager.

Environment Specifications

• Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04 (VPS)
• Control Panel: aaPanel
• Python Manager: 2.0.0
• Django Version: 3.2.25
• Process Manager: Gunicorn
• Database: MySQL 5.7
• Web Server: Nginx 1.24.0

Prerequisites

1. aaPanel installed on your server
2. Python Manager 2.0.0 installed via aaPanel
3. MySQL 5.7 installed and configured

Deployment Steps

1. Project Setup

For this example, we'll use a sample project:

https://github.com/ferdyhape/Django_Product_Management.git

Clone the project to your server directory. For example, if your project directory is /www/wwwroot/django:

git clone https://github.com/ferdyhape/Django_Product_Management.git

Example of the cloning process:

After cloning:

2. Python Project Configuration

1. Access the aaPanel dashboard and navigate to Python Manager

   • If Python Manager isn't visible, enable it via App Store → Display on Dashboard
     

2. Click "Add Project" and configure your settings:

   

3. Django Settings Configuration

1. Open your project's settings.py file and update the following:

Configure allowed hosts:

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com', 'youripaddress']

4. Database Setup

1. In aaPanel, go to Database → MySQL tab and click "Add DB"

   

2. Fill in the database details as needed

   

3. Update your settings.py with the database configuration:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
        'NAME': 'your_db_name',
        'USER': 'your_db_user',
        'PASSWORD': 'your_db_password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '3306',
        'OPTIONS': {
            "sql_mode": "STRICT_TRANS_TABLES",
        }
    }
}

4. Update timezone settings:

TIME_ZONE = "Asia/Jakarta" # Change to your timezone
# USE_I18N = True
# USE_TZ = True

5. Configure static and media files:

STATIC_URL = "/assets/"
STATICFILES_DIRS = [os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "assets")]

DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = "django.db.models.BigAutoField"

MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, "file_upload")  # file_upload is the folder name
MEDIA_URL = "/media/"  # media is the url name

5. Dependencies Installation

Navigate to your project's virtual environment directory (you'll see a unique folder name):

Open terminal in that directory:

Install requirements:

unique_folder_name/bin/pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Example of installation:

Note: You can use the tab key to autocomplete the folder name.

6. Database Migration

Run migrations:

unique_folder_name/bin/python3 manage.py migrate

Example of migration:

7. Domain Mapping

1. In Python Manager, click "Mapping" for your project:

   

2. Configure project settings including user permissions:

   

8. Nginx Configuration

1. Go to Website section in aaPanel and click "Config" on your project

   

2. Add static files location to your Nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    ...

    # Add this location for the static files
    location /assets/ {
        autoindex on;
        alias /www/wwwroot/django/Django_Product_Management/assets/;
    }
    ...
}

9. File Upload Permissions

Set proper permissions for media uploads:

chown -R www-data:www-data file_upload

Verification

Your Django application should now be accessible through your configured domain or IP address.

Troubleshooting

• Check aaPanel's error logs if the application doesn't start
• Verify Nginx configuration syntax
• Ensure all file permissions are correctly set
• Confirm database connectivity

Additional Notes

• Regularly backup your database and media files
• Keep your Django installation updated
• Monitor server resources through aaPanel
• Configure SSL certificate for production deployment