Django CLI Commands Cheat Sheet

1. Starting a Project
   • Command: django-admin startproject projectname
   • Purpose: Creates a new Django project directory structure.
   • Usage:

     django-admin startproject myproject

2. Running the Development Server
   • Command: python manage.py runserver
   • Purpose: Starts a lightweight development web server on the local machine.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py runserver

3. Creating an App
   • Command: python manage.py startapp appname
   • Purpose: Creates a new Django app with its own directory inside the project.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py startapp myapp

4. Creating Database Migrations
   • Command: python manage.py makemigrations
   • Purpose: Creates new migrations based on the changes detected in the models.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py makemigrations

5. Applying Database Migrations
   • Command: python manage.py migrate
   • Purpose: Applies the migrations to the database to keep the schema in sync with the model changes.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py migrate

6. Creating a Superuser for the Admin Site
   • Command: python manage.py createsuperuser
   • Purpose: Creates a user who can log into the Django admin site.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py createsuperuser

7. Collecting Static Files
   • Command: python manage.py collectstatic
   • Purpose: Collects static files from each of your applications (and any other places you specify) into a single location.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py collectstatic

8. Running Tests
   • Command: python manage.py test
   • Purpose: Runs tests for your project.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py test

9. Accessing the Django Shell
   • Command: python manage.py shell
   • Purpose: Invokes the interactive Python shell with the Django environment set up.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py shell

10. Checking for Problems
    • Command: python manage.py check
    • Purpose: Checks for any problems in your project without making database migrations or touching the database.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py check

11. Creating Custom Management Commands
    • Command: Create a new management/commands directory inside your app and write a new Python file with a Command class.
    • Purpose: Allows you to add custom manage.py commands.
    • Usage:

      # Inside your_app/management/commands/your_command.py
      from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
      
      class Command(BaseCommand):
          help = 'Description of the command'
      
          def handle(self, *args, **options):
              # Command logic

12. Database Shell Access
    • Command: python manage.py dbshell
    • Purpose: Provides command-line access to your project's database.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py dbshell

13. Viewing SQL Migrations
    • Command: python manage.py sqlmigrate appname migrationname
    • Purpose: Shows the SQL statements for a named migration.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py sqlmigrate myapp 0001

14. Loading Data from Fixtures
    • Command: python manage.py loaddata fixturename
    • Purpose: Loads data from a fixture into the database.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py loaddata mydata

15. Dumping Data to a Fixture
    • Command: python manage.py dumpdata appname
    • Purpose: Outputs all data in the database associated with the named app as a fixture.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py dumpdata myapp > myapp_fixture.json

Remember to replace projectname, appname, migrationname, and fixturename with your actual project, app, migration, and fixture names respectively. These commands form the backbone of your interactions with Django's manage.py utility and are essential for efficient Django development.