Skip to content

setup.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
220 lines (172 loc) · 6.29 KB

setup.md

File metadata and controls

220 lines (172 loc) · 6.29 KB

Django Docker Development Environment

A complete Django development environment using Docker Compose with MySQL database, phpMyAdmin interface, and Nginx reverse proxy.

Features

  • Django 4.2+ - Python web framework with user authentication
  • MySQL 8.0 - Database server
  • phpMyAdmin - Web-based MySQL administration
  • Nginx - Reverse proxy and web server
  • Django REST Framework - API development
  • Django Allauth - User registration and authentication

Quick Start

Clone and setup

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd lol
cp .env.example .env

Edit environment variables

Open .env and update the database credentials and Django secret key:

DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=your-very-secret-key-here
MYSQL_DATABASE=learnonline
MYSQL_USER=myapp_user
MYSQL_PASSWORD=secure_password
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root_secure_password

Start the development environment

docker-compose up --build

Complete the database setup

Important: After starting the containers for the first time, you need to set up the database:

# 1. Run Django migrations to create database tables
docker-compose exec django python manage.py migrate

# 2. Collect static files for proper admin styling
docker-compose exec django python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

# 3. Create a superuser account
docker-compose exec django python manage.py createsuperuser

Access Points

Project Structure

lol/
├── django/                 # Django application code
│   ├── Dockerfile         # Django container configuration
│   ├── lol/              # Django project directory
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── settings.py   # Django configuration
│   │   ├── urls.py       # URL routing
│   │   └── wsgi.py       # WSGI application
│   ├── manage.py         # Django management script
│   └── requirements.txt  # Python dependencies
├── docker-compose.yml    # Multi-container configuration
├── .env.example         # Environment variables template
├── .env                 # Your actual environment variables (create this)
├── .gitignore          # Git ignore rules
└── nginx.conf          # Nginx configuration

Development Workflow

  • Edit files in the django/ directory
  • Changes are automatically reflected (volume mounted)
  • For new dependencies, add to requirements.txt and rebuild: docker-compose up --build
  • View/edit data: Use phpMyAdmin at http://localhost:8088
  • Run migrations: docker-compose exec django python manage.py migrate
  • Create apps: docker-compose exec django python manage.py startapp myapp

Common Commands

# Start services
docker-compose up

# Start in background
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs django

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Rebuild containers
docker-compose up --build

# Access Django shell
docker-compose exec django python manage.py shell

# Run Django commands
docker-compose exec django python manage.py <command>

Environment Variables

Variable Description Default
DJANGO_SECRET_KEY Django secret key (change this!) fallback_secret_key
DJANGO_DEBUG Enable debug mode False
DJANGO_ALLOWED_HOSTS Allowed hostnames localhost 127.0.0.1 django nginx
MYSQL_DATABASE Database name mydatabase
MYSQL_USER Database user myuser
MYSQL_PASSWORD Database password mypassword
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD MySQL root password rootpassword

Built-in Features

  • User registration and login (via Django Allauth)
  • Password reset functionality
  • Admin interface for user management
  • Django REST Framework installed
  • Ready for API endpoint creation
  • Automatic API documentation available

Development Features

  • Hot reloading for Django code changes
  • Database administration via phpMyAdmin
  • Nginx reverse proxy for production-like setup

Troubleshooting

Port Conflicts

If you get a port conflict error:

# Find what's using port 80
sudo lsof -i :80

# Stop Apache if it's running
sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl disable apache2

This setup uses non-standard ports to avoid common conflicts:

  • MySQL: Port 3307 (instead of 3306)
  • Django direct access: Port 8008 (instead of 8000)

If you still have conflicts, you can modify the ports in docker-compose.yml

Database Connection Issues

  • Ensure your .env file has the correct database credentials
  • Check if MySQL container is running: docker-compose ps
  • View MySQL logs: docker-compose logs db
  • If database container keeps restarting, reset the database volume: 
    docker-compose down
docker volume rm django_mysql_data  # or your volume name
docker-compose up -d

Admin Interface Styling Issues

If the Django admin looks unstyled, collect static files:

docker-compose exec django python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

Fresh Database Setup

If you need to completely reset your database:

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Remove database volume
docker volume rm django_mysql_data

# Start fresh
docker-compose up -d

# Wait for database to initialize, then run setup
docker-compose exec django python manage.py migrate
docker-compose exec django python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
docker-compose exec django python manage.py createsuperuser

Next Steps

# Collect static files
docker-compose exec django python manage.py collectstatic
  • Create your first Django app: 
    docker-compose exec django python manage.py startapp myapp
  • Add your app to INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py
  • Create your models and run migrations
  • Build your views and templates
  • Set up API endpoints using Django REST Framework

Production Notes

This setup is for development. For production:

  • Set DJANGO_DEBUG=False
  • Use a proper secret key
  • Configure proper database credentials
  • Set up SSL/HTTPS
  • Use a production-grade database server
  • Configure proper logging