Docker containerization in Django - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Docker containerization

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple Django web application that you want to run inside a Docker container. Docker helps package your app with all its settings and dependencies so it runs the same everywhere.

🎯 Goal: Build a Docker setup for a Django app by creating a Dockerfile, setting a port configuration, writing the command to run the app inside the container, and finally adding a docker-compose.yml file to manage the container easily.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a Dockerfile with Python base image and Django setup

Add a port variable to expose Django's default port 8000

Write the command to run Django's development server inside the container

Create a docker-compose.yml file to run the container with port mapping

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Docker helps developers package their Django apps with all dependencies so they run the same on any computer or server. This avoids the 'it works on my machine' problem.

💼 Career

Many companies use Docker to deploy web apps. Knowing how to containerize Django apps is a valuable skill for backend and DevOps roles.

1

Create the Dockerfile with Python base and Django install

Create a file named Dockerfile with these exact lines:
FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .

Django

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use the official Python 3.12 slim image. Set working directory to /app. Copy requirements.txt and install dependencies. Then copy the rest of the app files.

2

Add a port variable to expose Django's port

In the same Dockerfile, add a line to expose port 8000 by writing EXPOSE 8000 after the last COPY command.

Django

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
# Your code here

Need a hint?

This tells Docker which port the container will listen on. Django's default development server uses port 8000.

3

Add the command to run Django development server

In the Dockerfile, add a line at the end to run the Django server with CMD ["python", "manage.py", "runserver", "0.0.0.0:8000"].

Django

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
EXPOSE 8000
# Your code here

Need a hint?

This command starts Django's development server and makes it listen on all network interfaces inside the container.

4

Create docker-compose.yml to run the container with port mapping

Create a file named docker-compose.yml with these exact lines:
version: '3.9'
services:
web:
build: .
ports:
- '8000:8000'

Django

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
EXPOSE 8000
CMD ["python", "manage.py", "runserver", "0.0.0.0:8000"]

# Your docker-compose.yml content here

Need a hint?

This file tells Docker Compose to build the image from the current folder and map port 8000 on your computer to port 8000 in the container.