# Publishing: documentation site using Django

## Summary

A documentation site blueprint for publishing built with Django on Ample. Domain schema: titles (isbn_or_slug, title, author, imprint, published_at): the catalog of titles; editions (title_id, format, version, object_key): editions and versioned files; customer_workspaces (name, license_type, seat_count): institutional or trade customers; customer_assets (workspace_id, title_id, object_key, license_expires_at): licensed files per customer; state_transitions (record_type, from_state, to_state): the allowed state machine. Public information: title catalog and author pages, release schedules, rights and permissions contact. Kept out of scope until handling is reviewed: unreleased manuscripts, royalty statements, customer license keys. Manuscripts and royalty data are confidential; licensed files are authorized per customer workspace. Technical basis verified on Django: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true).

## Infrastructure requirements

- [Compute](/discover/primitive/compute): verified (Apps run in isolated x86_64 Firecracker microVMs that auto-pause when idle and wake on request; sizes are the priced VM sizes.)
- [Postgres](/discover/primitive/postgres): verified (Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.)
- [CDN](/discover/primitive/cdn): verified (The CDN host serves objects from published buckets. It does not front app compute and is not a cache or key-value store.)

## Prerequisites

- A Django project (pip install into .ample/python from requirements.txt, then waitress serving project.wsgi from run.py reading PORT on the python-3.12 template)
- A PostgreSQL driver reading DATABASE_URL (auto-provisioned when omitted)
- Bucket credentials from `ample bucket create` passed as encrypted S3_* environment variables and a published bucket for public assets (CDN_*)
- A review of which publishing data classes may be handled at all; this blueprint models public information only.

## Exact tested configuration

- template: `python-3.12`
- runtime: `python`
- size: `s-1vcpu-1gb`
- install: `python3 -m pip install --target .ample/python -r requirements.txt`
- start: `PYTHONPATH=.ample/python:${PYTHONPATH:-} python3 run.py`

## Steps

1. **Model the publishing domain.** Create the tables titles, editions, customer_workspaces, customer_assets, state_transitions. The catalog of titles lives in titles; keep the sensitive classes (unreleased manuscripts, royalty statements, customer license keys) out of this schema.
2. **Workflow step 1.** Model versioned documents with a state machine (draft, review, published) scoped to a product version.
3. **Workflow step 2.** Publish assets for released versions to the CDN bucket.
4. **Workflow step 3.** Serve only published versions publicly.
5. **Workflow step 4.** Deploy and verify the version list and a published page.
6. **Deploy.** Run the synchronous deploy once and read the result. Re-running with no change is a no-op.
   
   ```
   ample deploy . --name <app-name> --public --start "python3 run.py" --env S3_ENDPOINT=... --env S3_REGION=... --env S3_BUCKET=... --env S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=... --env S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=... --env CDN_PUBLIC_URL=...
   ```
7. **Verify.** Run the pattern self-test(s) from the example (/p/relational-records) and your own acceptance checks for the publishing workflow.
   
   ```
   ample logs <deployment_id> --kind build
   ```

## Tested examples

- **Django pattern fixture** (tests/deploy-canaries/django-patterns): Verified relational records basis for this blueprint.

## Success checks

- app responds on its public URL (`/` on the live URL, expect ample canary django patterns)
- relational-records self-test from the example (`/p/relational-records` on the live URL, expect see the pattern fixture checks)

## Limitations

- The technical basis (relational records on Django) was verified with the pattern fixture; the publishing schema and workflow are an original design for this blueprint and were not executed as a separate application.
- No health, financial, privacy or other compliance claim is made. Manuscripts and royalty data are confidential; licensed files are authorized per customer workspace.
- Public content and synthetic examples only until actual data-handling requirements have been reviewed.
- Verified on the python-3.12 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, request-duration limits and other sizes are unknown or unverified.
- Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures are not verified.
- PutObject and GetObject with path-style addressing are verified; other S3 operations and CDN cache rules are not.

## Cost estimate

Estimated 10.00 USD per month (size prices from pricing.toml at build revision a1b8c38919e59cd035ebabaced73cf84ece24371).
- app server x1 `s-1vcpu-1gb`: 5.00 USD
- managed PostgreSQL database x1 `s-1vcpu-1gb`: 5.00 USD

Always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps and databases auto-pause when idle. Buckets are allocation-priced per quota and not included.

## Verification evidence

- canary_run on 2026-09-20T03:31:44Z at revision `03b6402b1b3e19178985f08ea4033804521d85d4-dirty (CLI b75e104)`: Django pattern fixture deployed on Ample (pip install into .ample/python from requirements.txt, then waitress serving project.wsgi from run.py reading PORT on the python-3.12 template); the relational records checks passed: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true). The blueprint's Publishing schema and workflow below build on that verified basis and were not separately executed. (expires 2027-03-19T03:31:44Z)

Last verified: 2026-09-20T03:31:44Z

## Execution binding

MCP tool `ample_deploy` (registry `mcp:ample_deploy`), schema hash `876465fce906da0c` observed 2026-09-21T03:19:59.461917+00:00 at revision `49962bcade4f`, binding state `current`, required scopes: servers:write, databases:read, buckets:read.