How do I get started?¶

1. Download the code.

2. Install Django (read theinstallation guide).

3. Walk through thetutorial.

4. Check out the rest of thedocumentation, andask questions if you run into trouble.

What are Django’s prerequisites?¶

Django requires Python. See the table in the next question for the versions ofPython that work with each version of Django. Other Python libraries may berequired for some use cases, but you’ll receive an error about them as they’reneeded.

For a development environment – if you just want to experiment with Django –you don’t need to have a separate web server installed or database server.

Django comes with its own lightweight development server(runserver). For a production environment, Django follows the WSGIspec,PEP 3333, which means it can run on a variety of web servers. SeeHow to deploy Django for more information.

Django runsSQLite by default, which is included in Python installations.For a production environment, we recommendPostgreSQL; but we also officiallysupportMariaDB,MySQL,SQLite, andOracle. SeeSupported Databases for more information.

What Python version can I use with Django?¶

For each version of Python, only the latest micro release (A.B.C) is officiallysupported. Python versions that have reached end-of-life are no longermaintained by the Python project and therefore should not be used with Django.

You can find the latest supported micro version for each series on thePythondownload page.

We will support a Python version up to and including the first Django LTSrelease whose security support ends after security support for that version ofPython ends. For example, Python 3.9 security support ends in October 2025 andDjango 4.2 LTS security support ends in April 2026. Therefore Django 4.2 is thelast version to support Python 3.9.

What Python version should I use with Django?¶

Since newer versions of Python are often faster, have more features, and arebetter supported, the latest version of Python 3 is recommended.

You don’t lose anything in Django by using an older release, but you don’t takeadvantage of the improvements and optimizations in newer Python releases.Third-party applications for use with Django are free to set their own versionrequirements.

Should I use the stable version or development version?¶

Generally, if you’re using code in production, you should be using astable release. The Django project publishes a full stable releaseevery eight months or so, with bugfix updates in between. These stablereleases contain the API that is covered by our backwardscompatibility guarantees; if you write code against stable releases,you shouldn’t have any problems upgrading when the next officialversion is released.