==========================

How to deploy static files

==========================

.. seealso::

    For an introduction to the use of :mod:`django.contrib.staticfiles`, see

    :doc:`/howto/static-files/index`.

.. _staticfiles-production:

Serving static files in production

==================================

The basic outline of putting static files into production consists of two

steps: run the :djadmin:`collectstatic` command when static files change, then

arrange for the collected static files directory (:setting:`STATIC_ROOT`) to be

moved to the static file server and served. Depending on

:setting:`STATICFILES_STORAGE`, files may need to be moved to a new location

manually or the :func:`post_process

<django.contrib.staticfiles.storage.StaticFilesStorage.post_process>` method of

the ``Storage`` class might take care of that.

As with all deployment tasks, the devil's in the details. Every production

setup will be a bit different, so you'll need to adapt the basic outline to fit

your needs. Below are a few common patterns that might help.

Serving the site and your static files from the same server

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you want to serve your static files from the same server that's already

serving your site, the process may look something like:

* Push your code up to the deployment server.

* On the server, run :djadmin:`collectstatic` to copy all the static files

  into :setting:`STATIC_ROOT`.

* Configure your web server to serve the files in :setting:`STATIC_ROOT`

  under the URL :setting:`STATIC_URL`. For example, here's

  :ref:`how to do this with Apache and mod_wsgi <serving-files>`.

You'll probably want to automate this process, especially if you've got

multiple web servers.

Serving static files from a dedicated server

--------------------------------------------

Most larger Django sites use a separate web server -- i.e., one that's not also

running Django -- for serving static files. This server often runs a different

type of web server -- faster but less full-featured. Some common choices are:

* Nginx_

* A stripped-down version of Apache_

.. _Nginx: https://nginx.org/en/

.. _Apache: https://httpd.apache.org/

Configuring these servers is out of scope of this document; check each

server's respective documentation for instructions.

Since your static file server won't be running Django, you'll need to modify

the deployment strategy to look something like:

* When your static files change, run :djadmin:`collectstatic` locally.

* Push your local :setting:`STATIC_ROOT` up to the static file server into the

  directory that's being served. `rsync <https://rsync.samba.org/>`_ is a

  common choice for this step since it only needs to transfer the bits of

  static files that have changed.

.. _staticfiles-from-cdn:

Serving static files from a cloud service or CDN

------------------------------------------------

Another common tactic is to serve static files from a cloud storage provider

like Amazon's S3 and/or a CDN (content delivery network). This lets you

ignore the problems of serving static files and can often make for

faster-loading web pages (especially when using a CDN).

When using these services, the basic workflow would look a bit like the above,

except that instead of using ``rsync`` to transfer your static files to the

server you'd need to transfer the static files to the storage provider or CDN.

There's any number of ways you might do this, but if the provider has an API,

you can use a :doc:`custom file storage backend </howto/custom-file-storage>`

to integrate the CDN with your Django project. If you've written or are using a

3rd party custom storage backend, you can tell :djadmin:`collectstatic` to use

it by setting :setting:`STATICFILES_STORAGE` to the storage engine.

For example, if you've written an S3 storage backend in

``myproject.storage.S3Storage`` you could use it with::

    STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'myproject.storage.S3Storage'

Once that's done, all you have to do is run :djadmin:`collectstatic` and your

static files would be pushed through your storage package up to S3. If you

later needed to switch to a different storage provider, you may only have to

change your :setting:`STATICFILES_STORAGE` setting.

For details on how you'd write one of these backends, see

:doc:`/howto/custom-file-storage`. There are 3rd party apps available that

provide storage backends for many common file storage APIs. A good starting

point is the `overview at djangopackages.org

<https://djangopackages.org/grids/g/storage-backends/>`_.

Learn more

==========

For complete details on all the settings, commands, template tags, and other

pieces included in :mod:`django.contrib.staticfiles`, see :doc:`the

staticfiles reference </ref/contrib/staticfiles>`.