Management Commands

DJ Press provides Django management commands for exporting content and managing user permissions.

djpress_setup_groups

The djpress_setup_groups command creates or updates DJ Press user groups and assigns appropriate permissions.

Usage

python manage.py djpress_setup_groups

What It Does

This command creates four user groups with different permission levels:

  • djpress_admin: Full permissions to all djpress models

  • djpress_editor: Can publish posts and manage all content

  • djpress_author: Can publish their own posts and add tags/media

  • djpress_contributor: Can create/edit posts (but not publish) and add tags/media

When to Use

Groups are automatically created when you run python manage.py migrate, so you typically don’t need to run this command manually. However, it’s useful for:

  • Troubleshooting permission issues

  • Re-creating groups after manual deletion

  • Updating permissions after upgrading DJ Press

Assigning Users to Groups

After running the command, assign users to groups via the Django admin interface or management shell:

python manage.py shell
>>> from django.contrib.auth.models import User, Group
>>> user = User.objects.get(username='editor_user')
>>> user.groups.add(Group.objects.get(name='djpress_editor'))

djpress_export

The djpress_export command exports your DJ Press blog content to Markdown files in a format compatible with static site generators.

Usage

python manage.py djpress_export [options]

Options

  • --output-dir DIRECTORY: Directory to export content to (default: djpress_export)

  • --posts-only: Export only posts, not pages

  • --published-only: Export only published content (excludes drafts and future posts)

Examples

Export all content (posts and pages, including drafts):

python manage.py djpress_export

Export only published content to a custom directory:

python manage.py djpress_export --output-dir my_blog_export --published-only

Export only posts (no pages):

python manage.py djpress_export --posts-only

Export only published posts to a specific directory:

python manage.py djpress_export --output-dir blog_backup --posts-only --published-only

Output Structure

The command creates the following directory structure:

output_directory/
├── content/
│   ├── posts/
│   │   ├── 2024-01-15-my-first-post.md
│   │   └── 2024-02-20-another-post.md
│   └── pages/
│       ├── about.md
│       └── contact/
│           └── _index.md

File Naming

  • Posts: Named as YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md using the post’s published date and slug

  • Pages:

    • Top-level pages: slug.md

    • Nested pages: parent-slug/child-slug/_index.md

Frontmatter

Each exported file includes YAML frontmatter with the following fields:

Common Fields (Posts and Pages)

  • title: The post/page title

  • date: Publication date in ISO format

  • lastmod: Last modified date in ISO format

  • draft: Boolean indicating if content is published

  • slug: URL slug

  • author: Author’s full name or username

Post-Specific Fields

  • categories: Array of category names (if any)

  • tags: Array of tag names (if any)

Page-Specific Fields

  • type: Always set to “page”

  • weight: Menu order (if not 0)

  • parent: Parent page slug (for nested pages)

Example Output

Post Example (2024-01-15-hello-world.md):

---
title: Hello World
date: 2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00
lastmod: 2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00
draft: false
slug: hello-world
author: John Doe
categories:
  - Technology
  - Django
tags:
  - blogging
  - web development
---

Welcome to my new blog! This is my first post using DJ Press.

## Getting Started

Here's how to get started with DJ Press...

Page Example (about.md):

---
title: About Us
date: 2024-01-10T09:00:00+00:00
lastmod: 2024-01-10T09:00:00+00:00
draft: false
slug: about
author: Jane Smith
type: page
---

Learn more about our company and mission.

Use Cases

Static Site Migration

Use this command when migrating from DJ Press to a static site generator:

python manage.py djpress_export --output-dir my_blog_export --published-only

Content Backup

Create a backup of all your content in a portable format:

python manage.py djpress_export --output-dir backup_$(date +%Y%m%d)

Draft Review

Export all content including drafts for review:

python manage.py djpress_export --output-dir review_content

Static Site Generator Compatibility

The exported format is designed to work with popular static site generators:

Hugo

The default output structure matches Hugo’s content organization. Files can be used directly in a Hugo site.

Jekyll

Files are compatible with Jekyll with minimal configuration changes. You may need to adjust the frontmatter format if using Jekyll-specific features.

Other Generators

Most static site generators that support Markdown with YAML frontmatter should work with the exported files.

Notes

  • The command preserves your original content structure and metadata

  • Draft posts are exported with draft: true in the frontmatter

  • Categories and tags are preserved as arrays in the frontmatter

  • Parent/child page relationships are maintained through directory structure and frontmatter

  • All dates are exported in ISO format for maximum compatibility

  • File encoding is UTF-8 to support international content