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sneh1117
sneh1117

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🧶 I Built a Production-Ready Blogging Platform with Django, DRF & Supabase

#django #python #webdev #backend

I wanted to go beyond a basic CRUD app.

So I built StitchTales — a full-stack blogging platform designed for creators to publish tutorials and stories, complete with authentication, REST APIs, image storage, and production deployment.

🔗 Live: https://stitchtales.up.railway.app
🔗 GitHub: https://github.com/sneh1117/stitchtales

🏗 Tech Stack

  • Django 5.2
  • Django REST Framework
  • PostgreSQL (Railway)
  • Supabase Storage (custom backend)
  • HTMX
  • Whitenoise
  • Token + session authentication

✨ What It Supports

  • Full blog CRUD with draft → publish workflow
  • Slug-based URLs + SEO fields
  • Categories, tags, view tracking
  • Comment moderation + like system (HTMX)
  • Profile system with avatars + social links
  • Public REST API with permission control
  • Production-ready deployment on Railway

🔌 API Design 

GET    /api/posts/
GET    /api/posts/<slug>/
POST   /api/posts/
PUT    /api/posts/<slug>/
DELETE /api/posts/<slug>/
POST   /api/auth/token/
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Design decisions:

  • Public read access
  • Authenticated write access
  • Author-only updates/deletes
  • Slug-based lookups instead of IDs
  • Pagination enabled

🖼 Why Supabase Instead of S3?

Instead of AWS, I built a custom Django storage backend for Supabase.

This required:

  • Understanding Django’s storage API
  • Handling server-side uploads securely
  • Generating public CDN URLs
  • Structuring bucket organization cleanly

It kept the stack simple while still being production-capable.

⚡ Why HTMX Instead of React?

I intentionally avoided a heavy frontend framework.

HTMX gave me:

  • Dynamic likes without reload
  • Cleaner backend focus
  • Simpler architecture
  • Faster development

Right tool for the project size.

🧠 Production Considerations

  • Environment-based configuration
  • SQLite locally, PostgreSQL in production
  • CSRF + trusted origins configured
  • DEBUG=False in production
  • Whitenoise for static files
  • Sitemap + robots.txt for SEO

I treated it like a real deployment — not just a localhost demo.

🚀 What I’d Add Next

  • Automated tests
  • CI/CD pipeline
  • Redis caching
  • Rate limiting
  • Social auth
  • Structured logging

🎯 Why This Project Matters

This wasn’t about crochet.

It was about demonstrating:

  • Clean backend architecture
  • Thoughtful API design
  • External storage integration
  • Production deployment awareness
  • Full-stack decision-making

If you're hiring for a backend or full-stack role, I’d love feedback.

— Sneha

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