Getting Started with Django on Fly.io

Fly.io is one of the best platforms for indie developers who want the power of cloud hosting without the complexity of AWS or the price of managed services.

You can deploy a production-ready Django app with Docker in minutes — and scale it globally when you’re ready.

Let’s walk through how to get Django running on Fly.io from scratch.

🧩 What You’ll Need

• Python 3.11 or newer
• Django (4.2+ recommended)
• Docker installed
• A Fly.io account (sign up at https://fly.io)
• The Fly CLI (flyctl) installed

If you don’t have the CLI yet:

curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh

Then log in:

flyctl auth login

⚙️ Step 1: Create a Django Project

If you don’t already have a Django app:

mkdir myapp && cd myapp
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install django gunicorn psycopg2-binary
django-admin startproject core .

Run it locally:

python manage.py runserver

Once confirmed, stop it with Ctrl + C.

🐳 Step 2: Add a Dockerfile

Inside your project root, create a file named Dockerfile:

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
FROM python:3.11-slim

ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
WORKDIR /app

COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

COPY . .

CMD ["gunicorn", "core.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8080"]

Generate a requirements.txt:

pip freeze > requirements.txt

🗂️ Step 3: Initialize Fly.io

Create your app on Fly.io:

flyctl launch

The CLI will:

• Create a fly.toml config file
• Ask for an app name
• Ask if you want a Postgres database (say “Yes”)
• Create the deployment region (choose one close to you)

Your folder will now have:

.
├── Dockerfile
├── fly.toml
├── core/
└── requirements.txt

🗃️ Step 4: Connect to Fly Postgres

After launch, Fly sets up a managed Postgres instance.
You can connect to it using environment variables.

Get your credentials:

flyctl postgres connect

Or view them:

flyctl secrets list

In your Django settings.py, update the database config:

import os
import dj_database_url

DATABASES = {
    "default": dj_database_url.config(default=os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL"))
}

Add this to your .env file locally for development.

🔒 Step 5: Configure Static Files

Install whitenoise:

pip install whitenoise

Add it to your MIDDLEWARE in settings.py:

MIDDLEWARE = [
    "django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware",
    "whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware",
    ...
]

Collect your static files:

python manage.py collectstatic

🚀 Step 6: Deploy

Run:

flyctl deploy

This command:

• Builds your Docker image
• Pushes it to Fly.io
• Launches it in the closest region

Once deployed, Fly gives you a URL like:

https://myapp.fly.dev

Visit it — and your Django app is live.

🌍 Step 7: Scale and Secrets

You can add environment secrets:

flyctl secrets set DJANGO_SECRET_KEY='supersecret'
flyctl secrets set DEBUG='False'

To scale vertically or horizontally:

flyctl scale vm shared-cpu-1x --memory 512
flyctl scale count 2

🧠 Why Fly.io for Indie Devs?

Fly.io is built for the kind of developer who wants control, speed, and simplicity.

• Global edge deployment out of the box
• Free tier for small apps
• Built-in Postgres, Redis, and persistent volumes
• Works seamlessly with Docker
• CLI-first — no bloated dashboards

It’s the perfect middle ground between self-hosting on a $5 VPS and managing AWS infrastructure.

🏁 Conclusion

You now have a fully working Django app on Fly.io — scalable, secure, and affordable.

From here, you can:

• Add a REST API (see next tutorial)
• Enable authentication with Djoser
• Set up CI/CD with GitHub Actions
• Scale into a full SaaS

You own the stack.
You deploy it anywhere.
That’s the indie way.

Written by Bailey Burnsed — Senior Software Engineer, Founder of BaileyBurnsed.dev