Source: https://foxhop.net/f240510a-2f95-11f1-9afc-e86a64d24d78/django-virtualenv-apache-mod-wsgi Snapshot: 2026-05-25T01:39:28Z Generator: Remarkbox 1527ef7 This is a thread snapshot. The living document lives at the source URI above — it may have been edited, extended, or replied-to since.

Django virtualenv Apache2 mod_wsgi

By the end of this article you will know how to deploy a Django web application using a python virtualenv, using an Apache2 webserver with mod_wsgi.

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Why use wsgi and virtualenv?

• I also host pylons applications using mod_wsgi and apache2 and mod_python is incompatible.
• mod_wsgi is fast.
• I don't want my public site-packages library conflicting with other applications.

Install virtualenv

1. Install Setup tools:

   $ sudo apt-get install python-setuptools memcached

2. Install virtualenv:

   $ sudo easy_install virtualenv

Create a virtualenv

1. Move to the directory where you want to create the virtualenv:

   $ cd /www/lostquery.com

2. Create python environment:

   $ virtualenv --no-site-packages virtpy

Install Django

1. Activate the virtualenv:

   $ source virtpy/bin/activate

2. The shell should have changed to (virtpy) $ . Run this command to install django to the virtualenv:

   # I know this version works... $ easy_install django==1.3.1

3. Install any dependencies you will need to the virtualenv:

   $ easy_install MySQL-python markdown html5lib modwsgideploy python-openid South python-memcached

Install and configure the Django web application

1. Get the sourcecode:

   $ svn co http://svn.osqa.net/svnroot/osqa/trunk

2. Configure the application:

   $ cd trunk

   $ cp settings_local.py.dist settings_local.py

   $ vi settings_local.py

3. You must tell the Django's application what database to use. Also configure memcached:

   # database settings DATABASE_NAME = 'databasename' # Or path to database file if using sqlite3. DATABASE_USER = 'username' # Not used with sqlite3. DATABASE_PASSWORD = 'p@ssw0rd' # Not used with sqlite3. DATABASE_ENGINE = 'mysql' #mysql, etc DATABASE_HOST = 'localhost' DATABASE_PORT = ''

   # memcached settings (osqa is slow as dirt without this) CACHE_BACKEND = 'memcached://127.0.0.1:11211/'

4. Give apache access to a few directories, /trunk/log and /trunk/forum/upfiles:

   $ chmod 777 log $ chmod 777 forum/upfiles

5. Create the database (example syntax to create a mySQL database).

   Let the django application build the tables in the new database:

   $ python manage.py syncdb --all $ python manage.py migrate forum --fake

Configure Apache2 VirtualHost

1. Turn on mod_rewrite:

   $ a2enmod rewrite

2. Create a sites-available vhost apache2 file:

   $ sudo vi /etc/apache2/sites-available/007-lostquery

3. Setup the host file:

Configure mod_wsgi

1. Create the egg-cache directory:

   $ mkdir /www/lostquery.com/mod_wsgi

   $ mkdir /www/lostquery.com/mod_wsgi/egg-cache

2. Create the wsgi dispatch file:

   $ vi /www/lostquery.com/mod_wsgi/dispatch.wsgi

3. Setup the wsgi dispatch file:

Enable the Virtual Host and reload Apache2

1. Reset apache2 so that it reads in the new config files:

   $ a2ensite lostquery

   $ sudo service apache2 reload

fritzvd — Sep 28, 2011 11:31 pm

Hi,

Thanks this is great and exhaustive. Helped me host my django. One question though, I usually do this: Create sites and put them in: sites-available. Reload apache2 for a graceful restart. Call them/switch on:

a2ensite lostquery

/etc/init.d/apache2 reload

Is there any special reason why you don't do this?

Fritz

foxhop — Sep 29, 2011 05:00 pm

@fritzvd

I have recently started using the a2ensite method that you described.

Thanks for your input. I have adjusted the tutorial. Feel free to adjust anything you feel need work!

Foxhop

Source: https://foxhop.net/f240510a-2f95-11f1-9afc-e86a64d24d78/django-virtualenv-apache-mod-wsgi
Snapshot: 2026-05-25T01:39:28Z
Generator: Remarkbox 1527ef7