Day 13 — Deployment | Python Internship

0–5 min
Real Hook

5–25 min
Core Concept

25–45 min
Live Coding

45–55 min
You Code It

55–60 min
Cheat Sheet

🔥 Real-World Hook (0–5 min)

Your app works on localhost. But localhost is invisible to the world. Deploying means your app runs 24/7 on a server in the cloud, reachable by anyone on the planet.

Railway deploys Python apps in 5 minutes from a GitHub repo. No Docker, no Kubernetes, no AWS configuration. The same platform used by thousands of Indian startups to get their Python backend live the same day.

📦 3 Things a Server Needs (5–25 min)

💡 Pre-deployment Checklist

requirements.txt — Railway reads this to install your packages. Run pip freeze > requirements.txt
Procfile — tells Railway how to start your app: web: gunicorn myproject.wsgi
Environment Variables — SECRET_KEY, DATABASE_URL, DEBUG=False. Never commit secrets.

💻 Live Demo — Deploy in 5 Steps (25–45 min)

# Step 1: Production-ready settings
pip install gunicorn dj-database-url django-environ whitenoise

# settings.py changes for production
import environ
env = environ.Env()
environ.Env.read_env()

DEBUG      = env.bool("DEBUG", default=False)
SECRET_KEY = env("SECRET_KEY")
ALLOWED_HOSTS = [".railway.app", "127.0.0.1"]

# Static files (whitenoise serves CSS/JS without a CDN)
MIDDLEWARE = [... "whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware" ...]
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "staticfiles"

# Database from environment variable
DATABASES = {
    "default": env.db()           # reads DATABASE_URL env var
}

# Step 2: Procfile (no extension) at project root
web: gunicorn myproject.wsgi --log-file -

# Step 3: runtime.txt (tell Railway which Python version)
python-3.12.0

# Step 4: Collect static files
python manage.py collectstatic --no-input

# Step 5: Push to GitHub, then Railway
git add .
git commit -m "deploy: production settings"
git push origin main

# Railway: connect GitHub repo → New Service → Add env vars:
# SECRET_KEY=your-long-secret-key-here
# DEBUG=False
# Railway auto-provides DATABASE_URL for PostgreSQL

📉 After Deploy

Run migrations on production: in Railway dashboard, open Shell tab and run python manage.py migrate. Then python manage.py createsuperuser. Now your app is live, has a database, and has an admin user.

🎯 You Code It (45–55 min)

Update your Django project: install gunicorn, whitenoise, django-environ
Create Procfile and runtime.txt in project root
Update settings.py for production (DEBUG=False, SECRET_KEY from env, whitenoise)
Run pip freeze > requirements.txt
Push to GitHub, create Railway account, connect repo
Add environment variables in Railway dashboard, deploy
Show: Your app running on a .railway.app URL — share the link

📄 Day 13 Cheat Sheet — Django Deployment

Key Files

requirements.txt	pip freeze > requirements.txt
Procfile	web: gunicorn app.wsgi
runtime.txt	python-3.12.0
.env	Local env vars (never commit)
.gitignore	Add .env, __pycache__, venv

Production Settings

DEBUG = False	Never True in prod
ALLOWED_HOSTS = [domain]	Whitelist your domain
SECRET_KEY from env	Never hardcode
collectstatic	Bundle static files
HTTPS only	Railway handles SSL

Railway Commands

railway login	Authenticate CLI
railway init	Link project
railway up	Deploy current code
railway run python manage.py migrate	Run on prod
railway logs	Live logs

Environment Variables

SECRET_KEY	Django secret key
DEBUG	False
DATABASE_URL	Auto from Railway PostgreSQL
ALLOWED_HOSTS	.railway.app
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS	Your frontend URL

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