Deploy Django to PandaStack: Step-by-Step Guide

# Deploy Django to PandaStack: Step-by-Step Guide

Django is one of the most battle-tested Python web frameworks. Deploying it to production used to mean configuring Nginx, Gunicorn, Postgres, and SSL certificates yourself. PandaStack handles all of that — you focus on your application.

This guide walks through deploying a Django app with a managed PostgreSQL database on PandaStack.

Prerequisites

• A Django project pushed to a GitHub repository
• A free PandaStack account at [dashboard.pandastack.io](https://dashboard.pandastack.io)
• Python 3.10+ and Docker installed locally (for testing the Dockerfile)

Step 1: Prepare Your Django App for Production

Make sure your settings.py reads configuration from environment variables:

import os
from pathlib import Path

SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('SECRET_KEY', 'dev-only-insecure-key')
DEBUG = os.environ.get('DEBUG', 'False') == 'True'
ALLOWED_HOSTS = os.environ.get('ALLOWED_HOSTS', '*').split(',')

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': os.environ.get('DB_NAME'),
        'USER': os.environ.get('DB_USER'),
        'PASSWORD': os.environ.get('DB_PASSWORD'),
        'HOST': os.environ.get('DB_HOST'),
        'PORT': os.environ.get('DB_PORT', '5432'),
    }
}

Or use dj-database-url for simplicity:

import dj_database_url
DATABASES = {'default': dj_database_url.config(default=os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL'))}

Step 2: Create requirements.txt

django>=5.0
gunicorn>=21.0
psycopg2-binary>=2.9
dj-database-url>=2.0
whitenoise>=6.6

Step 3: Write the Dockerfile

FROM python:3.12-slim

WORKDIR /app

COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

COPY . .

RUN python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

EXPOSE 8000

CMD ["gunicorn", "myproject.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000", "--workers", "2"]

Replace myproject with your actual Django project name (the directory containing wsgi.py).

Step 4: Create a Managed PostgreSQL Database

1. 1Log in to [dashboard.pandastack.io](https://dashboard.pandastack.io)
2. 2Navigate to Databases → New Database
3. 3Select PostgreSQL
4. 4Copy the connection string (format: postgresql://user:password@host:5432/dbname)

Step 5: Deploy Your Django App

1. 1Go to New Deployment → Container App
2. 2Connect your GitHub repository
3. 3PandaStack detects the Dockerfile automatically
4. 4Add environment variables:

1. 1Click Deploy

Step 6: Run Database Migrations

After your first deploy, run migrations using a PandaStack cronjob (one-time) or via the CLI:

panda exec --command "python manage.py migrate"

Alternatively, add migrations to your Dockerfile CMD or an entrypoint script:

#!/bin/bash
python manage.py migrate --noinput
exec gunicorn myproject.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 --workers 2

Step 7: Configure Static Files

Add WhiteNoise to serve static files from the container:

MIDDLEWARE = [
    'whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware',
    # ... other middleware
]
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'staticfiles'
STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage'

Step 8: Connect a Custom Domain

Go to your deployment → Domains → Add Domain. Enter your domain, add the CNAME record in your DNS provider, and SSL is provisioned automatically.

Automating Future Deploys

Every push to your configured GitHub branch (default: main) triggers an automatic rebuild and deployment. PandaStack sends a notification (email, Slack, or webhook) on deploy success or failure.

Full docs: [docs.pandastack.io](https://docs.pandastack.io).