Django development IDE

Question

I have done a little Django development, but it has all been in a text editor. I was curious what more advanced development tools others are using in their Django development.

I am used to using Visual Studio for development and really like the IntelliSense, code completion, and file organization it provides and would like to find something (or a combination of tools) that would provide some of this in the Django/Python environment.

@juanefren Yes, the latest PyDev release has Django support, and it's actually quite usable: http://pydev.org/manual_adv_django.html — Zsolt Török, Aug 03 '10 at 21:01
@zsolt-torok I tried about 2 months ago and like it very much. But I still prefer gedit simplicity (with some plugins). — juanefren, Aug 03 '10 at 22:46
There is a wiki for this: http://wiki.python.org/moin/PythonEditors — Vegar Westerlund, Feb 08 '11 at 18:32
PyCharm +! great functionality. makes coding much faster, less references docs to find functions and methods from modules. template support. error highlighting. just be sure in settings you check django. with a plugin downloader it even has a DB navigator. — eusid, Jul 01 '12 at 14:22

score 196 · Answer 1 · edited Dec 07 '17 at 08:07

196

There is PyCharm from JetBrains which supports Django and Google Apps. It looks promising.

Note: You need to buy a license for the Professional version if you want Django support. The Community version desn't support Django.

edited Dec 07 '17 at 08:07

Kotlinboy

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answered Apr 15 '10 at 05:34

idursun

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PyCharm has now been released in a stable version. The integrated Django and Python shells work well and autocomplete works like a charm (PyCharm after all ;). Unfortunately, do not expect autocomplete from your templates yet. – Radek Oct 20 '10 at 21:58
I'm using Pycharm 1.0.1 and loving it, complete with Django template intellisense. – jaketrent Nov 30 '10 at 15:15
I've been loving pycharm so far. 1.0 is a great start, but certainly not a full featured suite yet. – bdd Dec 08 '10 at 20:25
New PyCharm is now available with lot of useful changes/new features: http://blog.jetbrains.com/pycharm/2013/02/pycharm-2-7-is-available-back-to-core-python/ – Lukasz Koziara Feb 08 '13 at 14:17
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PyCharm is really complete. Recommended. The bad news is that you need a license to use it... – Salvatorelab Sep 23 '13 at 09:59
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the community edition does not support django, you have to get the professional edition :( – Syler Oct 08 '13 at 05:20
Concerning the previous comment, I'm currently using the community edition to test/debug my Django model and it works great. – Bezewy Jun 02 '15 at 17:56
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JetBrains now has an education program, where students doing noncommercial development can use all of their professional tools for free for a year (pretty sure this can be renewed, however). A great way to get a taste before you buy the full license. https://www.jetbrains.com/student/ – dcgoss Aug 15 '15 at 18:54

score 112 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 07 '21 at 13:26

I use Eclipse and a plain vanilla PyDev. There isn't any specific Django functionality. The best I came up with was setting up a run profile to run the development web server.

If you add the web tools project (WTP), you'll get syntax highlighting in your templates, but nothing that relates to the specific template language. PyDev is a decent plugin, and if you are already familiar with Eclipse and use it for other projects it is a good way to go.

I recall NetBeans starting to get Python support, but I have no idea where that is right now. Lots of people rave about NetBeans 6, but in the Java world Eclipse still reigns as the king of the OSS IDEs.

Update: LiClipse is also fantastic for Django.

Install it, use this method to get the icon into Ubuntu's menu. Start LiClipse and in File > New > Project ..., select PyDev and PyDev Django project. You may have to set up your Python interpreter etc, but that you'll be able to figure out on your own. Once the Django project is created, you can right click on the project and the menu will have a "Django" option, which allows various things like creating a Django app or running migrations etc. LiClipse is good because it consumes far lesser memory than PyCharm and supports refactoring and autocomplete reasonably well.

+1, and now http://pydev.org now touts django support as one of its features — airstrike, Apr 29 '11 at 13:01

score 48 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:41

48

I use Vim:

http://github.com/skyl/vim-config-python-ide

[UPDATE]

Sublime Text 2 is pretty awesome. It supports a lot of Vim commands if you want them: Vintage Mode

It has a nice package manager: http://wbond.net/sublime_packages/package_control

I use these packages so far:

Djaneiro

SetDjangoSyntax

CoffeeScript

SublimeLinter

Theme - Soda

SideBarEnhancements

I still love Vim but ... did I mention that Sublime Text plugins are written in Python?

edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:41

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 08 '09 at 18:45

Skylar Saveland

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pardon the overly-optimistic readme ... it was basically just my .vimrc and config. – Skylar Saveland Feb 29 '12 at 17:50
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vim can also have plugins in Python :P – przemo_li Aug 09 '12 at 13:05
good call, @przemo_li :D – Skylar Saveland Aug 09 '12 at 13:06

score 43 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 06 '08 at 16:33

43

I use Komodo Edit. Check out the Open Komodo Edit.

answered Oct 06 '08 at 16:33

S.Lott

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Also checkout http://code.google.com/p/django-komodo-kit/ – Sridhar Ratnakumar Oct 04 '09 at 02:08
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Another vote for this. It works on Linux and Windows, plus it's free. – imns Oct 17 '10 at 16:15
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Komodo is no longer free – Homunculus Reticulli Aug 08 '16 at 22:18

score 32 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 13 '11 at 12:33

32

Sublime

sub

answered Oct 13 '11 at 12:33

Neil

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Yup, throw in a plugin here and there and it's a perfect environment for Django development. – Filip Dupanović Mar 12 '12 at 16:17
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A few handy plugins: Djanerio for autocompletion, Django DocSearch for doc search (option-shift-D) – Philip007 May 12 '13 at 03:53
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ST2 is awesome but no match for Pycharm. However for various reasons people prefer ST2 (light, extensible) so here's a list of useful plugins for ST2+django/python to get it going : http://stackoverflow.com/q/18914386/781695 – user Sep 20 '13 at 19:37
Sublime + predawn theme is really nice http://jamiewilson.io/predawn/ – Neil Aug 10 '14 at 02:39
For those looking for a free/open source solution, GitHub's [Atom](https://atom.io/) or Adobe's [Brackets](http://brackets.io/) may be interesting alternatives to Sublime. – Ariel Aug 05 '15 at 14:53
Can you refactor with sublimetext ? It's not an IDE .. – amdev Nov 23 '17 at 08:22

score 22 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 16 '09 at 04:50

22

I am beginning to enjoy working with Aptana Studios + PyDev (and other) plugins for all sorts of web application development. As you can tell, it is built on top of the powerful Eclipse, but is tailor-designed to focus on web application development.

answered Mar 16 '09 at 04:50

ayaz

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Javier · Answer 7 · 2013-06-01T14:34:58.510

I use Kate (KDE Advanced Text Editor) for most of my development, including Django. It has both a Python and Django Templates syntax higlighting. I switch to Quanta+ when a significant part of the project involves HTML.

Since it uses Kate's KPart, it's just as good for editing the Python parts, and for the HTML templates i have the whole Quanta+ tools, while still highligting Django-specific tags.

Update 2013: Unfortunately, Quanta+ has been dead for years now, and there's no hope that it will ever be resurrected. Also, there's no other usable HTML editor out there, so it's Kate all the time now.

score 16 · Answer 8 · edited May 16 '13 at 14:47

16

NetBeans for Python is my current favorite (lighter and so much easier to install than Eclipse I found). Supports simple refactoring, autocompletion, errors/warnings...

Eclipse Aptana PyDev probably one of the most complete free IDE nowadays (haven't tested a lot)

Wingware Python IDE a commercial IDE, which has some Django-specific project setup features the ability to debug Django template files.

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition another commercial IDE which has also a plugin for Python that is under heavy development. I saw some demo which look very promising on the auto-completion (for templates and Python).

Vim which I still use a small touch-fix application. See also: Extra tweaks for Django.

edited May 16 '13 at 14:47

Wingware

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answered Dec 17 '09 at 10:20

Wernight

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IntelliJ Python plugin seem to be only available in the Ultimate edition. – Wernight Dec 17 '09 at 11:42
Even I used Netbeans until I found LiClipse: https://nrecursions.blogspot.com/2019/03/which-ide-to-choose-for-python.html – Nav Mar 25 '21 at 08:01

score 16 · Answer 9 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:30

16

PyCharm. It is best the IDE for Python,Django, and web development I've tried so far. It is totally worth the money.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:30

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jan 27 '11 at 16:13

Lud

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++ on PyCharm. The only disappointment is lack of auto-complete in templates. – Bryce Jan 20 '12 at 08:13

score 15 · Answer 10 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:20

15

You guys should checkout PyCharm! It is the first decent Django IDE.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:20

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 10 '10 at 12:41

Nixarn

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score 9 · Answer 11 · edited Apr 02 '11 at 16:02

9

Eclipse has the PyDev plugin for python development. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well it integrates with Django.

edited Apr 02 '11 at 16:02

Keltex

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answered Oct 06 '08 at 16:30

Powerlord

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I'm a big fan of Eclipse + PyDev. Works great with Django. in fact, Django projects are offered as a project type when creating something from scratch. – Mackie Messer Dec 31 '17 at 07:53

score 7 · Answer 12 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:14

7

As far as I know there is not "an IDE" for Django, but there are some IDEs that support Django right out of the box, specifically the Django syntax for templates.

The name is Komodo, and it has a lot of features, but it's not cheap. If you are not worried about source control or debugging then there is a free version called Komodo Edit.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:14

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 06 '08 at 16:35

Gustavo Rubio

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score 6 · Answer 13 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:41

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PyCharm, definitely. I tried them all (almost), but PyCharm is the one I found most useful for any heavy development.

For simple, one time, scripts I use whatever comes to mind (TextMate, Vim, Emacs, TextWrangler, etc., you name it).

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:41

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 30 '12 at 03:27

Ioan Ionas

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score 6 · Answer 14 · answered Sep 09 '11 at 02:16

There is an actual Python extension for Visual Studio: http://pytools.codeplex.com/. It's absolutely fantastic. It feels the same as if I were coding in any native Visual Studio language. The extension is even compatabile with Django. And best of all: it's totally free. Even for Visual Studio, it only requires the Visual Studio Shell to work, which is completely free.

score 6 · Answer 15 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:40

Now you can also use Visual Studio 2010. Here's how:

Download and install Python Tools for Visual Studio.
Create a new project from existing code (menu File → New → Project From Existing Code...)
Specify your Django project folder and use the defaults.
Right-click on manage.py and choose Set as Startup File.
In your project properties Debug tab, add "runserver" in Script Arguments.
You can set break points, and attach to the Python process for debugging. If you want to debug without having to "attach to process," use "runserver --noreload" in your script arguments. However, the "--noreload" means you'll have to stop and restart the Django development web server manually (to recognize your code changes).

This is a nice setup if you already use Visual Studio.

Python Tools has been updated. It has built in support for Django now.

score 5 · Answer 16 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:22

5

I have used Eclipse with PyDev and PyCharm. PyCharm is definitely the best IDE for Django/Python I have tried. It does proper template highlighting and auto-completion for all objects. It also does cross-file referencing.

It's quite expensive, but definitely the best Django IDE I have tried. You can try a 30 day evaluation at http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:22

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 26 '10 at 23:50

user88357

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score 3 · Answer 17 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:28

I really like E Text Editor as it's pretty much a "port" of TextMate to Windows. Obviously Django being based on Python, the support for auto-completion is limited (there's nothing like intellisense that would require a dedicated IDE with knowledge of the intricacies of each library), but the use of snippets and "word-completion" helps a lot. Also, it has support for both Django Python files and the template files, and CSS, HTML, etc.

I've been using E Text Editor for a long time now, and I can tell you that it beats both PyDev and Komodo Edit hands down when it comes to working with Django. For other kinds of projects, PyDev and Komodo might be more adequate though.

vim's omnicompletion is pretty good. – Skylar Saveland Dec 08 '09 at 18:53 — Skylar Saveland, Dec 08 '09 at 18:53

score 3 · Answer 18 · answered Oct 06 '08 at 17:20

3

I've also had good results with Eclipse and Pydev. Although I still require a shell opened to the project directory to run manage.py commands. I've also been using it with the Bazaar plugin for revision control and syncing code with the server.

answered Oct 06 '08 at 17:20

Peter Shinners

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score 3 · Answer 19 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:37

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Well, I've been using my own one. Recently they released an alpha version. Here it is at pfaide.com/.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:37

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 02 '09 at 08:43

utku_karatas

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score 3 · Answer 20 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:31

I use Kate as well. Kate's simplicity is its biggest feature. It doesn't get in your way. (This is of course highly subjective opinion.)

Kate includes a Python code browser plugin. But it isn't useful IMO. No automatic updates when you change the code/view. Also when you update, the whole tree is collapsed, and you have to expand it again yourself. Too many clicks.

Instead, I use the Source Browser plugin that comes with Pâté. It does cause Kate to freeze temporarily sometimes, but no crashes or anything of that sort so far.

Shameless blog plug: more on using Django with Kate (Pâté)

score 2 · Answer 21 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:31

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If you like Vim as an editor, here are some suggestions on how to tune it (up to the point of a full fledged IDE) for Django development: http://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/UsingVimWithDjango.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:31

Peter Mortensen

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answered Feb 02 '11 at 13:05

Webthusiast

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score 1 · Answer 22 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:43

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Ninja-IDE.

Check this: Ninja-IDE Django Plugin

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:43

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 11 '13 at 14:47

drj

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score 1 · Answer 23 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:07

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TextMate with the Django and django-html bundles installed gives you syntax highlighting and great extensibility. It is lightweight and fun to use.

Here is a link to a code completion project for TextMate with Python (which I haven't used myself). As for "intellisense" (which I understand to be inline-doc reference), TextMate has that too.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:07

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 15 '10 at 19:21

Travis

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intellisense is M$ word for code completion – Kugel Mar 24 '10 at 21:48

score 1 · Answer 24 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:09

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The Wingware editor from http://www.wingware.com is Python-specific with very good auto-completion for Python/Django/Zope, etc.

It has a built in Python shell to run snippets (or select and run) and support for Mercurial/Git, etc. and a built-in unittest/nose/doctest test runner. It's commercial though, but as it is written in Python, it's cross platform.

I bought it a while ago, and thought it looked dorky, but I've tried them all and keep coming back. Caveat that I am a Windows guy with no Emacs or Vim skills, so leveraging that was not an option. And the Mac version requires X Window and seems to be more glitchy.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:09

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 17 '10 at 20:45

zenWeasel

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As for me being an emacs guy, I can say that I really like Wing IDE's mimicking of emacs' key bindings. Keyboard macros work, and you can even use many common M-x commands. – heyman Apr 15 '10 at 09:09
Note that Wing 5 (currently in beta) no longer requires X11 on OS X and should look less dorky (or hopefully entirely non-dorky ;-). – Wingware May 16 '13 at 14:49

score 1 · Answer 25 · answered Feb 25 '09 at 12:16

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Editra supports Django Template Language syntax highlighting. You can configure it either as a better Notepad or a basic IDE.

answered Feb 25 '09 at 12:16

Imran

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score 1 · Answer 26 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:37

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I made a blog post about NetBeans' new and upcoming support for Django. When paired with its already fantastic Python, JavaScript, HTML and CSS support, it's a strong candidate in my mind!

edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:37

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 26 '09 at 02:35

kkubasik

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score 1 · Answer 27 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:32

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Geany

It is GTK2 based, fast, lightweight, available for Linux and Windows.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:32

Peter Mortensen

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answered Aug 08 '11 at 06:26

Roberto Rosario

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score 0 · Answer 28 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:42

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The Wing IDE is a good IDE to use!

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:42

Peter Mortensen

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answered May 16 '13 at 09:37

shen0956

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score 0 · Answer 29 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:04

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I like Eclipse + PyDev and/or eric, myself. The new version of PyDev has some pretty awesome code completion support.

Since I only use Eclipse for PyDev, I use a slim install of just the Platform Runtime Binary + PyDev + Subclipse.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:04

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 30 '09 at 09:17

Seth

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score 0 · Answer 30 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:15

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TextMate, Firebug, and pdb. The latter one saved me gazillion of times :)

edited Sep 03 '17 at 13:15

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 17 '10 at 21:13

Dmitry Shevchenko

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score 0 · Answer 31 · edited Jul 17 '12 at 12:54

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Ulipad is a good one. http://code.google.com/p/ulipad/

edited Jul 17 '12 at 12:54

Wouter Dorgelo

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answered Aug 14 '10 at 04:40

CppLearner

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The link is broken. [Google Code closed down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Developers#Google_Code). – Peter Mortensen Sep 03 '17 at 13:19

score 0 · Answer 32 · edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:35

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I have consistently used Vim or Kate, but I would prefer a full-blown IDE. Given it is not as heavy as Visual Studio.

edited Sep 03 '17 at 12:35

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 16 '09 at 04:44

Django development IDE

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