Django App Prerequisites for AWS Elastic Beanstalk

Install Python

Check for python and pip, and their versions:

$ python --verison
$ pip --version

Python 3.x

Python 3.x is often invoked as python3.

$ python3 --verison

If Python 3 is not installed:

$ sudo yum list | grep python3
$ sudo yum install python34 # or relevant version

Create a virtual Python environment for the EC2 instance

Install virtualenv if needed:

$ which virtualenv
$ pip install virtualenv

Create the virtual Python Environment

$ virtualenv -p python3.4 /tmp/py34_nrose_env

Where py34_nrose_env is a name that makes sense for the app's virtual environment.

Start the virtual environment:

$ . /tmp/eb_python_app/bin/activate

Confirm the Python version:

$ python --version

Install Django

(Make sure to use the virtual Python 3 environment.)

$ pip install django

Confirm the installation with

$ pip freeze | grep -i django
Django==1.9.2

Install the Django project and its dependencies.

Install AWS Elastic Beanstalk CLI

I couldn't get the following command to work until I switched to the Python 3.4 virtual environment.

$ pip install awsebcli

Confirm the installation with eb --version

Create an Elastic Beanstalk environment in the project directory:

$ eb init

Install Git and PostgreSQL

$ sudo yum install git-all

Notes

See also

• Common Steps for Deploying Python Applications - AWS Elastic Beanstalk documentation
• Installing Python - AWS Elastic Beanstalk documentation