saleor-deploy

Saleor Deployment

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io deployment production setup for production deployment guide
2. Fetch https://github.com/saleor/saleor-platform for Docker Compose reference configuration
3. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io environment variables configuration for required environment variables
4. Web-search saleor Celery worker configuration production for Celery setup details
5. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io cloud for Saleor Cloud managed hosting options

Production Docker Setup

Saleor provides an official Dockerfile with a multi-stage build:

Stage	Purpose	Base Image
build	Install dependencies, compile assets	python:3.12-slim
production	Run the application	python:3.12-slim

Docker Compose Services

Service	Image	Purpose	Port
api	saleor (custom build)	GraphQL API server (Gunicorn)	8000
worker	saleor (same image)	Celery worker process	N/A
db	postgres:15-alpine	PostgreSQL database	5432
redis	redis:7-alpine	Cache and Celery broker	6379
dashboard	saleor-dashboard	React admin UI	9002
storefront	Custom Next.js	Customer-facing storefront	3000

Saleor Cloud (Managed Hosting)

Feature	Description
Managed API	Fully managed Saleor backend, no server maintenance
Auto-scaling	Scales based on traffic automatically
Managed database	PostgreSQL with backups and replication
CDN	Built-in CDN for media and static assets
Environments	Staging and production environments per project
CLI integration	Deploy and manage via saleor CLI

Access via https://cloud.saleor.io/ — create projects, manage environments, and deploy Apps.

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection string	postgres://user:pass@host:5432/saleor
SECRET_KEY	Django secret key (50+ chars)	Random string
ALLOWED_HOSTS	Comma-separated hostnames	api.example.com,localhost
DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL	Sender email address	noreply@example.com
CELERY_BROKER_URL	Redis URL for Celery	redis://redis:6379/1

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Default
DEBUG	Django debug mode	False
ALLOWED_CLIENT_HOSTS	Storefront origins for CORS	localhost
DEFAULT_CURRENCY	Fallback currency code	USD
DEFAULT_COUNTRY	Fallback country code	US
MAX_CHECKOUT_LINE_QUANTITY	Max qty per checkout line	50
JAEGER_AGENT_HOST	OpenTelemetry/Jaeger host	None
SENTRY_DSN	Sentry error tracking DSN	None

Celery Worker Configuration

Celery runs as a separate process using the same Saleor codebase:

Setting	Value	Description
Broker	Redis	CELERY_BROKER_URL = redis://redis:6379/1
Result backend	Redis	Optional, for task result storage
Concurrency	--concurrency=4	Number of worker threads
Queues	celery (default)	Default task queue name
Beat	Optional	Periodic task scheduler

Key Celery Tasks in Saleor

Task	Purpose
Webhook delivery	Send async webhook payloads to Apps
Email sending	Transactional emails (order confirmation, etc.)
Thumbnail generation	Generate product image thumbnails
Search indexing	Update search index entries
Export processing	Handle CSV/XLSX data exports

S3-Compatible Media Storage

Variable	Description	Example
AWS_MEDIA_BUCKET_NAME	S3 bucket name	saleor-media-prod
AWS_MEDIA_CUSTOM_DOMAIN	CDN domain for media	media.example.com
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	IAM access key	IAM credential
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	IAM secret key	IAM credential
AWS_S3_REGION_NAME	S3 region	us-east-1
AWS_S3_ENDPOINT_URL	Custom S3 endpoint (for MinIO, GCS)	https://s3.example.com

• Works with any S3-compatible service (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, MinIO, DigitalOcean Spaces)
• Set a CDN in front of the bucket for performance
• Configure CORS on the bucket to allow Dashboard uploads

PostgreSQL Configuration

Setting	Recommendation
Version	PostgreSQL 14 or 15
Connection pooling	Use PgBouncer in transaction mode
SSL	Require SSL connections (sslmode=require in DATABASE_URL)
Backups	Automated daily backups with point-in-time recovery
Extensions	pg_trgm (required for search), btree_gin
Max connections	Size for Gunicorn workers + Celery workers + buffer

Redis Configuration

Purpose	Database	Variable
Cache	redis://redis:6379/0	CACHE_URL
Celery broker	redis://redis:6379/1	CELERY_BROKER_URL

• Use separate Redis databases (or instances) for cache and Celery
• Enable Redis persistence (RDB snapshots or AOF) for the Celery broker

Database Migrations

Run migrations during deployment before starting the new application version:

• Always run python manage.py migrate --noinput before starting Gunicorn/Celery with new code
• Back up the database before applying migrations
• Review migration SQL with python manage.py sqlmigrate <app> <migration>
• For zero-downtime: ensure migrations are backward-compatible with the running code

Scaling Strategies

Horizontal Scaling

Component	Strategy	Notes
API (Gunicorn)	Add replicas behind load balancer	Stateless, scale freely
Celery workers	Add worker processes/containers	Scale based on queue depth
Database	Read replicas for queries	Write goes to primary
Redis	Redis Cluster or managed Redis	Separate cache from broker

Vertical Scaling

Component	Tune
Gunicorn	--workers (2 * CPU + 1), --threads per worker
Celery	--concurrency based on task type (I/O vs CPU)
PostgreSQL	shared_buffers, work_mem, effective_cache_size

Monitoring and Logging

Tool	Purpose	Integration
Sentry	Error tracking	SENTRY_DSN environment variable
OpenTelemetry	Distributed tracing	OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
Prometheus	Metrics collection	django-prometheus middleware
Health check	Liveness and readiness probes	/health/ endpoint

Production Checklist

Item	Action
DEBUG	Set to False
SECRET_KEY	Strong random value, stored in env var
ALLOWED_HOSTS	Restrict to actual domain names
Database	SSL enabled, connection pooling, backups configured
Media storage	S3-compatible with CDN
Celery	Running as separate process with monitoring
HTTPS	SSL termination at load balancer or reverse proxy
Migrations	Applied before deploying new code
Monitoring	Sentry, metrics, and health checks enabled

Best Practices

• Run Celery workers as a separate container or process, never in the API process
• Use connection pooling (PgBouncer) between Gunicorn/Celery and PostgreSQL
• Store all secrets in environment variables, never in source code or Docker images
• Use multi-stage Docker builds to minimize production image size
• Run database migrations in a separate init container or deployment step
• Configure health check endpoints for load balancer and orchestrator probes
• Use S3-compatible storage with a CDN for media files
• Monitor Celery queue depth to detect processing backlogs
• Set up automated database backups with tested restore procedures

Fetch the deployment documentation for current Docker setup, environment variables, and scaling recommendations before implementing.