manage.py commands in Django#

Here’s a comprehensive list of commonly used and advanced manage.py commands in Django, grouped by purpose. This is very useful for learning, daily development, interviews, and documentation.

Server & Project Basics#

python manage.py runserver
python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
python manage.py runserver 8001

App Management#

python manage.py startapp blog
python manage.py startapp accounts
python manage.py startapp api

Database & Migrations#

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py makemigrations blog
python manage.py makemigrations --empty blog

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py migrate blog
python manage.py migrate blog 0002

python manage.py showmigrations
python manage.py showmigrations blog

python manage.py sqlmigrate blog 0001

👤 Users & Authentication#

python manage.py createsuperuser
python manage.py changepassword username

Django Shell & Debugging#

python manage.py shell
python manage.py shell_plus          # (django-extensions)
python manage.py dbshell

Testing & Quality#

python manage.py test
python manage.py test blog
python manage.py test blog.tests.test_models

python manage.py check
python manage.py check --deploy

📂 Static Files & Media#

python manage.py collectstatic
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
python manage.py findstatic admin/css/base.css

Caching & Sessions

python manage.py clearsessions

🌐 Internationalization (i18n)#

python manage.py makemessages -l en
python manage.py makemessages -l fr
python manage.py compilemessages

Content Types & Permissions#

python manage.py remove_stale_contenttypes

Data Management#

python manage.py dumpdata
python manage.py dumpdata blog
python manage.py dumpdata blog.Post --indent 2 > posts.json

python manage.py loaddata posts.json
python manage.py loaddata initial_data.json

Admin & Maintenance#

python manage.py flush
python manage.py inspectdb
python manage.py diffsettings

Custom Management Commands#

python manage.py my_custom_command

Structure:

blog/
└── management/
    └── commands/
        └── my_custom_command.py

Django Extensions (Optional but Popular)#

(requires django-extensions)

python manage.py show_urls
python manage.py graph_models
python manage.py graph_models blog -o models.png
python manage.py shell_plus
python manage.py reset_db

Deployment & Security#

python manage.py check --deploy

App & System Info#

python manage.py help
python manage.py help migrate
python manage.py version

Rare but Useful#

python manage.py sendtestemail test@example.com
python manage.py validate_templates

Summary (Most Used – Must Know)#

runserver
startapp
makemigrations
migrate
createsuperuser
shell
test
collectstatic
dumpdata / loaddata
check --deploy

manage.py commands in Django

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