Skill: Django

Best practices for Django web development including models, views, templates, and testing.

When to Use

Apply this skill when working with Django projects — models, views, URL routing, templates, forms, admin, and management commands.

Project Structure

• Follow the standard Django app layout: models.py, views.py, urls.py, admin.py, tests.py, forms.py.
• Keep each app focused on a single domain concept; avoid "god apps" with unrelated models.
• Use settings/base.py, settings/dev.py, settings/prod.py for environment-specific configuration.

Models

• Always define __str__ on models for admin and debugging readability.
• Use Meta.ordering sparingly — it adds ORDER BY to every query. Prefer explicit .order_by() on querysets.
• Use database indexes (db_index=True, Meta.indexes) for fields that appear in filter() / order_by().