12 Days of DigitalOcean: Your Complete Guide

Last month, I joined DigitalOcean and decided to dive in by building something fun and practical. That’s how the 12 Days of DigitalOcean series came to life—a step-by-step journey 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 tool that processes emailed receipts and organizes their details in a database.

These apps aren’t just examples—they’re tools I now use daily, and they’re a perfect starting point for anyone looking to build something useful. Along the way, you’ll learn how to:

• Work with managed databases like PostgreSQL.
• Deploy serverless functions for lightweight, scalable apps.
• Securely store files with DigitalOcean Spaces.
• Monitor runtime logs using tools like Papertrail.
• Integrate APIs like Twilio SMS, Postmark, and Resend.
• Use DigitalOcean’s GenAI to enhance your apps with intelligent data extraction and organization features.

This series is a great place to start if you’ve been looking for a way to get hands-on with 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 store contact details.
• Day 2: Connect to PostgreSQL with Python
  Securely connect to your database and fetch data.
• Day 3: Check Birthdays and Send SMS Notifications
  Use Twilio to notify users about upcoming birthdays.
• Day 4: Deploy to DigitalOcean Functions
  Deploy your app to the cloud with DigitalOcean Functions.
• Day 5: Automate Daily Reminders with Triggers
  Schedule reminders to run every day automatically.
• Day 6: Set Up External Logging
  Monitor and troubleshoot your app with Papertrail.

By Day 6, you have a fully automated service running in the cloud. It just works.

📧 Days 7–12: Build an Email Receipt Processor

This app handles emailed receipts, extracts the needed details, and organizes everything in 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 with DigitalOcean’s GenAI
  Use GenAI to extract structured data from email content.
• Day 10: Configure DigitalOcean Spaces for Secure Storage
  Store email attachments securely with object storage.
• Day 11: Save Receipt Data to Google Sheets
  Organize structured data in a spreadsheet for easy access.
• Day 12: Send Confirmation Emails Notify users about successfully processed receipts.

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

Start Building Today

This series is about more than just tutorials—it’s about creating something real while building your skills. You’ll have two practical apps and hands-on experience with key tools and technologies by the end. Whether new to DigitalOcean or looking to grow your skills, this is a great way to start.

Start with Day 1: Set Up PostgreSQL, or pick any day that interests you. The best way to learn is by building—and these apps are the perfect place to begin.

Happy building! And if you follow along, I’d love to hear what you create—share your progress or feedback!