Where Should I Place the Parent Directory for a Reusable Django App?

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Hi,

I’m trying to figure out the correct location for the parent directory of my reusable polls app, as described in the Advanced tutorial "How to write reusable apps." Here’s my current directory structure for the django-polls project:

- django-polls/ # the top level directory root of our Git repository which contains our django_polls project and polls app
    - .git/
    - .vscode/
    - django_polls/
        - __pycache__/
        - __init__.py
        - asgi.py
        - settings.py
        - urls.py
        - wsgi.py
    - polls/
        - __pycache__/
        - migrations/
            - __pycache__/
            - __init__.py
            - 0001_initial.py
        - static/
            - polls/
                - css/
                    - style.css
                - images/
                    - david-clode-J_5xvghAvmc-unsplash.jpg
        - templates/
             - polls/
                - detail.html
                - index.html
                - results.html
        - tests/
            - __pycache__/
            - __init__.py
            - test_question_model_tests.py
        - __init__.py # which is what makes Django recognize the polls directory as an app
        - admin.py
        - apps.py
        - models.py
        - urls.py
        - views.py
    - templates/
        - admin/
            - base_site.html
            - index.html
    - venv
    - .env
    - .gitignore
    - db.sqlite3
    - manage.py
    - requirements.txt

My question is: Should the parent directory for the reusable polls app be created outside my existing top-level django-polls directory? I also noticed that there are several packages named similarly (like django-polls) which might already exist, so would using a different variant be a problem?

Thanks!

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Answers 1

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1 Answer

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 9 days ago

Django Reusable App Structure

Based on your current directory structure and question about creating a reusable Django app, I can provide some guidance.

Parent Directory Location

For a reusable app, you should create a new, separate directory structure outside your existing project. According to Django's "How to write reusable apps" tutorial, the reusable app should be packaged independently from your main project.

The typical structure for a reusable app would be:

django-polls/
    LICENSE
    README.md
    pyproject.toml
    setup.cfg
    setup.py
    polls/
        __init__.py
        admin.py
        apps.py
        migrations/
        models.py
        static/
        templates/
        tests/
        urls.py
        views.py

You would essentially extract your polls app from your current project and place it in this new structure.

Package Naming

Regarding the package name, it's important to choose a unique name if you plan to distribute your app publicly (e.g., on PyPI). If django-polls is already taken, you could consider alternatives like:

your-username-django-polls
django-your-polls
django-polls-yourname

If you're only using it privately or within your organization, the name is less critical, but it's still good practice to make it distinctive.

Next Steps

Create a new directory outside your current project
Copy your polls app into this new structure
Add the necessary packaging files (setup.py, etc.)
Test the reusable app by installing it in a new project

This approach keeps your reusable app separate from any specific project implementation, making it truly reusable across different Django projects.

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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