Django Basic Commands: A Detailed Guide to manage.py (2026 Edition)

When you step into the world of Django, you quickly realize that you spend a lot of time in the terminal. Django comes with a powerful command-line utility that handles everything from starting a new project to interacting with your database.

The heart of this utility is manage.py—a thin wrapper around django-admin that automatically points to your project's settings.

In this guide, we will break down the absolute essential Django commands every developer needs to know, categorized by their function.

1. Project Setup Commands

Before you write a single line of Python, you need to set up the architecture of your project.

django-admin startproject [project_name] This is the very first command you run. It generates the base folder structure, including your settings.py, urls.py, and the crucial manage.py file.

django-admin startproject my_ecommerce

python manage.py startapp [app_name] Django is based on the concept of "apps" (independent modules like users, blog, or cart). This command creates a new directory for your app with files for views, models, and tests

 

python manage.py startapp products

Note: Don't forget to add your new app to the INSTALLED_APPS list in settings.py!


2. The Development Server

To see your work in a browser, you need a local web server. Django provides a lightweight server perfect for development.

python manage.py runserver This command starts the local development server. By default, it runs on port 8000 (http://127.0.0.1:8000). It also automatically reloads whenever you save a Python file, so you don't need to restart it after every code change.
 

python manage.py runserver

Tip: You can specify a custom port by adding it to the end: python manage.py runserver 8080.

3. Database & Migration Commands

Django uses an ORM (Object-Relational Mapper), meaning you define your database structure using Python code. Migrations are how Django translates your Python code into actual SQL database tables.

python manage.py makemigrations Think of this as "saving your changes." Whenever you create or modify a model in models.py, run this command. It creates a new migration file (a blueprint) of the changes.
 

python manage.py makemigrations

python manage.py migrate Think of this as "applying the changes." This command looks at the migration files created by makemigrations and actually executes the SQL to update your database.

python manage.py migrate

python manage.py showmigrations If you ever get confused about which migrations have been applied, this command lists all apps and shows an [X] next to migrations that are currently active in the database.

4. Admin & User Management

Django comes with a built-in admin panel, but to access it, you need an account.

python manage.py createsuperuser This launches an interactive prompt to create an admin user with full permissions. You will be asked for a username, email, and password.

python manage.py createsuperuser

python manage.py changepassword [username] Forgot your admin password? No problem. This command allows you to reset the password for any user directly from the terminal.

5. Debugging & Interactive Tools

Sometimes you need to test code snippets or query the database without writing a full view.

python manage.py shell This command opens an interactive Python shell pre-loaded with your Django project's settings. It is the best way to test your ORM queries, debug functions, or manipulate data on the fly.

python manage.py shell
# Example inside the shell:
# >>> from products.models import Product
# >>> Product.objects.all()

python manage.py dbshell This opens the command-line client of your configured database (like psql for PostgreSQL or sqlite3). You can write raw SQL queries here.

6. Deployment Commands

When you are ready to put your website on the internet, you will need this command.

python manage.py collectstatic In development, Django serves static files (CSS, JS, images) automatically. In production, web servers like Nginx or Apache need these files in one specific folder. This command gathers all static files from your apps and puts them into the directory defined in STATIC_ROOT.

python manage.py collectstatic

Summary Table: Quick Reference

Conclusion

Mastering these basic manage.py commands is your first step toward becoming a proficient Django developer. They are the tools you will use every single day to build, test, and deploy your web applications.