# Deploy Django App on AWS EC2 Instance with docker and nginx
This guide explains how to deploy a Django web app to AWS EC2 using Docker, Nginx, and DuckDNS (free dynamic DNS).

⭐ **If you found this helpful, please give the repo a star!**

## Required
`Check out my github repo` [Github/MichaelYang84](https://github.com/MichaelYang84/CS50-FinalProject)

project-root/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile
├── .env
├── nginx.conf
├── app/
│   ├── manage.py
│   ├── ... (your Django app files)

## EC2 Launch Instance
- Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image)
- Amazon Linux
- Amazon Linux 2023 kernel-6.1 AMI (Free tier eligible)
- Network Settings
- Create security group (for inbound rule)
- Key pair (login)
- proceed without a key pair (for just now)
- Wait until the status check are passed, and press Connect

## Deploy on Instance
#### Install package
###### git | docker | docker-compose

    sudo yum upgrade
    sudo yum install -y git docker
    # check version
    git --version
    docker --version
    # add docker group to omit sudo everytime
    sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
    newgrp docker
    # test docker
    docker run hello-world

    # Amazon Linux does not have docker-compose-plugin in YUM repository
    # Create Docker plugin path
    sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins
    # Download docker compose plugin
    curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.27.1/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o docker-compose
    # Authorize exec permission
    chmod +x docker-compose
    # move to plugins folder
    sudo mv docker-compose /usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
    docker compose --version

#### Match instance public IP to Duckdns domain
- Copy your Public IP to register on Duckdns

#### Clone project & Set .env file & Activate Container
You can use my GitHub repo at the top ⬆️

    git clone <url>
    # Add .env file to the root folder
    cd <Project>
    nano .env 
    # paste your env variable
    # ctrl + O, enter (save) ctrl + X (leave)
    docker compose up -d

- .env

    DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=<your django key>
    DJANGO_DEBUG=FALSE
    DJANGO_ALLOWED_HOSTS=<domain name>

- Create your own secret key

    python -c 'from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; print(get_random_secret_key())'

## Setting Inbound rules on Security Group
- Click Security Group from the instance
- Edit inbound rules
- Add rule

## Network Flow

🌐 User enters：`http://<sub domain>.duckdns.org` in their browser

🔽 DuckDNS resolves the domain to the EC2 public IP (e.g., `13.115.87.21`)

🔽 EC2 Security Group allows Inbound traffic on port 80（HTTP, where Nginx listens）

🔽 External request reached the EC2 instance → received by the Nginx container running via Docker Compose（Nginx is listening on port 80）

🔽 Nginx matches the `server_name` with `<sub domain>.duckdns.org` in Nginx config

🔽 Nginx config：

        proxy_pass http://web:8000;

The request is forwarded to the Docker service named `web` on port 8000

🔽 The `web` services is Gunicorn Django app, which is listening on 0.0.0.0:8000 inside the container (Gunicorn open 0.0.0.0:8000 in docker container)

🔽 Gunicorn processes the request and returns the HTML or data response

🔼 The response flows back through Nginx, then back to user's browser