=====================
How to install Django
=====================

This document will get you up and running with Django.

Install Python
==============

Being a Python Web framework, Django requires Python.

It works with any Python version from 2.4 to 2.7 (due to backwards
incompatibilities in Python 3.0, Django does not currently work with
Python 3.0; see :doc:`the Django FAQ </faq/install>` for more
information on supported Python versions and the 3.0 transition).

Get Python at http://www.python.org. If you're running Linux or Mac OS X, you
probably already have it installed.

.. admonition:: Django on Jython

    If you use Jython_ (a Python implementation for the Java platform), you'll
    need to follow a few additional steps. See :doc:`/howto/jython` for details.

.. _jython: http://jython.org/

Install Apache and mod_wsgi
=============================

If you just want to experiment with Django, skip ahead to the next
section; Django includes a lightweight Web server you can use for
testing, so you won't need to set up Apache until you're ready to
deploy Django in production.

If you want to use Django on a production site, use Apache with
`mod_wsgi`_. mod_wsgi can operate in one of two modes: an embedded
mode and a daemon mode. In embedded mode, mod_wsgi is similar to
mod_perl -- it embeds Python within Apache and loads Python code into
memory when the server starts. Code stays in memory throughout the
life of an Apache process, which leads to significant performance
gains over other server arrangements. In daemon mode, mod_wsgi spawns
an independent daemon process that handles requests. The daemon
process can run as a different user than the Web server, possibly
leading to improved security, and the daemon process can be restarted
without restarting the entire Apache Web server, possibly making
refreshing your codebase more seamless. Consult the mod_wsgi
documentation to determine which mode is right for your setup. Make
sure you have Apache installed, with the mod_wsgi module activated.
Django will work with any version of Apache that supports mod_wsgi.

See :doc:`How to use Django with mod_wsgi </howto/deployment/modwsgi>`
for information on how to configure mod_wsgi once you have it
installed.

If you can't use mod_wsgi for some reason, fear not: Django supports
many other deployment options. Another option is :doc:`FastCGI
</howto/deployment/fastcgi>`, perfect for using Django with servers
other than Apache. Additionally, Django follows the WSGI_ spec, which
allows it to run on a variety of server platforms. See the
`server-arrangements wiki page`_ for specific installation
instructions for each platform.

.. _Apache: http://httpd.apache.org/
.. _mod_wsgi: http://code.google.com/p/modwsgi/
.. _WSGI: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0333/
.. _server-arrangements wiki page: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/ServerArrangements

.. _database-installation:

Get your database running
=========================

If you plan to use Django's database API functionality, you'll need to make
sure a database server is running. Django supports many different database
servers and is officially supported with PostgreSQL_, MySQL_, Oracle_ and
SQLite_ (although SQLite doesn't require a separate server to be running).

In addition to the officially supported databases, there are backends provided
by 3rd parties that allow you to use other databases with Django:

* `Sybase SQL Anywhere`_
* `IBM DB2`_
* `Microsoft SQL Server 2005`_
* Firebird_
* ODBC_

The Django versions and ORM features supported by these unofficial backends
vary considerably. Queries regarding the specific capabilities of these
unofficial backends, along with any support queries, should be directed to the
support channels provided by each 3rd party project.

In addition to a database backend, you'll need to make sure your Python
database bindings are installed.

* If you're using PostgreSQL, you'll need the psycopg_ package. Django supports
  both version 1 and 2. (When you configure Django's database layer, specify
  either ``postgresql`` [for version 1] or ``postgresql_psycopg2`` [for version 2].)
  You might want to refer to our :ref:`PostgreSQL notes <postgresql-notes>` for
  further technical details specific to this database.

  If you're on Windows, check out the unofficial `compiled Windows version`_.

* If you're using MySQL, you'll need MySQLdb_, version 1.2.1p2 or higher. You
  will also want to read the database-specific :ref:`notes for the MySQL
  backend <mysql-notes>`.

* If you're using SQLite and Python 2.4, you'll need pysqlite_. Use version
  2.0.3 or higher. Python 2.5 ships with an SQLite wrapper in the standard
  library, so you don't need to install anything extra in that case. Please
  read the :ref:`SQLite backend notes <sqlite-notes>`.

* If you're using Oracle, you'll need a copy of cx_Oracle_, but please
  read the database-specific :ref:`notes for the Oracle backend <oracle-notes>`
  for important information regarding supported versions of both Oracle and
  ``cx_Oracle``.

* If you're using an unofficial 3rd party backend, please consult the
  documentation provided for any additional requirements.

If you plan to use Django's ``manage.py syncdb`` command to
automatically create database tables for your models, you'll need to
ensure that Django has permission to create and alter tables in the
database you're using; if you plan to manually create the tables, you
can simply grant Django ``SELECT``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE`` and
``DELETE`` permissions. On some databases, Django will need
``ALTER TABLE`` privileges during ``syncdb`` but won't issue
``ALTER TABLE`` statements on a table once ``syncdb`` has created it.

If you're using Django's :doc:`testing framework</topics/testing>` to test database queries,
Django will need permission to create a test database.

.. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org/
.. _MySQL: http://www.mysql.com/
.. _psycopg: http://initd.org/pub/software/psycopg/
.. _compiled Windows version: http://stickpeople.com/projects/python/win-psycopg/
.. _MySQLdb: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mysql-python
.. _SQLite: http://www.sqlite.org/
.. _pysqlite: http://trac.edgewall.org/wiki/PySqlite
.. _cx_Oracle: http://cx-oracle.sourceforge.net/
.. _Oracle: http://www.oracle.com/
.. _Sybase SQL Anywhere: http://code.google.com/p/sqlany-django/
.. _IBM DB2: http://code.google.com/p/ibm-db/
.. _Microsoft SQL Server 2005: http://code.google.com/p/django-mssql/
.. _Firebird: http://code.google.com/p/django-firebird/
.. _ODBC: http://code.google.com/p/django-pyodbc/
.. _removing-old-versions-of-django:

Remove any old versions of Django
=================================

If you are upgrading your installation of Django from a previous version,
you will need to uninstall the old Django version before installing the
new version.

If you installed Django using ``setup.py install``, uninstalling
is as simple as deleting the ``django`` directory from your Python
``site-packages``.

If you installed Django from a Python egg, remove the Django ``.egg`` file,
and remove the reference to the egg in the file named ``easy-install.pth``.
This file should also be located in your ``site-packages`` directory.

.. _finding-site-packages:

.. admonition:: Where are my ``site-packages`` stored?

    The location of the ``site-packages`` directory depends on the operating
    system, and the location in which Python was installed. To find out your
    system's ``site-packages`` location, execute the following:

    .. code-block:: bash

        python -c "from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_lib; print get_python_lib()"

    (Note that this should be run from a shell prompt, not a Python interactive
    prompt.)

.. _install-django-code:

Install the Django code
=======================

Installation instructions are slightly different depending on whether you're
installing a distribution-specific package, downloading the latest official
release, or fetching the latest development version.

It's easy, no matter which way you choose.

Installing a distribution-specific package
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check the :doc:`distribution specific notes </misc/distributions>` to see if your
platform/distribution provides official Django packages/installers.
Distribution-provided packages will typically allow for automatic installation
of dependencies and easy upgrade paths.

.. _installing-official-release:

Installing an official release
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    1. Download the latest release from our `download page`_.

    2. Untar the downloaded file (e.g. ``tar xzvf Django-NNN.tar.gz``,
       where ``NNN`` is the version number of the latest release).
       If you're using Windows, you can download the command-line tool
       bsdtar_ to do this, or you can use a GUI-based tool such as 7-zip_.

    3. Change into the directory created in step 2 (e.g. ``cd Django-NNN``).

    4. If you're using Linux, Mac OS X or some other flavor of Unix, enter
       the command ``sudo python setup.py install`` at the shell prompt.
       If you're using Windows, start up a command shell with administrator
       privileges and run the command ``setup.py install``.

These commands will install Django in your Python installation's
``site-packages`` directory.

.. _bsdtar: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/bsdtar.htm
.. _7-zip: http://www.7-zip.org/

.. _installing-development-version:

Installing the development version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. admonition:: Tracking Django development

    If you decide to use the latest development version of Django,
    you'll want to pay close attention to `the development timeline`_,
    and you'll want to keep an eye on `the list of
    backwards-incompatible changes`_. This will help you stay on top
    of any new features you might want to use, as well as any changes
    you'll need to make to your code when updating your copy of Django.
    (For stable releases, any necessary changes are documented in the
    release notes.)

.. _the development timeline: http://code.djangoproject.com/timeline
.. _the list of backwards-incompatible changes: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/BackwardsIncompatibleChanges

If you'd like to be able to update your Django code occasionally with the
latest bug fixes and improvements, follow these instructions:

1. Make sure that you have Subversion_ installed, and that you can run its
   commands from a shell. (Enter ``svn help`` at a shell prompt to test
   this.)

2. Check out Django's main development branch (the 'trunk') like so:

   .. code-block:: bash

       svn co http://code.djangoproject.com/svn/django/trunk/ django-trunk

3. Next, make sure that the Python interpreter can load Django's code. The most
   convenient way to do this is to `modify Python's search path`_. Add a ``.pth``
   file containing the full path to the ``django-trunk`` directory to your
   system's ``site-packages`` directory. For example, on a Unix-like system:

   .. code-block:: bash

       echo WORKING-DIR/django-trunk > SITE-PACKAGES-DIR/django.pth

   (In the above line, change ``SITE-PACKAGES-DIR`` to match the location of
   your system's ``site-packages`` directory, as explained in the
   :ref:`Where are my site-packages stored? <finding-site-packages>` section
   above. Change ``WORKING-DIR/django-trunk`` to match the full path to your
   new ``django-trunk`` directory.)

4. On Unix-like systems, create a symbolic link to the file
   ``django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py`` in a directory on your system
   path, such as ``/usr/local/bin``. For example:

   .. code-block:: bash

       ln -s WORKING-DIR/django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py /usr/local/bin

   (In the above line, change WORKING-DIR to match the full path to your new
   ``django-trunk`` directory.)

   This simply lets you type ``django-admin.py`` from within any directory,
   rather than having to qualify the command with the full path to the file.

   On Windows systems, the same result can be achieved by copying the file
   ``django-trunk/django/bin/django-admin.py`` to somewhere on your system
   path, for example ``C:\Python24\Scripts``.

You *don't* have to run ``python setup.py install``, because you've already
carried out the equivalent actions in steps 3 and 4.

When you want to update your copy of the Django source code, just run the
command ``svn update`` from within the ``django-trunk`` directory. When you do
this, Subversion will automatically download any changes.

.. _`download page`: http://www.djangoproject.com/download/
.. _Subversion: http://subversion.tigris.org/
.. _`modify Python's search path`: http://docs.python.org/install/index.html#modifying-python-s-search-path