Forgetful Notes

Django Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for common commands and syntax in the Django framework.

Project and App Management

Commands run with manage.py.

# Create a new Django project
django-admin startproject <project_name>
 
# Create a new app within a project
python manage.py startapp <app_name>
 
# Run the development server
python manage.py runserver
 
# Create database tables for your models
python manage.py migrate
 
# Create migration files from changes to your models
python manage.py makemigrations
 
# Open the Django shell
python manage.py shell
 
# Create a superuser for the admin interface
python manage.py createsuperuser

Models and ORM

Define your data models in models.py.

from django.db import models
 
class MyModel(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)

Common Field Types

  • CharField, TextField
  • IntegerField, FloatField
  • BooleanField
  • DateTimeField, DateField
  • ForeignKey, ManyToManyField, OneToOneField

QuerySet API

Interact with your data.

# Get all objects
MyModel.objects.all()
 
# Get a single object (raises DoesNotExist if not found)
MyModel.objects.get(id=1)
 
# Filter objects (returns a QuerySet)
MyModel.objects.filter(is_active=True)
 
# Exclude objects
MyModel.objects.exclude(name__startswith='A')
 
# Order results
MyModel.objects.order_by('-created_at') # Descending
 
# Create a new object
MyModel.objects.create(name="New Item")
 
# Update objects
MyModel.objects.filter(id=1).update(name="Updated Name")
 
# Delete an object
item = MyModel.objects.get(id=1)
item.delete()

Field Lookups

  • exact, iexact (case-insensitive)
  • contains, icontains
  • startswith, endswith
  • gt, gte, lt, lte (greater/less than)
  • in

Views and URLS

Function-Based View (views.py):

from django.shortcuts import render
 
def my_view(request):
    context = {'items': MyModel.objects.all()}
    return render(request, 'myapp/template.html', context)

URL Configuration (urls.py):

from django.urls import path
from . import views
 
urlpatterns = [
    path('items/', views.my_view, name='item-list'),
]

Templates

Use the Django Template Language inside your HTML files.

<!-- Display a variable -->
{{ item.name }}
 
<!-- Loop through a list -->
<ul>
{% for item in items %}
    <li>{{ item.name }}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>
 
<!-- Conditional logic -->
{% if user.is_authenticated %}
    <p>Welcome, {{ user.username }}!</p>
{% else %}
    <a href="{% url 'login' %}">Log in</a>
{% endif %}
 
<!-- URL reversing -->
<a href="{% url 'item-list' %}">View all items</a>

Common Template Filters

  • {{ value|length }}
  • {{ value|date:"Y-m-d" }}
  • {{ value|truncatewords:10 }}
  • {{ value|default:"Nothing" }}

Graph View