Django Quickstart

1. Install Python

First, ensure you have Python installed. You can check your version with:

python --version

If you don’t have Python, download and install it from python.org.

2. Create a Virtual Environment

Navigate to your desired project directory and create a virtual environment:

mkdir myprojectdir
cd myprojectdir
python -m venv myenv

Activate the virtual environment:

On Windows:

bash myenv\Scripts\activate

On macOS/Linux:

bash source myenv/bin/activate

3. Install Django

With your virtual environment activated, install Django using pip:

pip install django

4. Create a New Project

To create a new Django project, use the django-admin command:

django-admin startproject myproject

This creates a new directory named myproject with the following structure:

myproject/
    manage.py
    myproject/
        __init__.py
        settings.py
        urls.py
        asgi.py
        wsgi.py

5. Run the Development Server

Navigate to your project directory:

cd myproject

Run the development server:

python manage.py runserver

You should see output indicating the server is running, usually at http://127.0.0.1:8000/. Open this URL in your web browser to see the Django welcome page.

6. Create a New App

Django projects are made up of apps. To create an app, run:

python manage.py startapp myapp

This creates a new directory called myapp with the following structure:

myapp/
    migrations/
    __init__.py
    admin.py
    apps.py
    models.py
    tests.py
    views.py

7. Define a Model

In myapp/models.py, define a simple model. For example:

from django.db import models

class Item(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    description = models.TextField()

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name

8. Register the Model with Admin

To manage this model in the Django admin interface, register it in myapp/admin.py:

from django.contrib import admin
from .models import Item

admin.site.register(Item)

9. Configure the App

Add your app to the project's settings. In myproject/settings.py, find the INSTALLED_APPS list and add your app:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # other apps
    'myapp',
]

10. Create the Database

Run the following commands to create the database and apply migrations:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

11. Create an Admin User

Create a superuser to access the admin panel:

python manage.py createsuperuser

Follow the prompts to set up your admin user.

12. Access the Admin Interface

Start the server again if it's not running:

python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/ and log in with the superuser credentials. You should see your Item model listed.

13. Create a View

In myapp/views.py, create a simple view:

from django.shortcuts import render
from .models import Item

def item_list(request):
    items = Item.objects.all()
    return render(request, 'item_list.html', {'items': items})

14. Set Up URLs

In myapp/urls.py, set up a URL for your view:

from django.urls import path
from .views import item_list

urlpatterns = [
    path('', item_list, name='item_list'),
]

Then, include your app’s URLs in the project’s URLs. In myproject/urls.py, add:

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import include, path

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('', include('myapp.urls')),
]

15. Create a Template

Create a directory named templates in your myapp folder and create a file named item_list.html inside it:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Item List</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Item List</h1>
    <ul>
        {% for item in items %}
            <li>{{ item.name }}: {{ item.description }}</li>
        {% endfor %}
    </ul>
</body>
</html>

16. Test Your App

Now, navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8000/ in your browser to see the list of items. If you add items through the admin interface, they should appear here.

Conclusion

You've created a simple Django application with a virtual environment, model, admin interface, view, and template. From here, you can explore more features like forms, authentication, and deploying your application.

For more detailed documentation, visit the official Django documentation at djangoproject.com. Happy coding!