Django Project Setup Guide
1. Install Python and Django
Ensure Python and `pip` are installed on your system. Install Django globally or in a virtual
environment.
# Check Python version
python --version
# Install virtualenv if not already installed
pip install virtualenv
2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment
# Create a virtual environment
virtualenv venv
# Activate the virtual environment
# On Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate
# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate
3. Install Django
pip install django
4. Create a Django Project
# Replace "myproject" with your desired project name
django-admin startproject myproject
cd myproject
5. Create a Django App
# Replace "myapp" with your desired app name
python manage.py startapp myapp
6. Register the App in settings.py
Add the app to INSTALLED_APPS in myproject/settings.py:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
# Default apps...
'django.contrib.admin',
'django.contrib.auth',
'django.contrib.contenttypes',
'django.contrib.sessions',
'django.contrib.messages',
'django.contrib.staticfiles',
# Your app
'myapp',
]
7. Configure Database
By default, Django uses SQLite. If you want to use another database (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL),
update the DATABASES section in myproject/settings.py.
Example for PostgreSQL:
DATABASES = {
'default': {
'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
'NAME': 'your_db_name',
'USER': 'your_db_user',
'PASSWORD': 'your_password',
'HOST': 'localhost',
'PORT': '5432',
Install the required database adapter:
# For PostgreSQL
pip install psycopg2-binary
# For MySQL
pip install mysqlclient
8. Run Migrations
# Apply initial database migrations
python manage.py migrate
9. Create a Superuser
python manage.py createsuperuser
Follow the prompts to set up admin credentials.
10. Run the Development Server
python manage.py runserver
Visit the development server at http://127.0.0.1:8000.
11. Create URL Routes
Define your app's URL routes in myapp/urls.py and include it in the project's myproject/urls.py.
myapp/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views
urlpatterns = [
path('', views.home, name='home'),
]
myproject/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
path('', include('myapp.urls')),
12. Create Views
Define a view in myapp/views.py:
from django.http import HttpResponse
def home(request):
return HttpResponse("Hello, World!")
13. Set Up Static and Media Files
Add the following settings in myproject/settings.py:
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / 'static']
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'media'
Create the static and media folders:
mkdir static media
14. Install Additional Packages (Optional)
For common requirements, install:
- Django REST Framework:
pip install djangorestframework
Add 'rest_framework' to INSTALLED_APPS.
- Django CORS Headers:
pip install django-cors-headers
Add 'corsheaders' to INSTALLED_APPS and middleware.
15. Set Up Git (Optional)
Initialize a Git repository for version control:
git init
echo "venv/" > .gitignore
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
16. Deploy (Optional)
For deployment, configure settings for production and use a platform like:
- Heroku
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk
- Vercel
- Dockerized environments
