How to Deploy a Django Project on Ubuntu Using Nginx and Gunicorn

Setting up your Django app for production might seem complex, but it doesn’t have to be. This step-by-step guide walks you through deploying a Django web application on Ubuntu, using Nginx as a reverse proxy, Gunicorn as the application server, and either MySQL or PostgreSQL as the database backend.

Whether you're a developer, DevOps engineer, or startup founder, this tutorial will walk you through each step with clarity and confidence.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, make sure you have the following:

• A cloud server (e.g., AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, Linode) running Ubuntu 22.04+
• A non-root user with sudo privileges
• Python 3.8+ installed
• A Django project ready for deployment
• Domain name pointed to your server IP (optional but recommended)
• Basic understanding of Linux commands

Update the Server & Install Required Packages

update server

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

install python 

sudo apt install python3-pip python3-dev build-essential libssl-dev libffi-dev python3-venv curl git -y

Create a Virtual Environment and Install Requirements

cd /opt/
sudo mkdir myproject && sudo chown $USER:$USER myproject
cd myproject
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install django gunicorn mysqlclient

If you have a requirements.txt file, use:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Why Use /opt/ Instead of /var/www/ for a Django Project?

Traditionally, /var/www/ is used to store static website files served directly by a web server like Apache. However, for modern web applications (like Django with Gunicorn and Nginx), that convention isn't strictly necessary or even ideal.

Reasons Developers Prefer /opt/:

Create a Non-Root User (if you don't have one)

sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" django

Give User Access to Your Project Directory

sudo chown -R django:www-data /opt/myproject

Configure Django Settings for Production

Edit settings.py:

• Set DEBUG = False
• Add your domain to ALLOWED_HOSTS:

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com', 'www.yourdomain.com']

Collect static files:

python manage.py collectstatic

Run migrations:

python manage.py migrate

Create superuser (optional):

python manage.py createsuperuser

Set Up MySQL Database

Install MySQL and secure it:

sudo apt install mysql-server -y
sudo mysql_secure_installation

Development libraries for MySQL. Needed to compile and install mysqlclient for connecting Django to a MySQL database.

sudo apt install -y pkg-config libmysqlclient-dev -y

Access the MySQL shell:

sudo mysql

Create a database and user:

CREATE DATABASE myprojectdb CHARACTER SET UTF8;
CREATE USER 'myuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strongpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON myprojectdb.* TO 'myuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

• myprojectdb: Name of your Django project's database.
• myuser: MySQL username Django will use to connect.
• strongpassword: Replace with a secure password.

Tip: Always use strong passwords and unique usernames in production environments.

Update your Django settings.py:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.mysql',
        'NAME': 'myprojectdb',
        'USER': 'myuser',
        'PASSWORD': 'strongpassword',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '3306',
    }
}

Install MySQL client:

pip install mysqlclient

Run Gunicorn as the Application Server

Test Gunicorn manually first:

gunicorn --bind 0.0.0.0:8000 myproject.wsgi:application

If successful, create a systemd service for Gunicorn:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gunicorn.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=gunicorn daemon
After=network.target

[Service]
# Replace with your actual Linux username (e.g. ubuntu)
User=django
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myproject

# Use the correct WSGI module path (project name should match your Django structure)
ExecStart=/opt/myproject/venv/bin/gunicorn --workers 3 --bind unix:/opt/myproject/myproject.sock myproject.wsgi:application

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start Gunicorn:

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl enable gunicorn
sudo systemctl start gunicorn

Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

sudo apt install nginx -y

Create a new config:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject

Paste:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    # Disable logging for favicon
    location = /favicon.ico { access_log off; log_not_found off; }

    # Serve static files
    location /static/ {
    	# replace with you django static files folder path 
        alias /opt/myproject/static/;
    }

    # Proxy all other requests to Gunicorn via Unix socket
    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://unix:/opt/myproject/myproject.sock;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myproject /etc/nginx/sites-enabled
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Allow traffic on port 80:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

Secure with HTTPS (Optional but Recommended)

Use Let’s Encrypt:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Set up auto-renewal:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Final Checklist

• Gunicorn is running as a service
• Nginx is correctly serving the Django app
• Static files are collected
• MySQL is connected and working
• HTTPS is enabled (optional)
• If Gunicorn shows a 500 error use this commad to inspect the logs:   sudo journalctl -u gunicorn -e