Django Installation and Environment Setup

Since Django is a Python-based framework, ensure that you have Python installed on your machine. Django Development Environment can be set up by installing python, a virtual environment, and Django Package Installation. Although Virtual Environment is not necessary, it is recommended to install your Django Packages under a Virtual Environment if you will be dealing with different package versions.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to install Django using Virtual Environments in Python.

Venv is a python Virtual Environment module that provides support to create “Virtual Environments”, isolating the system directories and packages.

Each Python Virtual Environment has its own Binary Files and independent packages so that developers can work on different package projects without having to disturb other environment packages.

Virtual Environment is the ideal way to install packages and work on your Projects.

Django Installation on Windows

Installing Python

Firstly Download Python Executable File.

Ensure that you check the “Add Python 3.10 to PATH” , else you can manually add the path through the System Environment Variable Section .

Close the Installation Setup once you’re done Installing Python.

Open Command Prompt and execute the “python” command to ensure that Python is installed on your computer.

Installing Django using Virtual Environment

Install Pip

Pip is a package installer for Python, in order to install various python packages using command prompt, we need to install pip.

Open Command Prompt and enter the following command to install pip .

Python -m pip install -U pip

Install Virtual Environment – Enter the following command

Pip install virtualenv

Initializing the Virtual Environment – Enter the following command

Virtualenv env_site

Navigate to Scripts Directory – Enter the following command :

Cd env_site\Scripts

Activate the Virtual Environment – Enter the following command:

activate

Django is now installed in your virtual environment, enter the following command to deactivate Virtual Environment:

deactivate

Installing Django on Ubuntu

Update your local package index using the following command :

sudo apt update

Check your version of Python using the following command :

python3 -V

Install Pip using the following command :

sudo apt install python3-pip

Make a new project directory and navigate into the project directory using the following commands :

mkdir ~/Python_Geeks
cd ~/Python_Geeks

Initiate Virtual Environment using the following command:

python3.6 -m venv my_env

Activate the Environment using the following command :

source my_env/bin/activate

Install Django using the following command :

pip install django

Installing Django on Mac OS:

Install latest version of Python using the following command :

brew install python3

Install Pip using the following command :

sudo easy_install pip

Install Virtual Environment Wrapper using the following command :

sudo pip3 install virtualenvwrapper

Initializing the Virtual Environment – Enter the following command:

virtualenv PythonGeeks

Navigate into the Virtual environment directory using the following command:

cd PythonGeeks

Activate the Virtual Environment using the following command :

source bin/activate

Install Django using the following command :

sudo pip install django

Virtual Environment Commands:

Below are a list of Virtual Environment Commands that you will be using regularly :

• deactivate – Deactivates Python Virtual Environment
• workon – Displays available virtual environments
• workon $environment_name – Activates the environment
• rmvirtualenv $environment_name – Removes the virtual environment

Testing Django Installation:

If you’re new to virtual environments, there is a slight chance that you might have made an error while installing. Let’s check if Django is installed on your machine by creating a test web site.

Enter the following commands after ensuring that you are in the environment .

Create a test directory

(env_site) C:\Users\PythonGeeks\Django Tutorial>mkdir django_test_site

Navigate into the test directory

(env_site) C:\Users\PythonGeeks\Django Tutorial>cd django_test_site

Create Django Project by initiating this command

(env_site) C:\Users\PythonGeeks\Django Tutorial\django_test_site>django-admin startproject testsite

Navigate into the Project Folder

(env_site) C:\Users\PythonGeeks\Django Tutorial\django_test_site>cd testsite

Run the webserver using the following command :

(env_site) C:\Users\PythonGeeks\Django Tutorial\django_test_site\testsite>python manage.py runserver

Summary:

In this tutorial we have learnt how to set up Django Environment by installing python and using the pip package. We have also covered how to test Django Installation by starting a test project using django-admin start project command and running a web server in python.