vtasio/djengu

A DevOps full stack setup with Django, Quasar, Docker, and Caddy Server.

A full production and development environment for Django and Vue.

Djengu is a framework for creating decoupled web applications with Django and Vue. It's essentially a full-stack cookie-cutter. Most of the the heavy lifting in setting up both development and production environments is taken care of, such as server set-up, mock environments, containerization, SSL/TLS, DNS, testing, and much more.

The concept behind Djengu is that it will remove all reliance on itself once set up. Djengu will create everything you need, then quietly remove itself – leaving you with a clean, reliable, production-ready Django/Vue application.

At the moment, Djengu is limited to Django and Quasar Framework. Support for Vue CLI and Nuxt.js will be added soon. The tool is currently tested for Linux, but this will extend to OSX soon.

Quick start

First, clone the repository, replacing myproject below with your desired project name.

git clone https://github.com/johnckealy/djengu.git myproject
cd myproject

Djengu is controlled by a Makefile. To start, simply run

make

After a quick initial set up, you can run

make backend-serve

then, in a new tab, run

make frontend-serve

and your application will be ready.

NOTE: If you chose the option that includes authentication during setup, you will find that the development environment runs with SSL. You'll need to self-sign the cert – this is as simple as "accepting the risk" when prompted by your browser. You may also need to do this for your backend address as well (just click VISIT DJANGO API on the home page).

Installation

Djengu requires that the following tools be installed locally before starting.

– python-virtualenv

– node.js

– npm

Simulating the production environment

Before setting up on a real server, it can be extremely useful to simulate the production environment. Djengu makes use of Vagrant, a tool that allows you to make changes in your dev environment while mirroring the production code in a virtual machine.

To use this feature, you'll need to install Vagrant and VirtualBox.

The Vagrantfile controls the set up. If you don't wish to use this feature, you can simply remove it.

Create the environment with

make configure-vagrant

This may take a few minutes the first time it is run.

When the VM is set up, you may enter it using

vagrant ssh

If the setup completed successfully, there should be an instance of CaddyServer running in the VM. You may verify this using

docker ps

If there are any issues at this stage, cd into the /caddy directory in the VM and check the Caddyfile for any errors.

Now, cd into the /djengu directory in the VM. You should see your project. If you make an edit in your local machine, Vagrant will mirror these changes in the VM, allowing you to tweak your production settings without needing to make changes in two different places.

Before running the deploy, it's a good idea to check the env/.env.prod file to make sure your settings are correct.

When you're happy, run

make deploy

This will simulate a real deployment. To see the application, simply visit the domain you entered during the set up. If you tweak this domain, or any other settings that may affect the CaddyServer, remember to re-run make configure-vagrant from your local machine (not the VM).

NOTE: The reason you were prompted for a password when running make configure-vagrant is because Djengu needed access to the /etc/hosts file. This is the only change Djengu makes to your machine outside of it's own repository. When you're finished with the Vagrant testing, it's a good idea to open /etc/hosts and remove these lines. If you use the same domain for testing and deployment, the hosts entry may interfere with your access to the real application.

To remove the VM, run

vagrant destroy

from the root directory.

Technologies

Because Djengu takes care of a lot of underlying technologies, certain choices have already been made. This results in more simplicity and speed, but less flexibility. Djengu will install with the following technologies.

Make – Django / Django Rest Framework – Quasar Framework (a Vue.js framework) – PostgreSQL – Docker – Vagrant – Github Actions – JWT authentication – Dj Rest Auth – Server-side rendering (SSR)

If you'd like to see more choices, please consider contributing to the project.

Vscode

If you are a Visual Studio Code user, there are some premade scripts for running the backend application in the .vscode/ directory. If you don't use vscode, just go ahead and delete this directory.

Hosting multiple web applications on the same server instance

Because Djengu is decoupled by design, it is possible to host several completely independent applications on the same server instance. This is done using CaddyServer's built-in reverse-proxy.

This is really useful for running many independent websites on the same VPS instance. You could theoretically run a developer's whole portfolio of low-traffic websites for $5 a month with this approach.

Everything is controlled from the Caddyfile, which will install at /caddy/Caddyfile in the vagrant VM. You can add extra applications and then reference each docker container. The important thing to remember when doing this is to use unique port numbers for each instance, and reference these port numbers in the Caddyfile. In production, you may place the caddy/ directory anywhere you wish, but you must add each individual application to the same Caddyfile.

Flavours

Djengu currently has two choices. More will be added as the project progresses.

1. Basic: Creates a basic Quasar and Django application.

2. Authentication: Django and Quasar with JWT token authentication out of the box

Test Users

If you build Djengu with authentication, there is a test account built in. The credentials are

username: guest
password: secret

You can also log in with username admin and the admin password you entered during setup.

API

Djengu applications are based on a Makefile, which you'll find in the root directory. Here's a summary of what is possible. Feel free to add your own Make recipes to the file.

make

Run the setup script.

make build-*

See the make file for the various options. This runs the various builders for the backend and frontend.

make configure-vagrant

Run this to setup the Vagrant virtual machine. The initial run of this command will set up the virtual machine based on the .djengu/.production_toolbox/server_setup.sh set up script. You can also use this script on a real server, e.g. when initializing a DigitalOcean droplet.

If you make changes to any domain names or any other server related settings in the .env.prod file, remember to re-run this recipe.

make clean

Remove all build files and start everything fresh.

make deploy

Deploy the application on the production server (or vagrant VM).

make decrypt-dotenv

You'll need to run this command outside of the make recipe, because you must replace foo with the actual key. DO NOT ADD THE DECRYPTION KEY TO THE MAKEFILE.

make encrypt-dotenv

Encrypt the env/ folder. Running this recipe will prompt you to create an encryption passphrase. You can add this passphrase as a Github secret to allow Github actions to apply the CI/CD.

The recipe will create a file named env.tar.gpg. You may check this file into version control, just be sure not to check in any reference to the decryption passphrase. Use the command inside the make decrypt-dotenv recipe to decypt on the server, or in CI/CD (use the command, not the recipe itself, since the key must be set manually).

make frontend-serve

Run the development environment for the frontend.

make backend-serve

Run the development environment for the backend.

Contribute

Feel free to raise a Github issue with bugs and feature suggestions. You can also send a pull request.