Django Image Sharing App

A modern image sharing application built with Django, featuring user authentication, image uploads, and a responsive design.

Features

• User authentication (login, register, logout)
• Image upload and management
• User profiles
• Image likes and comments
• Responsive design with Bootstrap
• Search functionality
• AWS S3 integration for media storage (in production)

Prerequisites

• Docker (20.10+ recommended) - Install Docker
• Docker Compose (2.0+ recommended) - Included with Docker Desktop
• Python 3.11+ (for local development)

Project Structure

image-sharing-app/
├── image_sharing_app/     # Main Django app
├── templates/             # HTML templates
├── static/                # Static files
├── media/                 # User uploaded files (not version controlled)
├── nginx/                 # Nginx configuration
├── config/                # Django project settings
├── docker-compose.local.yml  # Local development setup
├── docker-compose.prod.yml   # Production setup
└── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies

Getting Started

Local Development

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd image-sharing-app

2. Create and configure environment files:

cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your settings

3. Build and start the containers:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local up --build -d

4. Run the database migrations:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web python manage.py migrate

5. Create a superuser (optional):

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Access the application:

• Main site: http://127.0.0.1:8000
• Admin interface: http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin

Production Deployment

For detailed production deployment instructions, please see the Deployment Guide.

Development Commands

# Start containers
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local up -d

# Stop containers
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local down

# Stop containers and remove volumes
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local down -v

# View logs
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local logs -f

# Create superuser
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web python manage.py createsuperuser

# Run migrations
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web python manage.py migrate

# Collect static files
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web python manage.py collectstatic

Data Persistence

The application uses Docker volumes for data persistence:

• image-sharing-app_media: Stores user-uploaded images and files
• image-sharing-app_static: Stores collected static files
• image-sharing-app_postgres_data: Stores the PostgreSQL database data

Important notes:

• Volume data is not pushed to GitHub
• Each developer needs to set up their own volumes locally
• In production, use proper backup strategies for volume data

Troubleshooting

Missing Nginx Directory

If you encounter an error about a missing nginx directory, ensure that you have cloned the complete repository. The nginx directory contains configuration files needed for the web server and should be included in the repository.

File Permission Issues

If you experience permission issues with media uploads or static files, fix the permissions by running:

docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web chmod -R 755 /app/media
docker-compose -f docker-compose.local.yml --env-file .env.local exec web chmod -R 755 /app/static

Database Connection Issues

If you encounter database connection errors, ensure:

1. The PostgreSQL container is running (docker-compose ps)
2. Your .env.local file has the correct database credentials
3. You've run the migrations

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Django
• Bootstrap
• PostgreSQL
• Nginx
• Docker