How to start Django development server?

Starting the Django Development Server

To start the Django development server, you need to follow these steps:

Set up the Django Project: First, you need to create a Django project and navigate to the project directory in your terminal or command prompt.
Activate the Virtual Environment: It's recommended to use a virtual environment to manage your project's dependencies. Activate the virtual environment before proceeding.
```
# Activate the virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate
```
Start the Django Development Server: Once you're in the project directory and the virtual environment is activated, you can start the Django development server using the following command:
```
# Start the Django development server
python manage.py runserver
```
This command will start the Django development server, which will listen for incoming HTTP requests on the default port 8000.
Access the Development Server: After running the python manage.py runserver command, you can access the development server by opening a web browser and navigating to http://127.0.0.1:8000/ or http://localhost:8000/. This will display the default Django welcome page, indicating that the development server is running successfully.

Here's a Mermaid diagram that illustrates the steps to start the Django development server:

graph LR A[Create Django Project] --> B[Activate Virtual Environment] B --> C[Run 'python manage.py runserver'] C --> D[Access Development Server at http://127.0.0.1:8000/]

The Django development server is a built-in web server that comes with the Django framework. It's primarily used for local development and testing purposes, as it provides a quick and easy way to run your Django application during the development process. The development server automatically reloads your code when changes are detected, making it a convenient tool for iterative development.

It's important to note that the Django development server is not intended for production use. For deploying your Django application to a production environment, you would typically use a more robust and scalable web server, such as Nginx or Apache, in combination with a WSGI (Web Server Gateway Interface) server like Gunicorn or uWSGI.

In summary, to start the Django development server, you need to create a Django project, activate the virtual environment, and run the python manage.py runserver command. This will start the development server and allow you to access your Django application at http://127.0.0.1:8000/ or http://localhost:8000/.