Overriding Django Management Commands

Based on the Django 5.1 documentation, what you're trying to achieve is possible through Django's command overriding mechanism, though it's not recommended to modify Django's core directly.

The Recommended Approach

Instead of modifying Django's core, you should leverage Django's command registration system. Django registers commands in a specific order:

1. Built-in commands are registered first
2. Commands from INSTALLED_APPS are searched in reverse order

How to Override a Built-in Command

To make your custom command appear as if it's part of Django's core commands:

1. Create a custom app in your project
2. Ensure this app is listed first in your INSTALLED_APPS setting
3. Create your command with the same name as an existing Django command

For example, to add a new command called MyCustomCommand that appears in the Django command list:

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# myproject/myapp/management/commands/MyCustomCommand.py

from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand

class Command(BaseCommand):
    help = 'My custom command that appears in Django core commands'

    def handle(self, *args, **options):
        self.stdout.write(self.style.SUCCESS('Custom command executed successfully'))

Then make sure your app is first in INSTALLED_APPS:

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# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'myapp',  # Your app must be before django's apps
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    # ...other apps
]

Alternative Approach

If you specifically want your command to appear in the [django] section of the command list, you would need to:

1. Create a custom app with a command that has the same name as your desired command
2. Place this app before Django's apps in INSTALLED_APPS

This approach leverages Django's command registration system without modifying Django's core code, which would be difficult to maintain across Django upgrades.

Remember that modifying Django's core directly is not recommended as it would make your project harder to maintain and upgrade.