How do I keep my Django server running even after I close my ssh session?

Question

I figured out how to run my Django application via sudo python /home/david/myproject/manage.py runserver 68.164.125.221:80. However, after I quit terminal, the server stops running.

I tried to run this process in the background, but the server just shuts down quickly after I execute sudo python /home/david/myproject/manage.py runserver 68.164.125.221:80 &.

How do I keep my Django application running even after I quit my ssh session in terminal?

PS - Sorry if this question strikes you as elementary. Such sillyness ensues when a front-end javascript programmer must turn into a server administrator in break-neck speed.

Answer 1

Meet screen.

Connect through ssh, start screen. This open a virtual console emulator on top of the one provided by ssh. Start your server there.

Then press Ctrl-a, then d. This detach the screen session, keeping it running in the background.

To [R]e-attach to it, use screen -r.

If screen is not installed and you can't install it, you can also start an application in the background by adding a & to the command, as you tried. But you should not close the terminal window then ; just disconnect, with the bash command exit, or Ctrl-d.

The advantage of screen is that you can still read the output from the server, in case there is an error or anything.

Screen is a really powerful tool, with many more commands. You can add a new virtual window with Ctrl-a, then c (for Create) ; switch through windows with Ctrl-a, then n (next) or p (previous), ...

But you need it to be installed to use it. Since you seem to have root access, this shouldn't be a problem.

EDIT: tmux is another great solution for the same use-case.

Answer 2

Use screen to create a new virtual window, and run the server there.

$ screen $ python manage.py runserver 

You will see that Django server has started running.

Now press Ctrl+A and then press the D key to detach from that screen. It will say:

$ [detached from ###.pts-0.hostname] 

You can now safely logout from your terminal, log back in to your terminal, do other bits of coding in other directories, go for a vacation, do whatever you want.

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To return to the screen that you have detached from,

$ screen -r 

To kill the django server now, simply press Ctrl+C like you would've done normally.

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To terminate this current screen instead of detaching from this screen, use Ctrl+D. It will say:

$ [screen is terminating] $