Installation
This guide will walk you through installing DJ Press in your Django project.
Requirements
DJ Press will always be compatible with any supported version of Django and Python. Right now this is:
Django 4.2 LTS, 5.1, 5.2 LTS
Python 3.9 and above
Quick Start
Important: DJ Press is pre-1.0 software. Until version 1.x is released, please pin your requirements to a specific minor version to avoid breaking changes, e.g.
djpress~=0.19.0
Install the package:
# Using pip
pip install "djpress~=0.19.0"
# Using poetry
poetry add "djpress~=0.19.0"
# using uv
uv add "djpress~=0.19.0"
Add DJ Press to your
INSTALLED_APPS
in Django settings:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
# Django's built-in apps
"django.contrib.admin",
"django.contrib.auth",
"django.contrib.contenttypes",
"django.contrib.sessions",
"django.contrib.messages",
"django.contrib.staticfiles",
# If you're using sitemaps (recommended)
"django.contrib.sitemaps",
# DJ Press
"djpress.apps.DjpressConfig",
]
Add the URLs to your project’s main
urls.py
file:
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
path("admin/", admin.site.urls),
# Other URL patterns
# For blog at site root (https://example.com/)
path("", include("djpress.urls")),
# OR for blog in subdirectory (https://example.com/blog/)
# path("blog/", include("djpress.urls")),
]
Run migrations:
python manage.py migrate
Create a superuser if you don’t already have one:
python manage.py createsuperuser
Start the development server and access the admin:
python manage.py runserver
Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/ and log in to start creating content.
Next Steps
Configure your blog settings by adding a
DJPRESS_SETTINGS
dictionary to yoursettings.py
. See the Configuration documentation for available options.Consider adding sitemap support to improve SEO. See the Sitemap documentation for instructions.
Choose or create a theme for your blog. See the Themes documentation.
Group Permissions
DJ Press relies on the Django Admin for content management. Users need proper permissions to manage content:
All users need staff status to access the admin interface
Use the built-in Django groups and permissions system to control what users can do
See the Groups and Permissions documentation for details on DJ Press’s predefined roles
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Posts Not Appearing on the Frontend
Check that posts are marked as “Published” in the admin (not “Draft”)
Verify the published date is not in the future
Check that the URL patterns aren’t conflicting (see URL Structure)
Clear browser cache or use private browsing
Static Files Not Loading
Ensure
django.contrib.staticfiles
is in yourINSTALLED_APPS
Run
python manage.py collectstatic
Check that your web server is configured to serve static files
Template Errors
Make sure you’ve loaded the required template tags with
{% load djpress_tags %}
Verify the template tag names and parameters match the documentation
Check that the selected theme exists and is properly installed
Debug Mode
When troubleshooting, you can enable Django’s debug mode to see detailed error information:
# settings.py
DEBUG = True # Only in development!
Support
If you encounter issues not covered here, check:
The GitHub Issues for similar problems
Open a new issue with detailed information about your problem
Upgrading
When upgrading DJ Press, always:
Review the release notes for breaking changes
Back up your database
Run migrations after upgrading:
python manage.py migrate
Remember: there will be breaking changes with minor updates, until we reach version 1.x.