Django: Models, ORM, Views and URLs Reference Guide

# Install + scaffold
pip install "django>=5.1"
django-admin startproject mysite .
python manage.py startapp blog

# Daily-loop commands
python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py createsuperuser
python manage.py shell                  # IPython shell with project loaded

# Static + collect
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
python manage.py check                  # system check, never skip

# Optional but ubiquitous
pip install djangorestframework         # REST APIs
pip install django-environ              # env-driven settings
pip install django-debug-toolbar        # dev

from django.db import models
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model

User = get_user_model()

class Post(models.Model):
    class Status(models.TextChoices):
        DRAFT     = "draft",     "Draft"
        PUBLISHED = "published", "Published"

    title    = models.CharField(max_length=200, db_index=True)
    slug     = models.SlugField(max_length=220, unique=True)
    body     = models.TextField()
    author   = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE, related_name="posts")
    tags     = models.ManyToManyField("Tag", related_name="posts", blank=True)
    status   = models.CharField(max_length=10, choices=Status.choices, default=Status.DRAFT)
    created  = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated  = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

    class Meta:
        ordering = ["-created"]
        indexes  = [models.Index(fields=["status", "-created"])]
        constraints = [
            models.UniqueConstraint(fields=["author", "slug"], name="uniq_author_slug"),
        ]

    def __str__(self) -> str:
        return self.title

class Tag(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

app_name = "blog"
urlpatterns = [
    path("",                      views.PostList.as_view(),   name="list"),
    path("posts//",    views.PostDetail.as_view(), name="detail"),
    path("posts/new/",            views.PostCreate.as_view(), name="create"),
]

# mysite/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
    path("admin/", admin.site.urls),
    path("blog/",  include("blog.urls", namespace="blog")),
]

# blog/views.py
from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404, render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.views.generic import ListView, DetailView, CreateView
from django.urls import reverse_lazy
from .models import Post

class PostList(ListView):
    model = Post
    paginate_by = 10
    queryset = Post.objects.filter(status=Post.Status.PUBLISHED)

class PostDetail(DetailView):
    model = Post

class PostCreate(CreateView):
    model    = Post
    fields   = ["title", "slug", "body"]
    success_url = reverse_lazy("blog:list")

# api/serializers.py
from rest_framework import serializers
from blog.models import Post

class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model  = Post
        fields = ["id", "title", "slug", "body", "status", "created"]
        read_only_fields = ["id", "created"]

# api/views.py
from rest_framework import viewsets, permissions, filters
from .serializers import PostSerializer
from blog.models import Post

class PostViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    queryset           = Post.objects.all().order_by("-created")
    serializer_class   = PostSerializer
    permission_classes = [permissions.IsAuthenticatedOrReadOnly]
    filter_backends    = [filters.SearchFilter, filters.OrderingFilter]
    search_fields      = ["title", "body"]
    ordering_fields    = ["created", "title"]

    def perform_create(self, serializer):
        serializer.save(author=self.request.user)

# api/urls.py
from rest_framework.routers import DefaultRouter
from .views import PostViewSet

router = DefaultRouter()
router.register("posts", PostViewSet)
urlpatterns = router.urls

# End-to-end: model -> migrate -> URL -> class-based view -> template -> serve.

# blog/models.py
from django.db import models
class Note(models.Model):
    body    = models.CharField(max_length=280)
    created = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    class Meta: ordering = ["-created"]

# blog/views.py
from django.views.generic import ListView, CreateView
from django.urls import reverse_lazy
from .models import Note
class NoteList(ListView):
    model = Note; paginate_by = 20
class NoteCreate(CreateView):
    model = Note; fields = ["body"]; success_url = reverse_lazy("blog:list")

# blog/urls.py
from django.urls import path
from .views import NoteList, NoteCreate
app_name = "blog"
urlpatterns = [
    path("",     NoteList.as_view(),   name="list"),
    path("new/", NoteCreate.as_view(), name="create"),
]

# Then:
#   python manage.py makemigrations blog
#   python manage.py migrate
#   python manage.py runserver