This tutorial is about deploying your Django web application to Railway, this time with a PostgreSQL database.

📁🔧 Craft a Procfile in your project's root directory and add these code lines to it!
<pre class="language-python"><code>web: gunicorn 'name-of-application.wsgi'</code></pre>
From the code above "name-of-application" refers to the name of your Django project, the folder that holds your settings.py file.
&nbsp;
Note: A Procfile has no file extension.
&nbsp;

Procfile

🛠️📜 While you're in the settings.py file, drop these lines of code into your static section to ensure a flawless rendering of your static files:
<pre class="language-python"><code>STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "assets"
STATICFILES_STORAGE = "whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage"</code></pre>
&nbsp;
🛠️✨ Still in your settings.py file in the MIDDLEWARE list. You have to add a middleware for whitenoise, just before the SecurityMiddleware.&nbsp;
<pre class="language-python"><code>MIDDLEWARE = [

 "django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware",
 "whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware", # newly added

]</code></pre>
NOTE:&nbsp;Whitenoise is used to serve staticfiles (CSS, JavaScript, and Images) in production, later in the tutorial Whitenoise will be installed as a dependency for our Django project.

Staticfiles

🎬🔥 Get ready for a quick tour! I'll walk you through creating a top-notch PostgreSQL database super fast on railway ⏱️📦, and then linking it up to your Django app 🌐🐍. Let's dive in! 🚀🔗
&nbsp;
<h3>Steps on Creating a PostgreSQL Database on Railway.</h3>
&nbsp;
Step 1:
<ul>
<li>Head over to <a href="https://railway.app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">railway</a></li>
<li>Click on the "Start a new Project" button<img style="font-size: 18px;" src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/a195e642-4a1b-4c9e-89b4-c93e6bbd21ba_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1355" height="534"></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>After clicking on the button if you are not logged in, you will be prompted to log in.</li>
<li>When signing up on the platform, use your GitHub account because you will be given more privileges on the platform.</li>
</ul>
Step 2:
After clicking&nbsp;on the "Start a new Project" button, you will be brought to a new page.
Click on "Provision PostgreSQL"
&nbsp;
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/389571b1-7978-49f1-9d6d-b16ae72868e1_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1019" height="572">
&nbsp;
After clicking on "Provision PostgreSQL"&nbsp;your new Postgres DB will be created after a few seconds.<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/63a4df79-eed3-4d9c-a109-1e2bd19fe362_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1366" height="532">
&nbsp;
Step 3:
Click on your newly created database, under the&nbsp;"Connect"&nbsp;tab you will see the variables for your newly created PostgreSQL database.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/98b9be8e-7f7c-4908-bb7a-d578ac45cd14_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1062" height="568">
&nbsp;

Setup Postgres DB on Railway

🔗🛠️ To connect your project with the newly created PostgreSQL database, you'll need to use the connection details provided by the railway.&nbsp;
You can comment out the SQLite3 database configuration and then add the configuration for PostgreSQL.
<pre class="language-python"><code>DATABASES = {
 'default': {
 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
 'NAME': 'pg-database',
 'USER': 'pg-user',
 'PASSWORD': 'pg-password',
 'HOST': 'pg-host',
 'PORT': 'pg-port',
 }
}</code></pre>
I had to use some dummy values for the database credentials, you have to use the EXACT values from Railway.
Later in this tutorial, I will hide the database credentials using environment variables.
Here is how to test your database connection from your local computer:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Head over to your local project development environment</li>
<li dir="ltr">In the terminal/cmd run, "python manage.py migrate".&nbsp;</li>
<li dir="ltr">Create a user by running: "python manage.py createsuperuser".&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
After that, head to the "Data" tab in your Railway PostgreSQL database on Railway to take a peek at your newly created user.✨👀
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/53602e95-ede2-4eda-b013-825bf1acd2ea_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">&nbsp;

Link Postgres DB to your Django App

👷&zwj;♂️ Now it is time to install some other dependencies for our Django project.
&nbsp;
Run the command below.
<pre class="language-python"><code>pip install gunicorn whitenoise psycopg2</code></pre>
&nbsp;
The command above helps to install the dependencies (gunicorn, whitenoise, and psycopg2) at once.
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>"gunicorn"&nbsp;will be used to run our Django server on railway.</li>
<li>"whitenoise"&nbsp;will be used to configure our staticfiles(CSS, JavaScript, and Images) in production.</li>
<li>"pscopg2" will be used to connect our Django project to Postgres</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<pre class="language-python"><code>pip freeze &gt; requirements.txt</code></pre>
Run the code above to generate a "requirements.txt" file containing all the dependencies in the virtual environment for your Django project.
&nbsp;
Once you are done with configuring your project's requirements file, you can now push your code to GitHub.

Project Requirements

🚀🌟 It's time to visit Railway again! We're all set to launch our app into the cloud.🛤️🚀
Remember, we already have a service running on Railway, and that service is the PostgreSQL database. Now we want to add a new service which is the deployment our Django app.
&nbsp;
<h3>Deployment Steps</h3>
Step 1:
Choose to logged in with your GitHub account on Railway.
On the home page click on "Dashboard"&nbsp;on the top right corner, then click on&nbsp;"New Project".
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/cb21be48-3190-4080-a2e8-e89afaad5915_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1360" height="429">
&nbsp;
Step 2:
Select&nbsp;"Deploy from GitHub repo"
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/d2a2c514-dd16-4cbb-bb6a-261d6344e59c_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1366" height="517">
&nbsp;
Step 3:
Select&nbsp;"Configure GitHub App"
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/65da6f03-836d-497f-b582-ab69dbb3a89d_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
&nbsp;
Step 4:
Choose your GitHub account.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/02168507-c930-4f5c-85e7-2fa4923e2892_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1085" height="545">
&nbsp;
Step 5:
After you have entered in your GitHub password, you have to select the exact repository you want to deploy, and then click the&nbsp;"Save"&nbsp;button to continue.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/d11df985-7dc2-4435-b9da-1a558062dc5a_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1065" height="560">
Step 6:
You will be redirected back to "Step 2"&nbsp;where you have to select&nbsp;"Deploy from GitHub repo"
&nbsp;
Step 7:
Choose the repository you want to deploy<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/db87b996-0130-453b-959b-26eb83af9886_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
Step 8:
Select&nbsp;"Deploy Now"
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/6f79599b-0122-4266-93f2-b0afc71ee3c9_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1365" height="531">
&nbsp;
Step 9:
Watch your Django app as it gets deployed to the cloud<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/190de7db-0083-48db-a756-e5ceb6996223_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1366" height="523">
NOTE:&nbsp;You will face an error for not adding the new domain name of your app to the "ALLOWED_HOSTS"&nbsp;in&nbsp;settings.py file. This error will be fixed in the next section.

Railway Setup

🔒🕵️&zwj;♂️ Now, let's keep things safe! We're about to protect some secret info in our Django app. Time for a little undercover work! 🕵️&zwj;♀️🔐
Our&nbsp;SECRET_KEY, ALLOWED_HOSTS, DEBUG,&nbsp;and&nbsp;DATABASE&nbsp;credentials will be hidden.
Imports:
Add this import to the top of your settings.py file:
<pre class="language-python"><code>import os</code></pre>
SECRET_KEY:
In your&nbsp;settings.py&nbsp;file replace&nbsp;secret_key&nbsp;with the code block below.
<pre class="language-python"><code>SECRET_KEY = os.getenv('SECRET_KEY', 
'django-insecure-vzfa+(g@-rb87i(ny*4v)k$21c!l!dbd@0qf5%%+iwv2c5#yw2'
)</code></pre>
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/a2710c6e-d3d3-4f7d-8fa0-8c34f8d0271f_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
The highlighted section above is the&nbsp;secret_key&nbsp;that comes with your django project, it serves as the default secret key in the development and production environment if no secret key is provided.
In the development environment, the highlighted&nbsp;secret_key remains our secret key, In the production environment we have to set a different secret key that isn't visible to the public.
&nbsp;
Now we need to generate a new secret_key for production.
Run the code blocks below to generate a new secret_key.
<pre class="language-python"><code>python manage.py shell</code></pre>
<pre class="language-python"><code>from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key
print(get_random_secret_key())</code></pre>
Copy the new&nbsp;secret_key&nbsp;generated and head over to your Railway dashboard.
<ul>
<li>Click on your deployed app</li>
<li>Under the&nbsp;"Variables" tab select&nbsp;"New variable"</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/8d914ca6-2a39-4125-bd8c-25bb423cd461_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1366" height="409">
After clicking on "New Variable"&nbsp;you can now start adding your environment variables.<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/b0c72d72-7778-45a3-82ea-e2a1fd2e0aed_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
DEBUG:
In your settings.py file replace&nbsp;"DEBUG"&nbsp;with the code block below.
<pre class="language-python"><code>DEBUG = os.getenv('DEBUG', 'True') == 'True'</code></pre>
The comparison&nbsp;os.getenv('DEBUG') == 'True'&nbsp;compares the retrieved value with the string&nbsp;"True".&nbsp;This comparison will be&nbsp;"True"&nbsp;if the value of the&nbsp;<code>DEBUG</code> in your railway environment variable is "True"&nbsp;and&nbsp;"False"&nbsp;otherwise.
In your railway environment variable set "DEBUG"&nbsp;&nbsp;to&nbsp;"False"
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/55b12926-372b-4a6a-a256-5074820f1c59_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
Lastly, you have to add your website URL to the ALLOWED_HOSTS.
In your settings.py file replace&nbsp;"ALLOWED_HOSTS"&nbsp;with the code block below.
<pre class="language-python"><code>ALLOWED_HOSTS = os.getenv('ALLOWED_HOSTS', '127.0.0.1').split(',')</code></pre>
If the environment variable is not set or is empty, the default value&nbsp;<code>''</code>&nbsp;will be used. The&nbsp;<code>split(',')</code>&nbsp;method splits the value by commas and returns a list of host names.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/24a051a6-b940-4b2b-9584-d4d0adaa23ba_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
The highlighted part above is your website's url.
&nbsp;
Over to Railway, let's add a new environment variable.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/614e95e1-ec30-45d4-b8f1-a17d935a7569_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
&nbsp;
⚠️ Feel free to update your GitHub repo by pushing your code, but bear in mind that the production database credentials are exposed directly in the code.
Now, setting up the database credentials as environment variables is what's left.

Environment Variables

🔧🌱 Let's take the next step! We're diving into setting up the environment variables for our database. Time to give our app the right tools to work with! 📊🔑
&nbsp;
Head over to your Railway dashboard. Remember you now have two services running on Railway, PostgreSQL DB and The Web app. Click on the PostgreSQL DB and copy the "DATABASE_URL".&nbsp;Use the image below as a guide.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/c0b04c69-090e-4b27-aa2b-27e548d444b5_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1363" height="458">
Add the following variable to your settings.py file.
<pre class="language-python"><code>DATABASE_URL = os.getenv('DATABASE_URL', None)</code></pre>
The <code>DATABASE_URL</code> environment variable typically contains a URL-like string that includes all the information needed to connect to a database.
&nbsp;
Add the&nbsp;"DATABASE_URL"&nbsp;as an environment variable in Railway.
&nbsp;
Head back to your Railway dashboard, choose your&nbsp;Web app, and add the new environment variable.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/9c60980c-e62d-4e43-aacf-49283f9af6f7_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
In your development environment the variable&nbsp;"DATABASE_URL"&nbsp;will be assigned the&nbsp;None&nbsp;value while in the production environment,&nbsp;"DATABASE_URL"&nbsp;will be assigned the database&nbsp;connection string&nbsp;as its value.
&nbsp;
Now, uncomment the Sqlite3 database configuration as it is time to replace it with the code block below.
<pre class="language-python"><code>if not DATABASE_URL:
 DATABASES = {
 'default': {
 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
 'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
 }
 }
else:
 DATABASES = {
 'default': {
 'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
 'NAME': os.getenv('PG_DATABASE'),
 'USER': os.getenv('PG_USER'),
 'PASSWORD': os.getenv('PG_PASSWORD'),
 'HOST': os.getenv('PG_HOST'),
 'PORT': os.getenv('PG_PORT')
 }
 }</code></pre>
Head back to your Railway dashboard, get the credentials for your PostgreSQL database, and add the new environment variables:
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/7b7731d0-ac47-460b-bc64-c322dcb50ce4_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
&nbsp;
When you are done adding:
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/1332aaf6-37d1-4405-a2a7-69536d3300f5_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1035" height="575">
Once, you are done adding the environment variables. You have to update your GitHub repository again by pushing your code.
&nbsp;
🎉🚂 Hooray! You've triumphantly launched your Django app on Railway, complete with a PostgreSQL database. 🌐🚀📦

Database Environment Variables

🔍🚀 Ready to tackle challenges head-on? I'll show you how to handle errors and keep moving forward! 🛠️🔧
&nbsp;
I will show you how to&nbsp;DEBUG&nbsp;your code while deploying on&nbsp;Railway.
&nbsp;
If after deploying your app and you are faced with an error when you visit the app's URL. Click on the&nbsp;"View Logs"&nbsp;button.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/7d7165e5-2919-4243-82da-cb15f1aaed6c_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="">
After clicking on the "View Logs"&nbsp;button, you can check both the "Build Logs"&nbsp;and&nbsp; "Deploy Logs"&nbsp;buttons for any error message and you can start debugging from there.
<img src="https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/kowe/media/uploads/content/dd719a53-ec8b-4fe4-9919-d83030e02622_4c2c3d14-5d00-40eb-8a11-cd976ecb89f1.png" alt="" width="1364" height="510">
&nbsp;
Note: Add this code block to your&nbsp;settings.py&nbsp;&nbsp;file, without it, you won't be able to submit forms in your app:
<pre class="language-python"><code>CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS = os.getenv('ALLOWED_HOSTS', '127.0.0.1').split(',')</code></pre>

Deploy Django on Railway - PostgreSQL

Procfile

Procfile

Staticfiles

Setup Postgres DB on Railway

Link Postgres DB to your Django App

Project Requirements

Railway Setup

Environment Variables

Database Environment Variables

Debugging