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Bharath Kumar_30
Bharath Kumar_30

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From Localhost to Live SaaS: Deploying My FastAPI App with Apache, SSL & JWT Auth

#webdev #octopusdeploy #auto #programming

Hey friends 👋

Today I’m sharing my complete real-world deployment journey — from building a FastAPI project to making it live with:

  • JWT Authentication (Login/Register)
  • Landing Page + Dashboard UI
  • FastAPI Backend
  • Apache Reverse Proxy
  • HTTPS (SSL with Certbot)
  • VPS Hosting (Linux)

This is a step-by-step, copy-paste friendly guide — no confusion, just execution

Project Overview

My project includes:

  • ✅ Landing page
  • ✅ User Registration & Login
  • ✅ JWT Authentication
  • ✅ Dashboard (after login)
  • ✅ API-based backend (FastAPI)
  • ✅ Static + Templates (HTML/CSS/JS)

Step 1 — Setup Server

Install Python & pip:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y
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Step 2 — Upload Project

Navigate to your project folder:

cd ~/htdocs/soical-media-automation/automation_platform
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Step 3 — Install Dependencies

If you have requirements.txt:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt
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If not:

pip3 install fastapi uvicorn python-dotenv
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Step 4 — Run FastAPI App 

nohup python3 -m uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 > uvicorn.log 2>&1 &
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Check if running:

ps aux | grep uvicorn
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Step 5 — Setup Apache (Reverse Proxy)

Install Apache:

sudo apt install apache2 -y
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Enable required modules:

sudo a2enmod proxy
sudo a2enmod proxy_http
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Step 6 — Apache Config (Single Clean Config)

Open config:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/001-automate.conf
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Paste:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one
    Redirect / https://automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one/
</VirtualHost>

<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one

    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:8000/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://127.0.0.1:8000/

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one/fullchain.pem
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one/privkey.pem

    Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf
</VirtualHost>
</IfModule>
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Step 7 — Clean Apache Sites

Disable default configs:

sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
sudo a2dissite default-ssl.conf
sudo a2dissite 001-automate-le-ssl.conf
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Enable your config:

sudo a2ensite 001-automate.conf
sudo service apache2 restart
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Step 8 — Setup SSL (HTTPS)

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
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Run:

sudo certbot --apache -d automated.soicalmedia.selfmade.one
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Choose:

  • Email → your email
  • Agree → Yes
  • Redirect → Yes (HTTPS)

Step 9 — Create init.sh (Auto Run) 

nano ~/init.sh
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Paste:

#!/bin/bash

cd /home/mr.potter/htdocs/soical-media-automation/automation_platform

nohup python3 -m uvicorn app.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 > uvicorn.log 2>&1 &
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Run:

chmod +x init.sh
./init.sh
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Step 10 — JWT Authentication (Concept)

My app includes:

  • User registration
  • Login system
  • JWT token generation
  • Protected dashboard

Example flow:

from fastapi import Depends
from fastapi.security import OAuth2PasswordBearer

oauth2_scheme = OAuth2PasswordBearer(tokenUrl="login")

@app.get("/dashboard")
def dashboard(token: str = Depends(oauth2_scheme)):
    return {"message": "Welcome to dashboard"}
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Frontend Structure 

templates/
    index.html
    login.html
    register.html
    dashboard.html

static/
    css/
    js/
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Common Issues I Faced (And Fixes)

Too Many Redirects

Cause: Multiple Apache configs
Fix: Use single config only

requirements.txt not found

Wrong folder
Fix: cd into correct directory

Permission denied

Fix:

sudo chown mr.potter:mr.potter filename
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systemctl not working

Use:

sudo service apache2 restart
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Final Result

✔ Live SaaS App
✔ Secure HTTPS
✔ Login/Register system
✔ Dashboard
✔ API backend

Final Thoughts

This wasn’t just deployment — it was:

  • DevOps basics
  • Backend engineering
  • Real production setup

If you’re building something similar — don’t stop at localhost.
Deploy it. Break it. Fix it. Learn it

Let’s Connect

If you’re building something cool or stuck in deployment, feel free to reach out

Happy coding

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