Deploy Django App on Heroku

directions.md

Requirements

Run pip install pipenv to install pipenv

Run pipenv shell to create an environment, if does not exist, and activate it.

Run pipenv install python_decouple whitenoise dj_database_url Pillow gunicorn May take a while.

This should create two files: Pipfile and Pipfile.lock. Keep them in the project root.

Signup

Sign up on Heroku and install the Heroku Toolbeit

Run heroku login

Run heroku create <app name>

Add Heroku required files

Add a Procfile file in the project root with the following content

web: gunicorn <project name>.wsgi --log-file -

Run pip freeze >> requirements.txt

Configure static files

In settings.py, set up as follows:

With PROJECT_ROOT as

PROJECT_ROOT = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))

Configure STATIC_ROOT, STATIC_URL and STATICFILES_STORAGE as

# Static files (CSS, JavaScript, Images)
# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/howto/static-files/
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(PROJECT_ROOT, 'staticfiles')
STATIC_URL = '/static/'

STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage'

In wsgi.py, set up as follows:

import os
from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application

os.environ.setdefault("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "bootcamp.settings")

application =get_wsgi_application()

Setting up whitenoise middleware

Edit your settings.py file and add WhiteNoise to the MIDDLEWARE list. The WhiteNoise middleware should be placed directly after the Django SecurityMiddleware (if you are using it) and before all other middleware:

  'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
  'whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware',
  # ...
] ```

# Configure Media files
In `settings.py`, add

Media

MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(PROJECT_ROOT, 'media') MEDIA_URL = '/media/'

# Database
Add a database to your Heroku app
Run `heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:hobby-dev`

Update `settings.py` with

import dj_database_url # Place this line preferably at the top from decouple import config # Place this line preferably at the top

SECRET_KEY = config('SECRET_KEY') DEBUG = config('DEBUG', default=False, cast=bool) DATABASES = { 'default': dj_database_url.config( default=config('DATABASE_URL') ) }

Ensure you replace: 
a) the initial DATABASES configuration as appropriate, NOT adding 
b) the initial DEBUG configuration
c) the initial SECRET_KEY configuration. Copy this somewhere temporarily.

These values tend to be different in the `development` and `production` environments hence their replacement.

Create a `settings.ini` file in the **project root** and add the following (*replace appropriately*):

[settings] DEBUG=True SECRET_KEY= DATABASE_URL=[database type]://[username]:[password]@[host]:[port]/[database name]

DATABASE_URL=postgres://[username]:[password]@localhost:5432/[database name]

Create a `.gitignore` file and add the following line:

settings.ini

We don't need these file in the `production` environment.

# Config vars
Head over to the [Heroku Dashboard](https://id.heroku.com/login) and check into you recently created app.

Go to the `Settings` tab and click `Reveal Config Vars`

Add key `SECRET_KEY` with value as the SECRET_KEY you had copied somewhere.

Add key `DEBUG` with value True. This is for the moment. Ensure you change this once you go live

# Commit file
In your **project root**, run

git add . git commit -m "Initial commit" git push heroku master

# Run migrations
Run `heroku run python manage.py migrate`. 

If the app **crashes** because of missing *migrations* (something I experienced), run

python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate git add migrations/ git commit -m "Add migrations" git push heroku master heroku run python manage.py migrate

# If getting collectstatic error during deploy run these commands:

disable the collectstatic during a deploy

```heroku config:set DISABLE_COLLECTSTATIC=1```

deploy

```git push heroku master```

run migrations (django 1.10 added at least one)

```heroku run python manage.py migrate```

run collectstatic using bower

```heroku run 'bower install --config.interactive=false;grunt prep;python manage.py collectstatic --noinput'```

enable collecstatic for future deploys

```heroku config:unset DISABLE_COLLECTSTATIC```

try it on your own (optional)

```heroku run python manage.py collectstatic```

future deploys should work as normal from now on

You are now good to go!


Thanks to [Simple is Better than Complex](https://simpleisbetterthancomplex.com/tutorial/2016/08/09/how-to-deploy-django-applications-on-heroku.html). One of the very useful sites around!
Thanks to [Heroku Dev Centre](https://devcenter.heroku.com)
Thanks to [Google](https://google.com)
And my awesome efforts ;)