Streamline Your Web Development with Cookie Cutter Django: A Comprehensive Review
Published: 2023-04-22 15:12:20

Are you tired of starting every Django project from scratch and spending precious time setting up the same boilerplate code over and over again? If so, you're in luck! In this tech blog, we will introduce you to the powerful tool called Cookie Cutter Django, which allows you to quickly create a custom Django project template with all the common configurations and best practices baked in. We'll provide an in-depth review of this tool, including step-by-step instructions and code blocks, to help you streamline your web development workflow and get your Django projects up and running faster than ever before.

## What is Cookie Cutter Django?

Cookie Cutter Django is a popular open-source project template for Django, a Python web framework. It provides a pre-configured Django project structure with all the necessary files and settings for building modern web applications. The template follows the best practices recommended by the Django community and includes a variety of useful features, such as authentication, database configuration, static file handling, and more. The goal of Cookie Cutter Django is to help developers avoid repetitive setup tasks and start new Django projects with a solid foundation, saving time and effort in the process.

## System and Software Requirements:

When setting up a Django project using Cookie Cutter Django, it's important to ensure that your system and software meet the requirements for running Django and its associated dependencies. Here are some of the key system and software requirements you should be aware of:

### 1. Operating System:

Django is a cross-platform web framework that can run on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Cookie Cutter Django template is designed to be compatible with these operating systems.

### 2. Python Version:

Django is a Python web framework, so you'll need to have Python installed on your system. The Cookie Cutter Django template is compatible with Python 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9, which are the recommended versions for Django 3.x and 4.x.

### 3. Python Virtual Environment:

As mentioned earlier, Cookie Cutter Django sets up a virtual environment for your project. To use virtual environments, you'll need to have the **`virtualenv`** or **`venv`** module installed, which is included in Python 3 by default.

### 4. Database:

Django supports several databases, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Oracle. You'll need to have the appropriate database software installed on your system, along with the relevant Python packages for the database connector that you plan to use in your Django project.

### 5. Additional Dependencies:

Django has several dependencies that are required for various features, such as authentication, caching, and form handling. These dependencies are typically installed automatically when you generate a Django project using Cookie Cutter Django, but you may need to manually install some dependencies based on your project requirements.

### 6. Text Editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE):

You'll need a text editor or an IDE to write and edit your Django project code. Some popular options include VSCode, PyCharm, Sublime Text, and Atom, but you can use any text editor or IDE that you are comfortable with.

### 7. Version Control System:

It's highly recommended to use a version control system, such as Git, to track changes to your Django project and collaborate with other developers. You'll need to have Git installed on your system and be familiar with basic Git commands for version control.

### 8. Web Browser:

A web browser is required to test and view the output of your Django web application. Any modern web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, can be used for this purpose.

It's important to carefully review and meet the system and software requirements before setting up a Django project using Cookie Cutter Django. Ensuring that your system and software are compatible with Django and its dependencies will help you avoid potential issues and ensure a smooth development experience.

## Getting Started with Cookie Cutter Django

Before we dive into the details, let's go through the steps to install and set up Cookie Cutter Django on your local machine.

### Step 1: Install Cookie Cutter

To use Cookie Cutter Django, you'll need to have Python and pip (the Python package manager) installed on your machine. If you don't have them installed already, you can download Python from the official Python website (**[https://www.python.org/](https://www.python.org/)**) and pip will be included with it.

Once you have Python and pip installed, you can install Cookie Cutter by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

```powershell
pip install cookiecutter
```

### Step 2: Create a Django Project Using Cookie Cutter Django

Once Cookie Cutter is installed, you can use it to create a new Django project based on the Cookie Cutter Django template. To do this, run the following command:

```powershell
cookiecutter https://github.com/pydanny/cookiecutter-django
```

This will clone the Cookie Cutter Django template from GitHub and prompt you to provide some configuration options for your new Django project, such as the project name, database settings, email settings, etc. You can customize these options according to your project requirements.

Once you've provided all the necessary configuration options, Cookie Cutter will generate a new Django project for you based on the template, with all the common configurations and best practices already set up. You can then navigate into the newly created project directory and start working on your Django project as you normally would.

```powershell
Cloning into 'cookiecutter-django'...
remote: Counting objects: 550, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (310/310), done.
remote: Total 550 (delta 283), reused 479 (delta 222)
Receiving objects: 100% (550/550), 127.66 KiB | 58 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (283/283), done.
project_name [My Awesome Project]: Reddit Clone
project_slug [reddit_clone]: reddit
description [Behold My Awesome Project!]: A reddit clone.
author_name [Daniel Roy Greenfeld]: Daniel Greenfeld
domain_name [example.com]: myreddit.com
email [daniel-greenfeld@example.com]: pydanny@gmail.com
version [0.1.0]: 0.0.1
Select open_source_license:
1 - MIT
2 - BSD
3 - GPLv3
4 - Apache Software License 2.0
5 - Not open source
Choose from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 [1]: 1
Select username_type:
1 - username
2 - email
Choose from 1, 2 [1]: 1
timezone [UTC]: America/Los_Angeles
windows [n]: n
use_pycharm [n]: y
use_docker [n]: n
Select postgresql_version:
1 - 14
2 - 13
3 - 12
4 - 11
5 - 10
Choose from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 [1]: 1
Select cloud_provider:
1 - AWS
2 - GCP
3 - None
Choose from 1, 2, 3 [1]: 1
Select mail_service:
1 - Mailgun
2 - Amazon SES
3 - Mailjet
4 - Mandrill
5 - Postmark
6 - Sendgrid
7 - SendinBlue
8 - SparkPost
9 - Other SMTP
Choose from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 [1]: 1
use_async [n]: n
use_drf [n]: y
Select frontend_pipeline:
1 - None
2 - Django Compressor
3 - Gulp
4 - Webpack
Choose from 1, 2, 3, 4 [1]: 1
use_celery [n]: y
use_mailhog [n]: n
use_sentry [n]: y
use_whitenoise [n]: n
use_heroku [n]: y
Select ci_tool:
1 - None
2 - Travis
3 - Gitlab
4 - Github
Choose from 1, 2, 3, 4 [1]: 4
keep_local_envs_in_vcs [y]: y
debug [n]: n
```

Enter the project and take a look around:

```powershell
cd reddit/
ls
```

When you generate a Django project using Cookie Cutter Django, it automatically creates a virtual environment for your project. This virtual environment is a self-contained Python environment that contains its own Python interpreter and allows you to install project-specific dependencies without affecting the system-wide Python installation.

The virtual environment is created using a tool called **`virtualenv`** or **`venv`**, which are built-in Python modules that allow you to create and manage virtual environments. Cookie Cutter Django automatically sets up the virtual environment during the project setup process, so you don't have to worry about manually creating it.

Once the virtual environment is created, you can activate it using the appropriate command based on your operating system. For example, on Linux or macOS, you can activate the virtual environment by running:

```
source venv/bin/activate
```

On Windows, the command would be:

```
venv\Scripts\activate
```

After activating the virtual environment, you can install the project dependencies using **`pip`**, the Python package manager, without worrying about conflicts with other projects or system-wide dependencies. This ensures that your Django project has a clean and isolated environment for its dependencies.

# Review of Cookie Cutter Django Features

Now that we have a Django project created using Cookie Cutter Django, let's take a closer look at some of the features that make this template so powerful and time-saving.

1. Project Structure

Cookie Cutter Django follows a well-organized project structure that adheres to the best practices recommended by the Django community. The template includes separate directories for different components of a Django project, such as apps, static files, templates, media files, etc. This makes it easy to organize your code and keep it maintainable as your project grows.

Here's an overview of the directory structure of a typical Django project created using Cookie Cutter Django:

```

my_project/             # Project root directory
|-- apps/                # Directory for Django apps
|   |-- app1/            # Example app directory
|   |-- app2/            # Example app directory
|-- my_project/          # Project settings directory
|   |-- settings/
|   |   |-- base.py      # Base settings for the project
|   |   |-- local.py
|   |   |-- local.py     # Local settings for development
|   |   |-- production.py # Production settings for deployment
|-- static/              # Directory for static files
|-- templates/           # Directory for HTML templates
|-- media/               # Directory for media files
|-- manage.py            # Django project management script
|-- README.md            # Project documentation
|-- requirements.txt     # Project dependencies
|-- Dockerfile           # Docker configuration for containerization

```


The project structure is organized, modular, and follows the Django best practices, making it easy to manage and scale your Django projects.

### Built-in Configuration

Cookie Cutter Django includes a variety of built-in configurations that save you time and effort in setting up common Django features. Some of the notable configurations include:

- Authentication: Cookie Cutter Django includes a pre-configured authentication system with user registration, login, password reset, and other common authentication functionalities already implemented. This saves you from writing repetitive code for user authentication in every Django project.
- Database Configuration: Cookie Cutter Django comes with default database configurations, including support for popular databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. The template also includes optional configurations for using Docker containers for development and production, making it easy to set up a containerized Django project.
- Email Configuration: Email functionality is often required in web applications for sending notifications, password resets, etc. Cookie Cutter Django includes pre-configured email settings using popular email service providers such as Gmail or SendGrid, making it easy to set up email functionality in your Django project.
- Static File Handling: Managing static files, such as CSS, JavaScript, and images, can be tedious. Cookie Cutter Django includes a pre-configured static file handling setup that follows the best practices recommended by the Django community. This includes support for automatic file versioning, which ensures that users get the latest version of static files even when they are cached by their browsers.

### Modular Apps

Cookie Cutter Django encourages a modular approach to building web applications by providing a directory structure that separates different components of a Django project into individual apps. This promotes code reusability, maintainability, and makes it easy to add or remove functionalities to your project without affecting other parts of the codebase.

For example, you can create a new app using the following command:

```powershell
python manage.py startapp my_app
```

This will create a new app directory under the **`apps`** directory with the name **`my_app`**, and you can then add your app-specific code, models, views, templates, etc. inside this directory. The app can then be easily plugged into the project by adding it to the project's settings.

### Customization Options

Cookie Cutter Django provides a range of customization options during project creation, allowing you to tailor your Django project to your specific requirements. Some of the notable customization options include:

- Project Name: You can specify a custom name for your Django project during project creation. This makes it easy to create multiple projects with different names without having to manually change the project name in various files and configurations.
- Database Configuration: Cookie Cutter Django allows you to specify the type of database you want to use for your project during project creation. This includes popular databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, as well as options for using Docker containers for development and production.
- Email Configuration: You can specify the email service provider and other email settings during project creation, making it easy to set up email functionality in your Django project without having to manually update the settings.
- Optional Features: Cookie Cutter Django includes a range of optional features that you can enable or disable during project creation. For example, you can enable features such as social authentication using popular providers like Google or Facebook, API documentation using Swagger or Django REST Swagger, and automatic deployment to popular platforms like Heroku or AWS. These optional features can be easily toggled on or off during project creation, allowing you to customize your Django project based on your specific requirements.


### Testing and Continuous Integration

Cookie Cutter Django promotes best practices in testing and continuous integration by including built-in configurations for automated testing and integration with popular continuous integration services such as Travis CI and CircleCI. The template includes a **`tests`** directory where you can write your tests using Django's built-in testing framework, making it easy to implement a comprehensive testing strategy for your project. Additionally, Cookie Cutter Django includes pre-configured settings for continuous integration, allowing you to easily integrate your Django project with popular CI/CD services for automated testing and deployment.

### Development Environment

Cookie Cutter Django provides a development environment that is optimized for productivity and ease of use. The template includes a pre-configured development settings file (**`local.py`**) that includes useful settings for development, such as auto-reloading of the server, debugging settings, and more. This makes it easy to start developing your Django project right away without having to spend time on tedious configurations.

### Documentation and Deployment

Cookie Cutter Django includes documentation templates in the form of README files, which provide comprehensive documentation on how to set up, configure, and deploy your Django project. The template also includes Docker configuration files, making it easy to containerize your Django project for deployment to production environments. Additionally, the template includes optional configurations for deploying your Django project to popular platforms such as Heroku, AWS, or Google Cloud, making it easy to deploy your project to a production environment with just a few configurations.

# **Conclusion**

In conclusion, Cookie Cutter Django is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of setting up a Django project by providing a well-organized project structure, built-in configurations for common Django features, modular apps, customization options, testing and continuous integration, a productive development environment, and comprehensive documentation. The template saves you time and effort in setting up a Django project from scratch and promotes best practices in Django development, making it a valuable tool for developers who want to quickly start building Django applications. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Django developer, Cookie Cutter Django can greatly streamline your Django project setup process and help you build robust and scalable web applications with Django. Give it a try and experience the benefits of a cookie-cutter approach to Django project setup!