Django Deployment Test Loop

Use this skill when deployment work should be proven by running the app in an environment closer to production. The goal is not to test Docker or Ansible for their own sake; it is to catch integration failures that ordinary dev-server tests miss.

Source Traceability

Primary source: Harry Percival, Test-Driven Development with Python, 3rd ed. Guidance is transformed and paraphrased from chapters 9-12, 18, 23, and Appendix A, especially Docker checks, production settings, static files, environment variables, Ansible deployment, staging functional tests, and server debugging.

Workflow

1. Name the deployment risk.

   • Static files, production settings, database path, permissions, secrets, migrations, logging, email, hostnames, or container networking.

2. Choose the smallest production-like check.

   • Docker build/run smoke test.
   • Functional test against the container.
   • Staging functional test after deploy.
   • Server log or management-command check when browser tests are not the right proof.