Ultimate Django Starter Kit

Production-ready Django 6.x starter template featuring Docker Compose, Postgres, Redis, Celery, and TailwindCSS integrated with DaisyUI.

Tech Stack

• Core: Python 3.14, Django 6.x
• Database & Cache: PostgreSQL 18, Redis 8
• Infrastructure: Docker Compose, Gunicorn + Nginx
• Frontend: TailwindCSS, DaisyUI
• Tooling: uv (package management), pytest, ruff, mypy
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions, strict local/prod environment split (django-environ)

Features

• Strict Environment Separation: Isolated logic for Local and Production.
• Flawless Docker: No root permission conflicts on Linux/Mac. uv for blazing-fast package management.
• Fail-Fast Security: Production server refuses to start if .env is misconfigured.
• Nginx & HTTPS Ready: Self-contained proxy, static files cache busting, and easy Certbot renewal.
• Tailwind Hot-Reload: Native integration inside the local container, without messy local dependencies.

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💻 Local Development

1. Clone the repository:

git clone git@github.com:ivanitch/django-starter.git django-project
cd django-project

2. Setup environment variables:

cp .env.example .env

3. Start the project using Makefile:

make up

This builds images, starts the database, and launches Django + Tailwind watcher.

4. Apply migrations and create a superuser::

make migrate
make bash
# Inside container:
python manage.py createsuperuser

5. View local Logs:

make logs

make logs db

App runs at: http://localhost:8000

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🌍 Production Deployment (VPS)

Production operates in strict isolation. It does not rely on the local docker-compose.yml. Node.js and dev packages are stripped from the final image.

1. Clone to your VPS:

git clone git@github.com:ivanitch/django-starter.git django-project
cd django-project

2. Configure Production Settings:

cp .env.prod.example .env.prod
nano .env.prod

Make sure to generate a secure SECRET_KEY, set DEBUG=False, update ALLOWED_HOSTS, and set the exact URL in CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS. Add your domains (DOMAIN, WWW_DOMAIN), CERTBOT_EMAIL, configure PostgreSQL credentials ( POSTGRES_DB, POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD), and set up your SMTP email variables.

3. 🔒 SSL via Certbot (First Time Setup):

make prod-init-ssl

This command will build the prod image, apply migrations, run collectstatic into the Docker volume, and safely restart the web and nginx containers

4. Deploy (Zero Downtime)

make prod-deploy

This command will build the prod image, apply migrations, run collectstatic into the Docker volume, and safely restart the web and nginx containers.

5. View Production Logs:

make prod-logs

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CI/CD Setup (GitHub Actions)

Detailed information on CI/CD settings

Detailed deployment instructions for production

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Additional

• Make commands cheat sheet
• Cheat sheet: Tailwind + Django (uv)
• Production Deployment