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Gunicorn Configuration in Admin GUI

Overview

The Gunicorn log level can now be controlled directly via the Admin Interface without needing to change environment variables.

Usage

In Admin GUI

  1. Open Admin GUI: /admin/
  2. Navigation: "Mgmt" → "Gunicorn Configuration"
  3. Direct URL: /admin/mgmt/gunicornconfig/
  4. Select Log Level:
  5. DEBUG - Very detailed output
  6. INFO - Informative messages (default)
  7. WARNING - Warnings only
  8. ERROR - Errors only
  9. CRITICAL - Critical errors only
  10. Save - A warning appears that a restart is required

Server Restart

After changing the log level:

  1. Go to /admin/server/ (Server Control)
  2. Click "Restart Server"
  3. The new configuration is loaded on startup

How It Works

Priority

  1. Database Configuration (GunicornConfig Model) - Highest Priority
  2. Managed in Admin GUI
  3. Read from database on server startup

  4. Passed to Gunicorn as environment variable GUNICORN_LOG_LEVEL

  5. Environment Variable (GUNICORN_LOG_LEVEL) - Fallback

  6. Only used if database configuration is not available

  7. Useful during migrations or when the table doesn't exist yet

  8. Default - info

  9. If neither database nor environment variable is available

Singleton Pattern

GunicornConfig is a singleton model - only one instance exists. On first access, an instance with the default value (info) is automatically created.

Migration and Setup

Initial Setup

After migration:

# Run migration
python manage.py migrate mgmt

# Default value is automatically created (info)

Deployment

The startup script automatically reads the configuration from the database on startup:

/path/to/mcc-web/scripts/mcc-web.sh start

Note: - Production: The application runs under /data/appl/mcc/mcc-web as the user configured by the administrator (e.g., mcc, www-data, etc.) - Development: Paths can be individual, as the application finds all information relative to the project directory - User: The user mcc is not mandatory, the user is configured by the administrator

The script uses the management command get_gunicorn_config to read the configuration from the database.

Example Workflow

Change Log Level

  1. In Admin GUI: "Mgmt" → "Gunicorn Configuration"
  2. Change log level to "DEBUG"
  3. Save
  4. Go to "Server Control" (/admin/server/)
  5. Click "Restart Server"
  6. New configuration is loaded

Important Notes

⚠️ Server Restart Required

Changes to the Gunicorn log level require a server restart to take effect. The configuration is only loaded on startup.

🔄 Immediate Effect

After a restart, the new configuration applies immediately to all new log entries.

📊 Best Practices

  • Development: DEBUG or INFO
  • Staging: INFO or WARNING
  • Production: WARNING or ERROR
  • Critical Systems: ERROR or CRITICAL

Troubleshooting

Configuration Not Applied

  1. Check if migration was executed: 

    python manage.py showmigrations mgmt

  2. Check current configuration: 

    python manage.py shell
>>> from mgmt.models import GunicornConfig
>>> config = GunicornConfig.get_config()
>>> print(config.log_level)

  3. Check if server was restarted: 

    /path/to/mcc-web/scripts/mcc-web.sh status

  4. Check environment variable on startup:

  5. Look in logs/gunicorn_startup.log
  6. The script should show "Using log level from database: X"

Fallback to Environment Variable

If the database configuration is not available (e.g., during migrations), the system automatically falls back to the GUNICORN_LOG_LEVEL environment variable.

Integration with Server Control

The Gunicorn configuration is integrated into the Server Control page:

  • Server Control (/admin/server/) displays the current log level
  • Direct link to Gunicorn configuration
  • After changing configuration, a link to server restart is displayed

Migration from Old Configuration

If you previously used GUNICORN_LOG_LEVEL in .env or as an environment variable:

# Run migration
python manage.py migrate mgmt

# Set configuration in Admin GUI
# Or via management command:
python manage.py shell
>>> from mgmt.models import GunicornConfig
>>> config = GunicornConfig.get_config()
>>> config.log_level = 'info'  # or 'debug', 'warning', etc.
>>> config.save()

After that, you can remove GUNICORN_LOG_LEVEL from .env and control everything via the Admin GUI.