Deploying a Django app with Kamal, AWS ECR, and Github Actions

Author

Affiliation

Dylan Castillo

Iwana Labs

Every other night, my wife wakes me up to tell me I’m muttering unintelligible phrases in my sleep: “restart nginx,” “the SSL certificate failed to validate,” or “how do I exit vim?”

I still suffer from PTSD from the days of manually deploying web apps. But since switching to Kamal, I’ve been sleeping like a baby¹.

Kamal is sort of a lightweight version of Kubernetes that you can use to deploy containerized apps to a VPS. It has a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’ll take you less than 5 minutes to get an app in production with a CI/CD pipeline.

A single push to main, and that green GitHub Actions checkmark confirms that your 2-pixel padding change is live for the world to admire.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through the process of deploying a Django app with Kamal, AWS ECR, and Github Actions.

Prerequisites

To make the most of this tutorial, you should:

• Have an AWS account and its CLI installed.
• Be comfortable with Docker.
• Have a basic understanding of Kamal.
• Have a basic understanding of Github Actions.
• Have a VPS with Ubuntu ready to host your app.

Ideally, you should also have a Django project ready to deploy. But if you don’t have one, you can use this sample Django project for the tutorial.

Prepare the VPS for Kamal

At a minimum, you’ll need to install docker, curl, git, and snapd on your VPS, and create a non-root user called kamal that can sudo. That user should have a 1000 UID and GID.

I have a terraform script that will take care of this for you if you’re using Hetzner.

But if you’d like to do it manually, you can run these commands on your VPS’s terminal:

# Install docker, curl, and git, and snapd
apt-get update
apt-get install -y docker.io curl git snapd

# Start and enable the docker service
systemctl start docker
systemctl enable docker

# Create a non-root user called kamal
useradd -m -s /bin/bash -u 1000 kamal
usermod -aG sudo kamal
echo "kamal ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/kamal

# SSH key to login as kamal user
mkdir -p /home/kamal/.ssh
echo "<YOUR_PUBLIC_SSH_KEY>" >> /home/kamal/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 700 /home/kamal/.ssh
chmod 600 /home/kamal/.ssh/authorized_keys
chown -R kamal:kamal /home/kamal/.ssh

# Disable root login
sed -i '/PermitRootLogin/d' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
echo "PermitRootLogin no" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config
systemctl restart sshd

# Add the kamal user to the docker group
usermod -aG docker kamal
docker network create --driver bridge kamal_network

# Create a folder for the Let's Encrypt ACME JSON
mkdir -p /letsencrypt && touch /letsencrypt/acme.json && chmod 600 /letsencrypt/acme.json
chown -R kamal:kamal /letsencrypt

# Create a folder for the SQLite database (skip this if you're using a different database)
mkdir -p /db
chown -R 1000:1000 /db

# Create a folder for the redis data (skip this if you're not using redis)
mkdir -p /data
chown -R 1000:1000 /data

reboot

This assumes that you’re using a root user to connect to your server and that there isn’t a non-root user with UID 1000 already. Otherwise, adjust the commands accordingly.

Also, if you don’t have a public SSH key for the “Add SSH key” step, you can generate one with the following command:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

These commands will:

1. Install docker, curl, git, and snapd
2. Start and enable the docker service
3. Create a non-root user called kamal
4. Remove the root login
5. Add the kamal user to the docker group
6. Create a bridge network for Traefik, SQLite, and redis
7. Create a folder for the Let’s Encrypt ACME JSON
8. Make the Let’s Encrypt ACME JSON folder writable by the kamal user
9. Create a folder for the SQLite database and redis data
10. Make the SQLite database and redis data folders writable by the kamal user
11. Restart the server

If you’re not using SQLite or redis, you can skip the database and redis data folder steps.

Finally, configure the SSH key in your local .ssh/config file so you can login as the kamal user without using the root account.

Host kamal
  HostName <YOUR_VPS_IP>
  User kamal
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<YOUR_PRIVATE_SSH_KEY>

Create a Dockerfile for your app

Kamal is meant to deploy containerized apps, so you’ll need to have a Dockerfile for your app. I also recommend using an entrypoint.sh script to run the application.

Dockerfile

Here’s the Dockerfile I’m using for my projects. You can use this as a template and adjust it to your needs.

Dockerfile

FROM python:3.10-slim AS base

ENV POETRY_HOME=/opt/poetry
ENV POETRY_VERSION=1.8.3
ENV PATH=${POETRY_HOME}/bin:${PATH}

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
    curl \
    && apt-get clean \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

RUN curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 - && poetry --version

FROM base AS builder

WORKDIR /app

COPY poetry.lock pyproject.toml ./

RUN poetry config virtualenvs.in-project true && \
    poetry install --only main --no-interaction

FROM base AS runner

WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder /app/.venv/ /app/.venv/

COPY . /app
RUN mkdir -p /data /db

RUN chmod +x /app/src/entrypoint.sh

FROM runner AS production

EXPOSE 8000

ARG user=django
ARG group=django
ARG uid=1000
ARG gid=1000
RUN groupadd -g ${gid} ${group} && \
    useradd -u ${uid} -g ${group} -s /bin/sh -m ${user} && \
    chown -R ${uid}:${gid} /app /data /db

USER ${uid}:${gid}

WORKDIR /app/src
CMD [ "/app/src/entrypoint.sh" , "app"]

This is a multi-stage Dockerfile that:

1. Installs poetry and sets up the virtual environment
2. Creates the user django with the UID and GID 1000 and runs the application with that user. It’s important that this user has the same UID and GID as the owner of the folders outside the container. Otherwise, you’ll have issues with file permissions and the app won’t persist data.
3. Exposes port 8000 and runs the application by executing the entrypoint.sh script. By exposing the port, Kamal will automatically detect that is the port the app runs on and will use that to set up the reverse proxy.

Feel free to adjust this Dockerfile to your needs. If you are not planning on using redis or a SQLite database in your same VPS, you can remove those parts from the Dockerfile.

entrypoint.sh script

I use an entrypoint.sh script to run the application because that makes it easier to collect static files, run migrations when the container starts, and also running commands in the container.

Here’s an example of a simple entrypoint.sh script:

entrypoint.sh

#!/bin/sh

set -e

if [ "$1" = "app" ]; then
    echo "Collecting static files"
    poetry run python manage.py collectstatic --clear --noinput

    echo "Running migrations"
    poetry run python manage.py migrate

    echo "Running in production mode"
    exec poetry run gunicorn -c gunicorn.conf.py
else
    exec "$@"
fi

This script just collects static files, runs migrations, and starts the Gunicorn server with the configuration in the gunicorn.conf.py file. You can add or remove commands to the script as needed.

Configure an ECR registry in AWS

Next, you’ll need a place to push and pull your Docker images. I like using AWS, so that’s what I’ll show you how to do. If you prefer other services, take a look at the instructions for other registries in the Kamal documentation.

Log in to the AWS Management Console and go to Amazon ECR. Click on Create repository and set a name for your repository.

Then, create a new IAM user in your AWS account by going to Services > IAM > Users > Add user.

Instead of using a predefined policy, create a new one with the following JSON and attach it to the user:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "ListImagesInRepository",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ecr:ListImages"],
      "Resource": [
        "arn:aws:ecr:<REGION>:<ACCOUNT_ID>:repository/<REPOSITORY_NAME>"
      ]
    },
    {
      "Sid": "GetAuthorizationToken",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": ["ecr:GetAuthorizationToken"],
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Sid": "ManageRepositoryContents",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "ecr:BatchCheckLayerAvailability",
        "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
        "ecr:GetRepositoryPolicy",
        "ecr:DescribeRepositories",
        "ecr:ListImages",
        "ecr:DescribeImages",
        "ecr:BatchGetImage",
        "ecr:InitiateLayerUpload",
        "ecr:UploadLayerPart",
        "ecr:CompleteLayerUpload",
        "ecr:PutImage"
      ],
      "Resource": [
        "arn:aws:ecr:<REGION>:<ACCOUNT_ID>:repository/<REPOSITORY_NAME>"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This policy allows the user to list, get, and manage the ECR repository you created earlier and get the authorization token to push and pull the image. You will need to replace the <REGION>, <ACCOUNT_ID>, and <REPOSITORY_NAME> with the values for your repository.

Next, select the user you created and go to Security credentials > Access keys > Create access key. Download the CSV file and keep it in a secure location.

You will use those credentials in your Github Actions pipeline to push and pull the image from the ECR registry.

Set up Kamal in your project

Open your Django project in your favorite code editor. Create a folder called deploy in the root directory. Then go into the folder and initialize Kamal:

kamal init

This will create two folders (.kamal/ and config/) and an .env file. Inside config/, you’ll find a deploy.yml file. This is where you’ll provide the instructions for Kamal to build and deploy your app.

You can use the following deploy.yml file as a template for your Django app:

deploy.yml

service: <YOUR_SERVICE_NAME>

image: <YOUR_IMAGE_NAME>

ssh:
  user: kamal

env:
  secret:
    - DJANGO_SECRET_KEY

traefik:
  options:
    publish:
      - "443:443"
    volume:
      - "/letsencrypt/:/letsencrypt/"
    memory: 500m
    network: kamal_network
  args:
    entryPoints.web.address: ":80"
    entryPoints.websecure.address: ":443"
    entryPoints.web.http.redirections.entryPoint.to: websecure
    entryPoints.web.http.redirections.entryPoint.scheme: https
    entryPoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.permanent: true
    certificatesResolvers.letsencrypt.acme.email: "<YOUR_EMAIL>"
    certificatesResolvers.letsencrypt.acme.storage: "/letsencrypt/acme.json"
    certificatesResolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge: true
    certificatesResolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint: web

servers:
  web:
    hosts:
      - <YOUR_VPS_IP>
    healthcheck:
      port: 8000
      interval: 5s
    options:
      network: kamal_network
    labels:
      traefik.http.routers.app.tls: true
      traefik.http.routers.app.entrypoints: websecure
      traefik.http.routers.app.rule: Host(`<YOUR_DOMAIN>`)
      traefik.http.routers.app.tls.certresolver: letsencrypt

accessories:
  redis:
    image: redis:7.0
    roles:
      - web
    cmd: --maxmemory 200m --maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru
    volumes:
      - /var/redis/data:/data/redis
    options:
      memory: 250m
      network: kamal_network

volumes:
  - "/db/:/app/db/"

registry:
  server: <YOUR_AWS_ECR_URL> # e.g. 123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  username: AWS
  password:
    - KAMAL_REGISTRY_PASSWORD

builder:
  dockerfile: "../Dockerfile"
  context: "../"

This will set up your app and a reverse proxy using Traefik (with automatic SSL certificates using Let’s Encrypt), a Redis database, and a volume to persist the SQLite database. It will also do a healthcheck on /up on port 8000.

Remember to replace the placeholders with your own values.

Test the configuration locally

To test it locally, first, you’ll have to define the required environment variables in the .env file, such as the Django secret key, OpenAI API key, and any other secrets you need.

You’ll also need to get a temporary password for the ECR registry. You can get this password by running the following command:

aws ecr get-login-password --region <YOUR_REGION>

You should copy the output of this command and paste it in the KAMAL_REGISTRY_PASSWORD field in the .env file.

Then, run the following command to deploy your application to your VPS:

kamal env push
kamal deploy

The first command will push the environment variables to the VPS. The second command will build the Docker image, push it to the ECR registry, and deploy it to your VPS.

After a few minutes, your app should be live at https://<YOUR_DOMAIN>.

If you see any errors, there are two things you can do:

1. Run kamal app logs to see the logs of the app.
2. Open a terminal in the container by running kamal app exec -it bash.

This is how I usually debug the app.

Automate the deployment with Github Actions

Now that you have a working deployment process in your local environment, you can automate the deployment with Github Actions.

Create a new file in the .github/workflows folder called deploy.yml and add the following code:

name: Deploy webapp to VPS
concurrency:
  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
  cancel-in-progress: true

on:
  push:
    branches: ["main"]
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - uses: webfactory/[email protected]
        with:
          ssh-private-key: ${{ secrets.VPS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}

      - name: Set up Ruby and install kamal
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.2.2
      - run: gem install kamal

      - name: Configure AWS credentials
        uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
        with:
          aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID_ECR }}
          aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_ECR }}
          aws-region: us-east-1
          mask-aws-account-id: false # otherwise the mask will hide your account ID and cause errors in the deployment

      - name: Login to AWS ECR
        id: login-ecr
        uses: aws-actions/amazon-ecr-login@v2

      - name: Set up Docker Buildx for cache
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3

      - name: Expose GitHub Runtime for cache
        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-github-runtime@v3

      - name: Create .env file
        run: |
          cd <YOUR_PROJECT_ROOT>/deploy
          touch .env
          echo KAMAL_REGISTRY_PASSWORD="${{ steps.login-ecr.outputs.docker_password_<YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID>_dkr_ecr_<YOUR_REGION>_amazonaws_com }}" >> .env
          echo DJANGO_SECRET_KEY="${{ secrets.DJANGO_SECRET_KEY }}" >> .env
          # if you have other secrets, add them here
          cat .env

      - name: Kamal Deploy
        id: kamal-deploy
        run: |
          cd <YOUR_PROJECT_ROOT>/deploy
          kamal lock release
          kamal env push
          kamal deploy

This workflow will:

1. Checkout the code
2. Set up the Ruby environment and install Kamal
3. Configure the AWS credentials
4. Login to the AWS ECR registry
5. Set up Docker Buildx for cache
6. Expose GitHub Runtime for cache
7. Create the .env file
8. Run Kamal deploy

It will run everytime you make a push to the main branch or by manually triggering the workflow. It’ll cancel any in-progress runs to avoid conflicts.

Also, before you push your code to the repository, you’ll need to add the following secrets to the repository:

• VPS_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: The private key to connect to your VPS
• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID_ECR: The access key ID for the AWS ECR registry
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_ECR: The secret access key for the AWS ECR registry
• DJANGO_SECRET_KEY: The Django secret key

Finally, to speed up the deployment, add these options to the builder section of the deploy.yml file:

builder:
  dockerfile: "../Dockerfile"
  context: "../"
  multiarch: false # new
  cache: # new
    type: gha # new

This will enable the Docker Buildx cache for the build process in Github Actions. You can set multiarch to false if your CI pipeline shares the same architecture as your VPS, which was the case for me.

Conclusion

You now have a fully automated deployment pipeline for your Django app. A push to the main branch will trigger the workflow, which will build the Docker image, push it to the ECR registry, and deploy it to your VPS.

Break free from the tyranny of manual deployments and expensive cloud services. Sleep like a baby and let Kamal handle your deployments.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Footnotes

1. crying and sh*tting my diapers?