Docker-compose with django could not translate host name "db" to address: Name or service not known

Question

I have currently a system built with docker-compose, it creates a Django application.

Up until now I've used a database inside a container (postgresql) in my testing build. Now I've changed the database from this container to an RDS instance in AWS.

Using Pg_dump I have recreated the database inside RDS and changed the settings.py, everything was supposedly normal. I have accessed the data from the database inside my webapp without any problems.

Everything was ok until I had to make a migration. Without the database container the Django container gives me this message:

django.db.utils.OperationalError: could not translate host name "db" to address: Name or service not known

My Docker-compose.yml file before the changes:

 version: '2'

    services:
      db:
        image: postgres:9.5
        restart: always
        environment:
          POSTGRES_USER: testing
          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: tests
          POSTGRES_DB: test
        volumes:
          - /dbdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
      django:
        build: ./django
        command: gunicorn contactto.wsgi:application -b 0.0.0.0:8000
        restart: always
        volumes:
          - ./django:/usr/src/app
          - ./django/static:/usr/src/app/contactto/static
        ports:
          - "8000:8000"
        depends_on:
          - db

Now after the changes:

    version: '2'

    services:
      django:
        build: ./django
        command: gunicorn contactto.wsgi:application -b 0.0.0.0:8000
        restart: always
        volumes:
          - ./django:/usr/src/app
          - ./django/static:/usr/src/app/contactto/static
        ports:
          - "8000:8000"

And the DATABASES from settings.py . Before:

DATABASES = {
        'default': {
            'ENGINE': 'tenant_schemas.postgresql_backend',
            'NAME': 'testing',
            'USER': 'test',
            'PASSWORD': 'test',
            'HOST': 'db',
            'PORT': '5432',
        }
    }

After:

DATABASES = {
        'default': {
            'ENGINE': 'tenant_schemas.postgresql_backend',
            'NAME': 'testing',
            'USER': 'test',
            'PASSWORD': 'test',
            'HOST': 'xxx.rds.amazonaws.com',
            'PORT': '5432',
        }
    }

The weird thing is, I can use the aws database inside my app... I can create users and do things inside the database and the changes appear. Now in the CLI I can't even use manage.py shell without the message.

I am completely lost.

The answer can be found at this stackoverflow.com/a/61393097/10526787 — curtly critchlow

tech tech · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-23T12:14:07

Add network, link and depends_on configuration in docker compose file.

example:

  services:
      db:
          build: .
          container_name: db
          networks:
              - djangonetwork
      web:
          build: .
          depends_on:
             - db
          links:
             - db:db
          networks:
             - djangonetwork

  networks:
      djangonetwork:
          driver: bridge

Docker-compose with django could not translate host name "db" to address: Name or service not known

5 Answers