Django REST Framewor#### �️ Database Configuration:

• Local Development: SQLite (file-based, zero setup)
• Production: PostgreSQL (scalable, robust)
• Environment-based: Automatic switching based on settings
• Connection Pooling: Optimized for production performance

🏗️ Project Organization:

• Apps Structure: All Django apps organized in /apps directory
• Settings Split: Environment-specific settings (base, local, production)
• Environment Configuration: Easy switching between development/production
• Logging: Structured logging configuration for different environments
• Security: Production-ready security settings and CORS configurationter Project

A comprehensive Django starter project with Django REST Framework, pre-configured with essential features for rapid development.

Features

🚀 Core Features

• Django 5.2.6 with Django REST Framework 3.15.2
• Custom User model with extended fields
• JWT/Token Authentication ready
• CORS configuration for frontend integration
• PostgreSQL and SQLite support
• Static and Media files configuration
• Comprehensive admin interface

🔐 Authentication System

• Custom User model with email as username
• User registration and login endpoints
• Password change functionality
• Profile management
• Token-based authentication

🛠️ Development Tools

• Environment-based configuration with python-decouple
• Custom management commands
• Base models with timestamps and soft delete
• Custom permissions and pagination classes
• Whitenoise for static file serving

📦 Included Packages

• Django - Web framework
• djangorestframework - API framework
• django-cors-headers - CORS handling
• python-decouple - Environment configuration
• Pillow - Image processing
• django-filter - API filtering
• dj-database-url - Database URL parsing
• psycopg2-binary - PostgreSQL adapter
• gunicorn - WSGI server
• whitenoise - Static file serving

Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd django_starter

2. Create Virtual Environment

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Environment Configuration

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env file with your configurations:

DEBUG=True
SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here-change-in-production
ALLOWED_HOSTS=localhost,127.0.0.1
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.local
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db.sqlite3
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000,http://127.0.0.1:3000

5. Settings Environment

Choose your environment configuration:

# For local development (default)
export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.local

# For production
export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.production

# Or use the helper script
./set_environment.sh

6. Database Setup

🏠 Local Development (SQLite - Default)

SQLite is used automatically for local development - no setup required!

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

🏭 Production (PostgreSQL)

For production, configure PostgreSQL in your environment:

# Set PostgreSQL connection in .env or environment
DATABASE_URL=postgres://username:password@host:port/database_name

# Example for local PostgreSQL
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:mypassword@localhost:5432/django_starter

# Run with production settings
export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.production
python manage.py migrate

📚 See DATABASE_GUIDE.md for detailed database configuration instructions.

7. Create Superuser

python manage.py create_superuser
# Or with custom credentials:
python manage.py create_superuser --email admin@yoursite.com --password yourpassword

8. Run Development Server

python manage.py runserver

API Endpoints

Authentication Endpoints

• POST /api/v1/auth/register/ - User registration
• POST /api/v1/auth/login/ - User login
• POST /api/v1/auth/logout/ - User logout
• GET /api/v1/auth/profile/ - Get user profile
• PUT /api/v1/auth/profile/update/ - Update user profile
• POST /api/v1/auth/change-password/ - Change password
• GET /api/v1/auth/list/ - List users (admin only)

API Documentation

• Visit /api/docs/ for interactive API documentation

Project Structure

django_starter/
├── config/                 # Django project configuration
│   ├── settings/          # Split settings configuration
│   │   ├── __init__.py   # Settings package
│   │   ├── base.py       # Base settings (common)
│   │   ├── local.py      # Local development settings
│   │   └── production.py # Production settings
│   ├── urls.py           # Main URL configuration
│   ├── wsgi.py          # WSGI configuration
│   └── asgi.py          # ASGI configuration
├── apps/                  # All Django apps
│   ├── core/             # Core app with utilities
│   │   ├── management/   # Custom management commands
│   │   ├── models.py     # Base models
│   │   ├── permissions.py # Custom permissions
│   │   ├── pagination.py # Pagination classes
│   │   └── utils.py      # Utility functions
│   └── users/            # User management app
│       ├── models.py     # Custom User model
│       ├── serializers.py # User serializers
│       ├── views.py      # User API views
│       ├── urls.py       # User URL patterns
│       └── admin.py      # User admin configuration
├── static/               # Static files
├── media/                # Media files
├── templates/            # HTML templates
├── logs/                 # Log files directory
├── requirements.txt      # Python dependencies
├── .env.example         # Environment variables example
├── .gitignore           # Git ignore file
├── set_environment.sh   # Environment switching script
├── deploy.sh            # Deployment script
├── test_api.py          # API testing script
├── quick_setup.sh       # New project setup
├── Dockerfile           # Docker configuration
├── docker-compose.yml   # Docker Compose
└── manage.py            # Django management script

Usage Examples

User Registration

import requests

response = requests.post('http://localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/register/', {
    'username': 'testuser',
    'email': 'test@example.com',
    'password': 'testpass123',
    'password_confirm': 'testpass123',
    'first_name': 'Test',
    'last_name': 'User'
})

User Login

response = requests.post('http://localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/login/', {
    'email': 'test@example.com',
    'password': 'testpass123'
})
token = response.json()['token']

Authenticated Requests

headers = {'Authorization': f'Token {token}'}
response = requests.get('http://localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/profile/', headers=headers)

Settings Configuration

Environment-Specific Settings

Base Settings (config.settings.base)

Contains common settings shared across all environments:

• Installed apps configuration
• Middleware setup
• Templates configuration
• REST Framework settings
• DRF Spectacular configuration

Local Development (config.settings.local)

Inherits from base and adds:

• Debug mode enabled
• SQLite database (default)
• Console email backend
• Development logging
• CORS allow all origins

Production (config.settings.production)

Inherits from base and adds:

• Debug mode disabled
• Security headers and SSL settings
• PostgreSQL database support
• Email configuration (SMTP)
• Redis caching
• Structured logging
• Sentry integration (optional)

Switching Environments

# Set environment variable
export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.local

# Or use the helper script
./set_environment.sh

# Or set in .env file
DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.local

Customization

Adding New Apps

1. Create a new app in apps directory: python manage.py startapp myapp apps/myapp
2. Add to LOCAL_APPS in config/settings/base.py
3. Create URL patterns and include in main urls.py

Custom Models

Extend the base models for automatic timestamps and soft delete:

from apps.core.models import BaseModel

class MyModel(BaseModel):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    # Automatically includes created_at, updated_at, is_deleted, deleted_at

Environment Variables

Add new environment variables in .env and access them in settings:

from decouple import config

MY_SETTING = config('MY_SETTING', default='default_value')

Deployment

Production Settings

1. Set DEBUG=False in .env
2. Configure proper SECRET_KEY
3. Set up PostgreSQL database
4. Configure ALLOWED_HOSTS
5. Use environment variables for sensitive data

Static Files

Static files are handled by WhiteNoise. Run:

python manage.py collectstatic

Development Guidelines

Code Style

• Follow PEP 8
• Use meaningful variable names
• Add docstrings to functions and classes
• Write tests for new functionality

Git Workflow

1. Create feature branches from main
2. Make descriptive commits
3. Test before pushing
4. Create pull requests for review

Common Issues

Migration Issues

# Reset migrations
python manage.py migrate --fake-initial
python manage.py migrate

Permission Denied

# Make sure virtual environment is activated
source .venv/bin/activate

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Support

For questions or issues, please create an issue in the repository or contact the maintainers.

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Happy Coding! 🚀