12 Days of DigitalOcean: Your Complete Guide

Last month, I joined DigitalOcean and decided to dive successful by building thing nosy and practical. That’s really the 12 Days of DigitalOcean bid came to life—a step-by-step travel to create two real-world apps while exploring DigitalOcean’s ecosystem.

Here’s what we built:

1. Birthday Reminder Service: A serverless app that sends SMS reminders for upcoming birthdays.
2. Email Receipt Processor: A instrumentality that processes emailed receipts and organizes their specifications successful a database.

These apps aren’t conscionable examples—they’re devices I now usage daily, and they’re a cleanable starting constituent for anyone looking to build thing useful. Along the way, you’ll study really to:

• Work pinch managed databases for illustration PostgreSQL.
• Deploy serverless functions for lightweight, scalable apps.
• Securely store files pinch DigitalOcean Spaces.
• Monitor runtime logs utilizing devices for illustration Papertrail.
• Integrate APIs for illustration Twilio SMS, Postmark, and Resend.
• Use DigitalOcean’s GenAI to heighten your apps pinch intelligent information extraction and statement features.

This bid is simply a awesome spot to commencement if you’ve been looking for a measurement to get hands-on pinch DigitalOcean.

🎂 Days 1–6: Build a Birthday Reminder Service

This app tracks birthdays and sends SMS reminders automatically. It’s lightweight, serverless, and easy to maintain.

• Day 1: Set Up a PostgreSQL Database
  Create a database to shop interaction details.
• Day 2: Connect to PostgreSQL pinch Python
  Securely link to your database and fetch data.
• Day 3: Check Birthdays and Send SMS Notifications
  Use Twilio to notify users astir upcoming birthdays.
• Day 4: Deploy to DigitalOcean Functions
  Deploy your app to the unreality pinch DigitalOcean Functions.
• Day 5: Automate Daily Reminders pinch Triggers
  Schedule reminders to tally each time automatically.
• Day 6: Set Up External Logging
  Monitor and troubleshoot your app pinch Papertrail.

By Day 6, you person a afloat automated work moving successful the cloud. It conscionable works.

📧 Days 7–12: Build an Email Receipt Processor

This app handles emailed receipts, extracts the needed details, and organizes everything successful a database.

• Day 7: Build and Deploy a Flask App
  Set up a lightweight app to process receipt emails.
• Day 8: Integrate Postmark for Email Processing
  Forward emails to your app for processing.
• Day 9: Extract and Clean Data pinch DigitalOcean’s GenAI
  Use GenAI to extract system information from email content.
• Day 10: Configure DigitalOcean Spaces for Secure Storage
  Store email attachments securely pinch entity storage.
• Day 11: Save Receipt Data to Google Sheets
  Organize system information successful a spreadsheet for easy access.
• Day 12: Send Confirmation Emails (Arriving Jan 8)
  Notify users astir successfully processed receipts.

By Day 12, you’ve built a complete instrumentality that handles receipts end-to-end.

Start Building Today

This bid is astir much than conscionable tutorials—it’s astir creating thing existent while building your skills. You’ll person 2 applicable apps and hands-on acquisition pinch cardinal devices and technologies by the end. Whether caller to DigitalOcean aliases looking to turn your skills, this is simply a awesome measurement to start.

Start pinch Day 1: Set Up PostgreSQL, aliases prime immoderate time that interests you. The champion measurement to study is by building—and these apps are the cleanable spot to begin.

Happy building! And if you travel along, I’d emotion to hear what you create—share your advancement aliases feedback!

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