How to Deploy Horilla on Linux Using a Single Service File

Deploying a Django application such as Horilla can appear daunting, but following the correct steps is easy. This tutorial will guide you through installing Horilla as a systemd service on a Linux server, allowing you to start, stop, and manage it easily. If you’re an experienced developer or just starting with Linux, this easy-to-follow guide will keep your deployment up and running smoothly.

Prerequisites

Before we start, ensure you have everything required for the task.

• A Linux server (eg: Amazon Linux)
• A user account with sudo privileges (preferably ec2-user for AWS Linux)
• Git installed (sudo apt install git or sudo yum install git)
• Python 3 installed (python3 –version to check)
• Pip installed (sudo apt install python3-pip)
• Virtual environment support (python3 -m venv –help to verify)

After you have all these set up, you’re ready to deploy Horilla!

Step 1: Set Up the Horilla Application

First, navigate to the /opt/ directory, create the Horilla_Main directory, and pull the Horilla source code.

cd /opt/
mkdir Horilla_Main
sudo git clone https://github.com/horilla-opensource/horilla.git master

Set Directory Ownership

Ensure the directory is owned by the user that will run the application:

sudo chown -R ec2-user:ec2-user /opt/Horilla_Main

Create a Virtual Environment

Navigate to the Horilla directory and create a virtual environment:

cd /opt/Horilla_Main
python3 -m venv horillavenv

Activate the Virtual Environment and Install Dependencies

source horillavenv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

With the application set up, let’s configure systemd to manage the Horilla service.

Step 2: Create a Service File for Horilla

Create the Service File

Create a systemd service file for Horilla:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/horilla.service

Add the Following Configuration:

[Unit]
Description=Horilla Development Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=ec2-user
Group=ec2-user
WorkingDirectory=/opt/Horilla_Main
Environment="DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=horilla.settings"
ExecStart=/opt/Horilla_Main/horillavenv/bin/python3 manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save (Ctrl + O then enter) and exit (Ctrl + X).

Step 3: Reload Systemd and Start the Horilla Service

Run the following commands to reload systemd, enable the service to start on boot, and start Horilla:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable horilla.service
sudo systemctl start horilla.service

To verify if Horilla is running:

sudo systemctl status horilla.service

Step 4: Activate the Virtual Environment and Collect Static Files

If Horilla is running successfully, activate the virtual environment and collect static files:

cd /opt/Horilla_Main
. horillavenv/bin/activate
python3 manage.py collectstatic

Step 5: Configure for Production

Update Settings for Production

Open settings.py and set DEBUG to False:

sudo nano horilla/settings.py

Change:

DEBUG = False

Set ALLOWED_HOSTS

Update the ALLOWED_HOSTS list with your domain or IP address:

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['your-domain.com', 'your-ip-address']

Step 6: Configure Media File Serving

If media files are not loading, add a route in urls.py.

Edit URLs for Media Files

Open urls.py:

sudo nano horilla/urls.py

Add Media Route

from django.conf import settings
from django.views.static import serve
from django.urls import path

urlpatterns = [
    # Other paths
]

if not settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += [
        path('media/<path:path>', serve, {'document_root': settings.MEDIA_ROOT}),
    ]
    # if static is also not loading uncomment below lines
#    urlpatterns += [
#        path(static/<path:path>', serve, {'document_root': #settings.MEDIA_ROOT}),
#    ]

Step 7: Restart the Horilla Service

After making all changes, restart the Horilla service to apply updates:

sudo systemctl restart horilla.service

Conclusion

By following this guide, you have successfully deployed Horilla as a systemd service on your Linux server. This setup ensures that your application runs reliably, automatically starts on reboot, and properly serves static and media files. With Horilla now configured as a service, you no longer need to manually start the application, improving stability and automation.

To verify that everything is working as expected, open your web browser and visit:

http://your-ip-address:8000

Now that Horilla is up and running, your HR management system is production-ready. You can begin using it to manage employees, process payroll, and streamline other HR-related tasks. This deployment method also makes it easier to scale your application as needed.