Fixing Buffered Print Statements in Django Development Server

You're right that this is likely a buffering issue. When using print() statements for debugging in Django, the output is often buffered, especially when running through the development server.

Here are a few ways to force immediate output:

1. Use the flush parameter

The print() function has a flush parameter that forces the output to be flushed immediately:

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print(f"Debug info: {some_variable}", flush=True)

2. Modify sys.stdout

You can also set the stdout to be unbuffered at the beginning of your script:

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import sys
sys.stdout.reconfigure(line_buffering=True)  # Python 3.7+

For older Python versions:

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import sys
import io
sys.stdout = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stdout.buffer, line_buffering=True)

3. Run Django with the -u flag

When starting the Django development server, you can use Python's -u flag to run in unbuffered mode:

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python -u manage.py runserver

4. Use os._exit(0) for abrupt termination cases

If you're debugging code that terminates abruptly, you might need to force a flush before exit:

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import os
print("Important debug info", flush=True)
os._exit(0)  # Forces immediate termination without cleanup

While logging is indeed the better long-term solution, these approaches should help you get immediate print output during development.