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Deploy to Render (prod environment)

This guide covers production deployment to Render using the render.yaml blueprint.

One-Click Deploy

Deploy to Render

Click the button → connect your GitHub account → select this repository → Render provisions everything.

What Gets Created

Resource Name Type
Web Service prei-web Python (Dockerfile)
Database prei-db Managed PostgreSQL 16

Web service config (from render.yaml): - Build: pip install -r requirements.txt && python manage.py collectstatic --noinput - Pre-deploy: python manage.py migrate --noinput - Start: gunicorn investor_app.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:$PORT --workers 2 - Health check: GET /health/ → {"status": "ok"} - Env: DJANGO_ENV=production, DEBUG=False

Required Environment Variables

Set these in Render Dashboard → Environment before first deploy:

Variable Value Notes
SECRET_KEY python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(50))" Required — generate a secure random value
ALLOWED_HOSTS your-app.onrender.com Comma-separated, no spaces. Your Render subdomain.

Optional (for external data features): | Variable | Purpose | |---|---| | ATTOM_API_KEY | Property/comps data | | CENSUS_API_KEY | Demographics | | BLS_API_KEY | Employment data | | RENTCAST_API_KEY | Rental estimates | | GREATSCHOOLS_API_KEY | School ratings | | WALKSCORE_API_KEY | Walkability |

Database

  • PostgreSQL (managed by Render)
  • Connection string injected via DATABASE_URL from prei-db resource
  • Migrations run automatically on each deploy (preDeployCommand)
  • Backups: Render provides daily automated backups (7-day retention on free tier)

Static Files

  • Collected during build: python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
  • Served by WhiteNoise (configured in settings.py)
  • No separate CDN needed for typical usage

Custom Domain (Optional)

  1. Render Dashboard → prei-web → Settings → Custom Domains
  2. Add your domain (e.g., app.yourdomain.com)
  3. Update DNS: CNAME → your-app.onrender.com
  4. Update ALLOWED_HOSTS in Render env vars to include your custom domain
  5. Render provisions TLS automatically (Let's Encrypt)

Deploy Pipeline

git push origin main
    │
    ▼
GitHub Actions: ci-quality.yml (lint, typecheck, test)
    │
    ▼
Render auto-deploys on push to main
    │
    ├── Build image (Dockerfile)
    ├── Run collectstatic
    ├── Run migrations (preDeployCommand)
    ├── Start gunicorn
    └── Health check /health/

Verify Deployment

# Health check
curl https://your-app.onrender.com/api/health/
# → {"status": "ok"}

# Home page
curl -I https://your-app.onrender.com/
# → 200 OK

Troubleshooting

Build fails

  • Check Render build logs
  • Common: missing SECRET_KEY or ALLOWED_HOSTS in env vars
  • Python version mismatch: render.yaml uses base image from Dockerfile (3.14)

Migrations fail

  • Check "Pre-deploy" logs in Render
  • Ensure DATABASE_URL is injected (automatic from prei-db)

502 Bad Gateway

  • Check "Deploy" logs for gunicorn startup errors
  • Verify PORT env var is used (Render sets it automatically)

Static files 404

  • Ensure collectstatic ran in build (check build logs)
  • WhiteNoise serves from STATIC_ROOT — verify STATIC_URL matches

Rollback

Render Dashboard → prei-web → Deployments → click previous successful deploy → Rollback to this deploy.

Cost Estimate (2025)

Resource Free Tier Paid
Web Service 750 hrs/mo, 512 MB RAM $7/mo for 1 GB
PostgreSQL 90 days, 1 GB storage $7/mo for 1 GB

Free tier is sufficient for evaluation and light production use.