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Development Commands

Commands for development, testing, and debugging Django-CFG projects.

Development Server​

runserver_ngrok​

Run development server with ngrok tunnel for webhook testing.

python manage.py runserver_ngrok [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --domain TEXT - Custom ngrok domain
  • --no-ngrok - Disable ngrok for this session
  • [address:port] - Custom address and port

Examples:

# Start server with ngrok tunnel
python manage.py runserver_ngrok

# Use custom ngrok domain
python manage.py runserver_ngrok --domain myapp

# Custom port
python manage.py runserver_ngrok 0.0.0.0:8080

# Disable ngrok for this session
python manage.py runserver_ngrok --no-ngrok

Features:

  • ✅ Automatic ngrok tunnel creation
  • ✅ Public URL for webhooks
  • ✅ ALLOWED_HOSTS auto-configuration
  • ✅ Tunnel status monitoring

Output:

✅ Ngrok tunnel ready: https://abc123.ngrok.io
Django development server is running at http://127.0.0.1:8000/
Public URL: https://abc123.ngrok.io

Testing Commands​

test_email​

Test email configuration and send test messages.

python manage.py test_email [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --to TEXT - Recipient email address
  • --subject TEXT - Email subject (default: "Django-CFG Test Email")
  • --backend TEXT - Email backend to test

Examples:

# Test email to specific address
python manage.py test_email --to admin@example.com

# Custom subject
python manage.py test_email --to test@test.com --subject "Configuration Test"

# Test specific backend
python manage.py test_email --to admin@test.com --backend sendgrid

test_telegram​

Test Telegram bot configuration.

python manage.py test_telegram [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --message TEXT - Test message to send
  • --chat-id TEXT - Target chat ID (optional)

Examples:

# Send test message
python manage.py test_telegram --message "Hello from Django-CFG!"

# Send to specific chat
python manage.py test_telegram --message "Test" --chat-id "-1001234567890"

test_twilio​

Test Twilio SMS and WhatsApp messaging.

python manage.py test_twilio [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --to TEXT - Phone number to send test message to
  • --message TEXT - Message to send
  • --whatsapp - Send WhatsApp message (default: SMS)
  • --content-sid TEXT - Content template SID for WhatsApp

Examples:

# Test SMS
python manage.py test_twilio --to "+1234567890" --message "Test SMS"

# Test WhatsApp
python manage.py test_twilio --to "+1234567890" --message "Test WhatsApp" --whatsapp

# Test WhatsApp template
python manage.py test_twilio --to "+1234567890" --whatsapp --content-sid "HXxxxxx"

test_otp​

Test OTP authentication system.

python manage.py test_otp [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --email TEXT - Email address to test
  • --phone TEXT - Phone number to test (for SMS OTP)

Examples:

# Test email OTP
python manage.py test_otp --email user@example.com

# Test SMS OTP
python manage.py test_otp --phone "+1234567890"

Script Execution​

script​

Run custom scripts with full Django context.

python manage.py script SCRIPT_PATH [SCRIPT_ARGS]

Arguments:

  • SCRIPT_PATH - Path to Python script
  • SCRIPT_ARGS - Arguments to pass to script

Examples:

# Run Python script with Django context
python manage.py script my_script.py

# Pass arguments to script
python manage.py script data_import.py --file data.csv

# Run with specific settings
python manage.py script --settings myproject.settings.dev cleanup.py

Script Example:

# my_script.py
import sys
from myapp.models import User

def main():
    print(f"Total users: {User.objects.count()}")

    if len(sys.argv) > 1:
        username = sys.argv[1]
        user = User.objects.get(username=username)
        print(f"Found user: {user.email}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Usage:

python manage.py script my_script.py admin

Project Structure​

tree​

Display Django project structure with documentation.

python manage.py tree [OPTIONS]

Options:

  • --depth INTEGER - Limit depth
  • --include-docs - Include documentation files
  • --python-only - Show only Python files

Examples:

# Show project structure
python manage.py tree

# Limit depth
python manage.py tree --depth 3

# Include documentation files
python manage.py tree --include-docs

# Show only Python files
python manage.py tree --python-only

Output:

📁 myproject/
├── 📄 manage.py
├── 📁 myproject/
│   ├── 📄 __init__.py
│   ├── 📄 config.py
│   ├── 📄 settings.py
│   ├── 📄 urls.py
│   └── 📄 wsgi.py
├── 📁 apps/
│   ├── 📁 blog/
│   ├── 📁 shop/
│   └── 📁 profiles/
└── 📁 static/

Code Generation​

generate​

Generate Django components (models, views, serializers).

python manage.py generate TYPE NAME [FIELDS]

Types:

  • model - Generate model
  • crud - Generate complete CRUD
  • api - Generate API views

Examples:

# Generate model
python manage.py generate model Product name:str price:decimal

# Generate complete CRUD
python manage.py generate crud Product

# Generate API views
python manage.py generate api Product --viewset

Development Workflows​

Complete Development Setup​

# 1. Create project
django-cfg create-project "My Project"
cd my_project

# 2. Validate configuration
python manage.py validate_config

# 3. Setup database
python manage.py migrate_all

# 4. Create superuser
python manage.py createsuperuser

# 5. Start development server with ngrok
python manage.py runserver_ngrok

Webhook Development Workflow​

# 1. Start server with ngrok
python manage.py runserver_ngrok

# Output: Public URL: https://abc123.ngrok.io

# 2. Configure webhook in external service
# Use: https://abc123.ngrok.io/api/webhooks/stripe/

# 3. Monitor webhook events
# Check Django admin: /admin/payments/webhook/

# 4. Test webhook
curl -X POST https://abc123.ngrok.io/api/webhooks/stripe/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "test"}'

Testing Workflow​

# 1. Test email configuration
python manage.py test_email --to admin@test.com

# 2. Test Telegram bot
python manage.py test_telegram --message "Deploy test"

# 3. Test SMS/WhatsApp
python manage.py test_twilio --to "+1234567890"

# 4. Test OTP system
python manage.py test_otp --email user@test.com

# 5. Run unit tests
python manage.py test

Script Development Workflow​

# 1. Create script
cat > scripts/import_users.py << EOF
from myapp.models import User
import csv

def main():
    with open('users.csv') as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        for row in reader:
            User.objects.create(
                username=row['username'],
                email=row['email']
            )
    print("Import complete!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
EOF

# 2. Run script
python manage.py script scripts/import_users.py

# 3. Check results
python manage.py shell -c "from myapp.models import User; print(User.objects.count())"

Best Practices​

1. Use Ngrok for Webhook Development​

# ✅ GOOD - Ngrok for webhooks
python manage.py runserver_ngrok

# ❌ LIMITED - Local only
python manage.py runserver

2. Test All Integrations Before Deploy​

# Comprehensive testing
python manage.py test_email --to admin@test.com
python manage.py test_telegram --message "Test"
python manage.py test_twilio --to "+1234567890"
python manage.py test_otp --email user@test.com
python manage.py test_providers

3. Use Scripts for Data Operations​

# ✅ GOOD - Reusable script
python manage.py script import_data.py

# ❌ BAD - One-off shell commands
python manage.py shell -c "complex_command_here"

4. Generate Code for Consistency​

# ✅ GOOD - Generated code follows patterns
python manage.py generate model Product name:str price:decimal

# ❌ BAD - Manual coding with inconsistencies

5. Monitor Project Structure​

# Regular structure checks
python manage.py tree --depth 3

Troubleshooting​

Ngrok Not Starting​

# Check ngrok installation
which ngrok

# Install ngrok
# macOS
brew install ngrok

# Ubuntu
sudo snap install ngrok

# Check ngrok config
python manage.py show_config --section ngrok

Email Test Failing​

# Check email configuration
python manage.py check_settings --email-test

# Verify SMTP settings
python manage.py show_config --section email

Script Execution Errors​

# Run with verbose output
python manage.py script my_script.py --verbosity 2

# Check Django context
python manage.py shell -c "import django; print(django.__version__)"

Development made productive! 🛠️

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