Docker packages your application and its dependencies into containers, ensuring consistency across environments.

Dockerizing a Django Application

1. Create a Dockerfile:

   # Base image
   FROM python:3.10-slim
   
   # Set environment variables
   ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
   ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
   
   # Set working directory
   WORKDIR /app
   
   # Install dependencies
   COPY requirements.txt /app/
   RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
   
   # Copy project files
   COPY . /app/
   
   # Run Gunicorn
   CMD ["gunicorn", "your_project.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000"]
   

2. Create a docker-compose.yml (optional for multi-container setups):

   version: '3.9'
   
   services:
     web:
       build: .
       ports:
         - "8000:8000"
       volumes:
         - .:/app
       depends_on:
         - db
   
     db:
       image: postgres:13
       environment:
         POSTGRES_USER: user
         POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
         POSTGRES_DB: dbname
   

3. Build and Run the Container:

   docker build -t your_project .
   docker run -p 8000:8000 your_project