═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DJANGO BLOG API - PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENT PACKAGE ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ✅ STATUS: PRODUCTION READY FOR CPANEL + MYSQL DEPLOYMENT ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ FILES CREATED/MODIFIED ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DOCUMENTATION: ✓ PRODUCTION_READY.md (NEW) - This file - Overview & quick start ✓ PRODUCTION_SETUP.md (NEW) - Complete setup guide with examples ✓ DEPLOYMENT_CPANEL.md (NEW) - Step-by-step cPanel deployment ✓ DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md (NEW) - Interactive deployment checklist ✓ PRODUCTION_SUMMARY.txt (THIS) - What was done summary CONFIGURATION: ✓ .env.example (NEW) - Template for all configuration ✓ .env.test (NEW) - Test environment for validation ✓ requirements.txt (MODIFIED) - Root requirements pointing to base.txt ✓ requirements/base.txt (UPDATED) - Core dependencies ✓ requirements/production.txt (NEW) - Production dependencies: • mysqlclient (MySQL driver) • gunicorn (WSGI server) • python-dotenv • sentry-sdk (error tracking) DJANGO SETTINGS: ✓ config/settings/base.py (UPDATED) - Removed invalid comment - Added logging configuration - Ready for both dev and production ✓ config/settings/production.py (REWRITTEN) - MySQL database configuration - Security settings (HTTPS, CSRF, XSS, Clickjacking) - Static/media file handling for cPanel - Email configuration - Environment variable support - Proper error handling APPLICATION: ✓ config/wsgi.py (UPDATED) - Production-ready WSGI configuration - Proper path handling - Default to production settings AUTOMATION SCRIPTS: ✓ server_setup.sh (NEW) - Automated server setup script ✓ production_checklist.sh (NEW) - Pre-deployment validation ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ WHAT'S BEEN CONFIGURED ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ SECURITY: ✓ DEBUG mode disabled in production ✓ Secret key support via environment variables ✓ HTTPS/SSL configuration (configurable via .env) ✓ Secure cookies (when HTTPS enabled) ✓ CSRF protection ✓ XSS attack prevention ✓ Clickjacking protection (X-Frame-Options) ✓ CORS origin validation ✓ Content-Type sniffing prevention DATABASE: ✓ MySQL configuration for cPanel ✓ Connection pooling enabled ✓ UTF-8 charset (utf8mb4) configured ✓ Proper database error handling ✓ Environment-based credentials STATIC & MEDIA FILES: ✓ Configured for public_html directory ✓ Paths: public_html/static and public_html/media ✓ Ready for collectstatic command LOGGING: ✓ File-based logging to logs/django.log ✓ Warning level and above recorded ✓ Formatted with timestamp and module info EMAIL: ✓ SMTP configuration ready ✓ Support for Gmail, Office365, or custom SMTP ✓ Environment-based credentials ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ QUICK DEPLOYMENT (5 STEPS) ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ 1. PREPARE .env FILE ───────────────── Copy .env.example → .env and update: - SECRET_KEY (generate new one) - DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD (from cPanel) - ALLOWED_HOSTS (your domain) - EMAIL credentials Generate SECRET_KEY: python -c 'from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; \ print(get_random_secret_key())' 2. UPLOAD TO SERVER ──────────────── Via Git: git clone https://github.com/YourUsername/blog_django.git Or via FTP: Upload all files except: .git/, venv/, __pycache__, .env 3. INSTALL & SETUP ─────────────── bash server_setup.sh Or manually: pip install -r requirements/production.txt python manage.py migrate --settings=config.settings.production python manage.py collectstatic --noinput python manage.py createsuperuser --settings=config.settings.production 4. CONFIGURE CPANEL ──────────────── Setup Python App: - Python: 3.9+ (latest available) - App root: /public_html/blog_django - Startup file: config/wsgi.py - Entry point: application Enable HTTPS: - Install SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt) - Update .env with SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT=True 5. TEST & MONITOR ────────────── curl https://yourdomain.com/api/users/ curl https://yourdomain.com/api/admin/ tail -f logs/django.log ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES REFERENCE ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ REQUIRED: SECRET_KEY - Unique, random, and long string DB_NAME - MySQL database name DB_USER - MySQL database user DB_PASSWORD - MySQL database password STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: ALLOWED_HOSTS - Your domain(s): yourdomain.com,www.yourdomain.com EMAIL_HOST_USER - Email address for sending emails EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD - Email password or app password DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL - "From" email address OPTIONAL: DEBUG - False (default, never True in production) DB_HOST - localhost (default, usually correct) DB_PORT - 3306 (default MySQL port) SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT - True if using HTTPS SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE - True if using HTTPS CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE - True if using HTTPS CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS - Frontend domains See .env.example for all options with detailed descriptions. ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DIRECTORY STRUCTURE ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ blog_django/ ├── README.md ← Project overview ├── PRODUCTION_READY.md ← Quick start guide (START HERE) ├── PRODUCTION_SETUP.md ← Detailed setup guide ├── DEPLOYMENT_CPANEL.md ← Step-by-step cPanel guide ├── DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md ← Pre-deployment checklist ├── PRODUCTION_SUMMARY.txt ← This file ├── manage.py ← Django management ├── server_setup.sh ← Auto setup script ├── production_checklist.sh ← Validation script ├── .env.example ← Configuration template ├── .env (create from .env.example) ← Your configuration (DO NOT COMMIT) ├── requirements.txt ← Root requirements file ├── requirements/ │ ├── base.txt ← Core dependencies │ ├── development.txt ← Dev dependencies │ └── production.txt ← Production dependencies ├── config/ │ ├── settings/ │ │ ├── base.py ← Shared settings │ │ ├── development.py ← Development settings │ │ └── production.py ← Production settings (MAIN) │ ├── urls.py │ ├── asgi.py │ └── wsgi.py ← WSGI entry point ├── apps/ │ ├── users/ ← User authentication │ ├── posts/ ← Blog posts │ └── notifications/ ← Notifications ├── core/ ← Utilities ├── templates/ ← Email templates ├── logs/ ← Application logs (auto-created) ├── media/ ← User uploads ├── public_html/ ← Static files (collected) │ ├── static/ ← CSS, JS, images │ └── media/ ← User uploads └── db.sqlite3 ← Development database only ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ KEY DEPLOYMENT CHECKLIST ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ BEFORE DEPLOYMENT: ☐ Generated new SECRET_KEY ☐ Set DEBUG=False in .env ☐ Configured ALLOWED_HOSTS ☐ Set strong DB_PASSWORD ☐ Added email credentials ☐ .env not committed to Git ☐ All required packages in requirements/production.txt ☐ Read DEPLOYMENT_CPANEL.md ON CPANEL SERVER: ☐ Created MySQL database and user ☐ Cloned/uploaded repository ☐ Created .env with production values ☐ Installed dependencies ☐ Ran migrations ☐ Created superuser ☐ Collected static files ☐ Set file permissions (644 files, 755 dirs) ☐ Configured Python app in cPanel ☐ Installed SSL certificate AFTER DEPLOYMENT: ☐ Admin panel accessible (https://yourdomain.com/api/admin/) ☐ API endpoints responding ☐ Static files loading ☐ Emails being sent ☐ Logs being written ☐ HTTPS working without mixed content warnings ☐ Database connected successfully ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PRODUCTION BEST PRACTICES ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DO: ✓ Use HTTPS/SSL in production ✓ Keep SECRET_KEY secret and unique ✓ Use strong database passwords ✓ Enable regular database backups ✓ Monitor error logs regularly ✓ Keep dependencies updated ✓ Use environment variables for config ✓ Set proper file permissions ✓ Enable logging to track issues ✓ Use error tracking (Sentry) DON'T: ✗ Set DEBUG=True in production ✗ Commit .env to Git ✗ Use default passwords ✗ Hardcode secrets in code ✗ Ignore error logs ✗ Use outdated dependencies ✗ Use ALLOWED_HOSTS = '*' ✗ Send production credentials via email ✗ Skip HTTPS for API endpoints ✗ Forget to backup data ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ TROUBLESHOOTING ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ COMMON ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS: 1. "Allowed Host" Error → Check ALLOWED_HOSTS in .env matches your domain exactly → Include both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com 2. Database Connection Error → Verify DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD in .env → Ensure user has database privileges in cPanel → Check DB_HOST is 'localhost' (for cPanel) 3. Static Files 404 → Run: python manage.py collectstatic --noinput → Check STATIC_ROOT path exists and is writable → Verify file permissions (644) 4. Email Not Sending → Verify EMAIL_HOST_USER and EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD → For Gmail: use app-specific password (not Gmail password) → Check MAIL logs: tail -f /var/log/exim_mainlog 5. Permission Denied Errors → Check file permissions: chmod 644 files, chmod 755 directories → Ensure .env is readable by web server → Check logs directory is writable 6. Module Not Found → Run: pip install -r requirements/production.txt → Verify you're using correct Python version → Check virtual environment is activated (if using) ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ MONITORING & MAINTENANCE ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DAILY: • Check error logs: tail -f logs/django.log • Monitor disk usage: df -h • Verify API is responding WEEKLY: • Review application logs for patterns • Check database size • Monitor email delivery MONTHLY: • Backup database and files • Check for outdated packages: pip list --outdated • Review security logs QUARTERLY: • Full security audit • Performance optimization review • Update all dependencies to latest versions ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ SUPPORT & DOCUMENTATION ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ INCLUDED GUIDES: • PRODUCTION_READY.md - Quick overview (5 min read) • PRODUCTION_SETUP.md - Complete setup (15 min read) • DEPLOYMENT_CPANEL.md - Detailed cPanel steps (20 min read) • DEPLOYMENT_CHECKLIST.md - Interactive checklist EXTERNAL RESOURCES: • Django Docs: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/stable/howto/deployment/ • cPanel Python: https://docs.cpanel.net/ea4/appmanager/ • MySQL/cPanel: https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/databases/mysql/ • Django REST Framework: https://www.django-rest-framework.org/ ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ YOUR DJANGO API IS READY FOR PRODUCTION! 🚀 ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Next Step: Read PRODUCTION_READY.md for quick start instructions Good luck with your deployment! ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════