Django CLI Commands Cheat Sheet

1. Check the Django Version
   • Command: django-admin version
   • Purpose: Prints the installed Django version.
   • Usage:

     django-admin version

2. Start a Project
   • Command: django-admin startproject projectname [directory]
   • Purpose: Creates the settings package, root URLconf, ASGI/WSGI entry points, and manage.py.
   • Usage:

     django-admin startproject config .

3. Create an App
   • Command: python manage.py startapp appname [directory]
   • Purpose: Creates an app package with models, views, tests, migrations, and app configuration.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py startapp blog

4. Run the Development Server
   • Command: python manage.py runserver [addrport]
   • Purpose: Starts Django's lightweight development server. Do not use it for production traffic.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py runserver
     python manage.py runserver 127.0.0.1:8001

5. Check Configuration and Deployment Readiness
   • Command: python manage.py check
   • Purpose: Runs Django's system checks. The default check does not connect to databases unless a check requires it or you pass database options.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py check
     python manage.py check --deploy --settings=config.settings.production

6. Create Database Migrations
   • Command: python manage.py makemigrations [app_label]
   • Purpose: Creates migration files from model changes.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py makemigrations
     python manage.py makemigrations blog

7. Inspect and Apply Migrations
   • Commands: showmigrations, migrate, sqlmigrate
   • Purpose: Reviews pending migrations, applies them, or displays the SQL for a named migration.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py showmigrations
     python manage.py migrate --plan
     python manage.py migrate
     python manage.py sqlmigrate blog 0001_initial

8. Create a Superuser
   • Command: python manage.py createsuperuser
   • Purpose: Creates a staff user that can log into the Django admin site.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py createsuperuser

9. Collect Static Files
   • Command: python manage.py collectstatic
   • Purpose: Copies static assets from apps and STATICFILES_DIRS into STATIC_ROOT for deployment.
   • Usage:

     python manage.py collectstatic --no-input

10. Run Tests
    • Command: python manage.py test
    • Purpose: Runs the project's test suite.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py test

11. Open the Django Shell
    • Command: python manage.py shell
    • Purpose: Opens an interactive shell with Django configured.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py shell

12. Use the Database Shell
    • Command: python manage.py dbshell
    • Purpose: Opens the native database client configured for the project, such as psql, mysql, or sqlite3.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py dbshell

13. Load and Dump Fixtures
    • Commands: loaddata and dumpdata
    • Purpose: Imports or exports serialized data.
    • Usage:

      python manage.py loaddata seed_data
      python manage.py dumpdata blog --indent 2 > blog_fixture.json

14. Create a Custom Management Command
    • Location: appname/management/commands/command_name.py
    • Purpose: Adds a project-specific manage.py command.
    • Example:

      from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
      
      class Command(BaseCommand):
          help = 'Describe what the command does'
      
          def handle(self, *args, **options):
              self.stdout.write(self.style.SUCCESS('Done'))