===================== How to install Django ===================== This document will get you up and running with Django. Install Python ============== Being a Python Web framework, Django requires Python. It works with any Python version from 2.5 to 2.7 (due to backwards incompatibilities in Python 3.0, Django does not currently work with Python 3.0; see :doc:`the Django FAQ ` for more information on supported Python versions and the 3.0 transition). Get Python at http://www.python.org. If you're running Linux or Mac OS X, you probably already have it installed. .. admonition:: Django on Jython If you use Jython_ (a Python implementation for the Java platform), you'll need to follow a few additional steps. See :doc:`/howto/jython` for details. .. _jython: http://jython.org/ Install Apache and mod_wsgi ============================= If you just want to experiment with Django, skip ahead to the next section; Django includes a lightweight web server you can use for testing, so you won't need to set up Apache until you're ready to deploy Django in production. If you want to use Django on a production site, use `Apache`_ with `mod_wsgi`_. mod_wsgi can operate in one of two modes: an embedded mode and a daemon mode. In embedded mode, mod_wsgi is similar to mod_perl -- it embeds Python within Apache and loads Python code into memory when the server starts. Code stays in memory throughout the life of an Apache process, which leads to significant performance gains over other server arrangements. In daemon mode, mod_wsgi spawns an independent daemon process that handles requests. The daemon process can run as a different user than the Web server, possibly leading to improved security, and the daemon process can be restarted without restarting the entire Apache Web server, possibly making refreshing your codebase more seamless. Consult the mod_wsgi documentation to determine which mode is right for your setup. Make sure you have Apache installed, with the mod_wsgi module activated. Django will work with any version of Apache that supports mod_wsgi. See :doc:`How to use Django with mod_wsgi ` for information on how to configure mod_wsgi once you have it installed. If you can't use mod_wsgi for some reason, fear not: Django supports many other deployment options. One is :doc:`uWSGI `; it works very well with `nginx`_. Another is :doc:`FastCGI `, perfect for using Django with servers other than Apache. Additionally, Django follows the WSGI_ spec, which allows it to run on a variety of server platforms. See the `server-arrangements wiki page`_ for specific installation instructions for each platform. .. _Apache: http://httpd.apache.org/ .. _nginx: http://nginx.net/ .. _mod_wsgi: http://code.google.com/p/modwsgi/ .. _WSGI: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0333/ .. _server-arrangements wiki page: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ServerArrangements .. _database-installation: Get your database running ========================= If you plan to use Django's database API functionality, you'll need to make sure a database server is running. Django supports many different database servers and is officially supported with PostgreSQL_, MySQL_, Oracle_ and SQLite_ (although SQLite doesn't require a separate server to be running). In addition to the officially supported databases, there are backends provided by 3rd parties that allow you to use other databases with Django: * `Sybase SQL Anywhere`_ * `IBM DB2`_ * `Microsoft SQL Server 2005`_ * Firebird_ * ODBC_ The Django versions and ORM features supported by these unofficial backends vary considerably. Queries regarding the specific capabilities of these unofficial backends, along with any support queries, should be directed to the support channels provided by each 3rd party project. In addition to a database backend, you'll need to make sure your Python database bindings are installed. * If you're using PostgreSQL, you'll need the ``postgresql_psycopg2`` package. You might want to refer to our :ref:`PostgreSQL notes ` for further technical details specific to this database. If you're on Windows, check out the unofficial `compiled Windows version`_. * If you're using MySQL, you'll need MySQLdb_, version 1.2.1p2 or higher. You will also want to read the database-specific :ref:`notes for the MySQL backend `. * If you're using Oracle, you'll need a copy of cx_Oracle_, but please read the database-specific :ref:`notes for the Oracle backend ` for important information regarding supported versions of both Oracle and ``cx_Oracle``. * If you're using an unofficial 3rd party backend, please consult the documentation provided for any additional requirements. If you plan to use Django's ``manage.py syncdb`` command to automatically create database tables for your models, you'll need to ensure that Django has permission to create and alter tables in the database you're using; if you plan to manually create the tables, you can simply grant Django ``SELECT``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE`` and ``DELETE`` permissions. On some databases, Django will need ``ALTER TABLE`` privileges during ``syncdb`` but won't issue ``ALTER TABLE`` statements on a table once ``syncdb`` has created it. If you're using Django's :doc:`testing framework` to test database queries, Django will need permission to create a test database. .. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/ .. _MySQL: http://www.mysql.com/ .. _psycopg: http://initd.org/pub/software/psycopg/ .. _compiled Windows version: http://stickpeople.com/projects/python/win-psycopg/ .. _MySQLdb: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mysql-python .. _SQLite: http://www.sqlite.org/ .. _pysqlite: http://trac.edgewall.org/wiki/PySqlite .. _cx_Oracle: http://cx-oracle.sourceforge.net/ .. _Oracle: http://www.oracle.com/ .. _Sybase SQL Anywhere: http://code.google.com/p/sqlany-django/ .. _IBM DB2: http://code.google.com/p/ibm-db/ .. _Microsoft SQL Server 2005: http://code.google.com/p/django-mssql/ .. _Firebird: http://code.google.com/p/django-firebird/ .. _ODBC: http://code.google.com/p/django-pyodbc/ .. _removing-old-versions-of-django: Remove any old versions of Django ================================= If you are upgrading your installation of Django from a previous version, you will need to uninstall the old Django version before installing the new version. If you installed Django using ``setup.py install``, uninstalling is as simple as deleting the ``django`` directory from your Python ``site-packages``. If you installed Django from a Python egg, remove the Django ``.egg`` file, and remove the reference to the egg in the file named ``easy-install.pth``. This file should also be located in your ``site-packages`` directory. .. _finding-site-packages: .. admonition:: Where are my ``site-packages`` stored? The location of the ``site-packages`` directory depends on the operating system, and the location in which Python was installed. To find out your system's ``site-packages`` location, execute the following: .. code-block:: bash python -c "from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_lib; print get_python_lib()" (Note that this should be run from a shell prompt, not a Python interactive prompt.) .. _install-django-code: Install the Django code ======================= Installation instructions are slightly different depending on whether you're installing a distribution-specific package, downloading the latest official release, or fetching the latest development version. It's easy, no matter which way you choose. Installing a distribution-specific package ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check the :doc:`distribution specific notes ` to see if your platform/distribution provides official Django packages/installers. Distribution-provided packages will typically allow for automatic installation of dependencies and easy upgrade paths. .. _installing-official-release: Installing an official release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Download the latest release from our `download page`_. 2. Untar the downloaded file (e.g. ``tar xzvf Django-NNN.tar.gz``, where ``NNN`` is the version number of the latest release). If you're using Windows, you can download the command-line tool bsdtar_ to do this, or you can use a GUI-based tool such as 7-zip_. 3. Change into the directory created in step 2 (e.g. ``cd Django-NNN``). 4. If you're using Linux, Mac OS X or some other flavor of Unix, enter the command ``sudo python setup.py install`` at the shell prompt. If you're using Windows, start up a command shell with administrator privileges and run the command ``setup.py install``. These commands will install Django in your Python installation's ``site-packages`` directory. .. _bsdtar: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/bsdtar.htm .. _7-zip: http://www.7-zip.org/ .. _installing-development-version: Installing the development version ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .. admonition:: Tracking Django development If you decide to use the latest development version of Django, you'll want to pay close attention to `the development timeline`_, and you'll want to keep an eye on `the list of backwards-incompatible changes`_. This will help you stay on top of any new features you might want to use, as well as any changes you'll need to make to your code when updating your copy of Django. (For stable releases, any necessary changes are documented in the release notes.) .. _the development timeline: http://code.djangoproject.com/timeline .. _the list of backwards-incompatible changes: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/BackwardsIncompatibleChanges If you'd like to be able to update your Django code occasionally with the latest bug fixes and improvements, follow these instructions: 1. Make sure that you have Subversion_ installed, and that you can run its commands from a shell. (Enter ``svn help`` at a shell prompt to test this.) 2. Check out Django's main development branch (the 'trunk') like so: .. code-block:: bash svn co http://code.djangoproject.com/svn/django/trunk/ django-trunk 3. Next, make sure that the Python interpreter can load Django's code. The most convenient way to do this is to `modify Python's search path`_. Add a ``.pth`` file containing the full path to the ``django-trunk`` directory to your system's ``site-packages`` directory. For example, on a Unix-like system: .. code-block:: bash echo WORKING-DIR/django-trunk > SITE-PACKAGES-DIR/django.pth (In the above line, change ``SITE-PACKAGES-DIR`` to match the location of your system's ``site-packages`` directory, as explained in the :ref:`Where are my site-packages stored? ` section above. Change ``WORKING-DIR/django-trunk`` to match the full path to your new ``django-trunk`` directory.) 4. On Unix-like systems, create a symbolic link to the file ``django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py`` in a directory on your system path, such as ``/usr/local/bin``. For example: .. code-block:: bash ln -s WORKING-DIR/django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py /usr/local/bin (In the above line, change WORKING-DIR to match the full path to your new ``django-trunk`` directory.) This simply lets you type ``django-admin.py`` from within any directory, rather than having to qualify the command with the full path to the file. On Windows systems, the same result can be achieved by copying the file ``django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py`` to somewhere on your system path, for example ``C:\Python24\Scripts``. You *don't* have to run ``python setup.py install``, because you've already carried out the equivalent actions in steps 3 and 4. When you want to update your copy of the Django source code, just run the command ``svn update`` from within the ``django-trunk`` directory. When you do this, Subversion will automatically download any changes. .. _`download page`: http://www.djangoproject.com/download/ .. _Subversion: http://subversion.tigris.org/ .. _`modify Python's search path`: http://docs.python.org/install/index.html#modifying-python-s-search-path