If this is your first time using Django, you will have to take care of some initial setup. Namely, you'll need to automatically generate some code that creates a Django project - a set of settings for an instance of Django, including database configuration, Django-specific options, and application-specific settings.
From the command line, insert the cd into the directory where you want to store your code, and then run the following command:
$ django-admin startproject mysite
This will create a mysite directory in your current directory.
Note
You'll want to avoid naming projects after built-in Python or Django components. In particular, this means that you should avoid using names like Django (which will conflict with Django itself) or test (which will conflict with the built-in Python package).
Where should this symbol live?
If your background is in plain old PHP (without using modern frameworks), you are probably familiar with putting your code under the web server document root (in a place like /var/www). With Django, you don't. It's not a good idea to put any of this Python code inside your web server's document root, because it risks the possibility that people will be able to view your code across the web. This is not good for security.
Put your code in some directory outside the document root, such as /home/mycode.
Let's look at what is generated by startproject:
mysite/
manage.py
mysite/
__init__.py
settings.py
urls.py
asgi.py
wsgi.py
These files are:
- The outer mysite/ root directory is a container for your project. Its name doesn’t matter to Django; you can rename it to anything you like.
- manage.py: A command-line utility that lets you interact with this Django project in various ways. You can read all the details about manage.py in django-admin and manage.py.
- The inner mysite/ directory is the actual Python package for your project. Its name is the Python package name you’ll need to use to import anything inside it (e.g. mysite.urls).
- mysite/__init__.py: An empty file that tells Python that this directory should be considered a Python package. If you’re a Python beginner, read more about packages in the official Python docs.
- mysite/settings.py: Settings/configuration for this Django project. Django settings will tell you all about how settings work.
- mysite/urls.py: The URL declarations for this Django project; a “table of contents” of your Django-powered site. You can read more about URLs in URL dispatcher.
- mysite/asgi.py: An entry-point for ASGI-compatible web servers to serve your project. See How to deploy with ASGI for more details.
- mysite/wsgi.py: An entry-point for WSGI-compatible web servers to serve your project. See How to deploy with WSGI for more details.
The development server
Let’s verify your Django project works. Change into the outer mysite directory, if you haven’t already, and run the following commands:
$ python manage.py runserver
You’ll see the following output on the command line:
Performing system checks...
System check identified no issues (0 silenced).
You have unapplied migrations; your app may not work properly until they are applied.
Run 'python manage.py migrate' to apply them.
January 12, 2022 - 15:50:53
Django version 4.0, using settings 'mysite.settings'
Starting development server at http://127.0.0.1:8000/
Quit the server with CONTROL-C.
You’ve started the Django development server, a lightweight web server written purely in Python. We’ve included this with Django so you can develop things rapidly, without having to deal with configuring a production server – such as Apache – until you’re ready for production.
Now’s a good time to note: don’t use this server in anything resembling a production environment. It’s intended only for use while developing. (We’re in the business of making web frameworks, not web servers.)
Now that the server’s running, visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/ with your web browser. You’ll see a “Congratulations!” page, with a rocket taking off. It worked!
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