Does FastAPI Work With DigitalOcean?
FastAPI works excellently on DigitalOcean through App Platform, Droplets, or Kubernetes—no special integration needed, just standard Python deployment.
Quick Facts
How FastAPI Works With DigitalOcean
FastAPI deploys seamlessly to DigitalOcean because it's a standard Python ASGI application. DigitalOcean App Platform provides the simplest path—you connect your GitHub repo, specify a Python runtime, and define a start command (typically `gunicorn main:app --worker-class uvicorn.workers.UvicornWorker`). The platform automatically handles scaling, HTTPS certificates via Let's Encrypt, and environment variables. Alternatively, you can use Droplets for more control, running FastAPI behind nginx as a reverse proxy with Gunicorn/Uvicorn workers. For production workloads, DigitalOcean Kubernetes Service (DOKS) offers container orchestration where you deploy FastAPI in Docker containers. All approaches work identically to deploying on any other cloud—there's no FastAPI-specific tooling required. Database connections (PostgreSQL, Redis) via DigitalOcean Managed Databases integrate cleanly through standard connection strings in environment variables.
Best Use Cases
FastAPI App with DigitalOcean App Platform Deployment
pip install fastapi uvicorn python-dotenv gunicornfrom fastapi import FastAPI
from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()
app = FastAPI()
app.add_middleware(
CORSMiddleware,
allow_origins=[os.getenv("ALLOWED_ORIGINS", "*").split(",")],
allow_credentials=True,
allow_methods=["*"],
allow_headers=["*"],
)
@app.get("/health")
async def health():
return {"status": "healthy"}
@app.get("/api/items/{item_id}")
async def read_item(item_id: int):
return {"item_id": item_id, "message": "Running on DigitalOcean"}
if __name__ == "__main__":
import uvicorn
uvicorn.run(app, host="0.0.0.0", port=8080)Known Issues & Gotchas
App Platform's free tier has limited resources; FastAPI's default async concurrency can exceed memory on smaller instances
Fix: Test load locally with `locust` or `k6`, use `--workers` flag to limit Gunicorn processes, monitor memory via DigitalOcean dashboards
CORS and proxying headers get mangled if nginx isn't configured to forward `X-Forwarded-*` headers
Fix: Use FastAPI's `CORSMiddleware` with `trust_hosts` and ensure nginx passes headers: `proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;`
App Platform doesn't pre-warm connections to managed databases, causing cold-start delays on first request
Fix: Implement connection pooling with SQLAlchemy's `pool_pre_ping=True` or use serverless database proxies like PgBouncer
Logs stream to stdout but can be noisy without proper structuring; DigitalOcean's log viewer isn't searchable like ELK
Fix: Use structured logging with `python-json-logger` and parse into DigitalOcean's log forwarding service or export to external tool
Alternatives
- •Django + DigitalOcean App Platform (more batteries-included, heavier framework)
- •Node.js Express + DigitalOcean (lighter footprint, broader ecosystem)
- •Heroku with FastAPI (simpler deployment but higher cost, limited customization)
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
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