HTML-first frontend interaction for Django, JSON-only server, and client-side DOM updates.

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Project description

Djact v4.1

File-based reactive components for Django. No React, no Inertia — just Python classes and HTML directives.

Django renders the page normally. After that, all interactions happen via AJAX. Server returns JSON only. Client updates the DOM.

Features
Installation
Quick Start
Component System
Directives Reference
Two-Way Data Binding
Template Expressions
Loops and Conditionals
Pagination
Validation
SPA Navigation
Client-Side Methods
Debug Panel
Anti-Blink Protection
Settings Reference
Architecture
Example: Full CRUD

Features

File-based components — dj:component="home" auto-loads components/home.py
Standard Django flow — urls.py → views.py → render(template.html) stays unchanged
Python Component class — Clean, testable, standard Python
Reactive directives — dj:click, dj:submit, dj:model, dj:function, dj:state
Template expressions — [[ count ]], [[ user.name ]] (no Django {{ }} conflict)
Auto-discovery — Components found automatically from installed Django apps
Auto Pagination — Laravel-style pagination, one-line setup, no change_page needed
Laravel Validation — required|email|min:3|max:255 with custom messages
Error Display — dj:error="field" shows validation errors inline
SPA Navigation — dj:navigate for page transitions without reload
Debug Panel — Next.js-style floating devtools (only in DEBUG mode)
Anti-blink protection — No flash of unstyled content on page load
Zero JS to write — Everything is declarative

Installation

pip install djact

1. Add to `INSTALLED_APPS`

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    "djact",
]

2. Include URLs

# urls.py
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path("", include("djact.urls")),
    # ... your other urls
]

3. Enable Middleware

# settings.py
MIDDLEWARE = [
    # ...
    "djact.middleware.DjactAutoLoadMiddleware",
]

The middleware automatically:

Detects dj:component or dj:navigate in your HTML
Injects CSRF token, endpoint URL, and the djact client JS
Injects anti-blink CSS (prevents flash of unstyled content)
Injects debug meta tag when DEBUG = True

Quick Start

Step 1: Create a Component

myapp/
  components/
    __init__.py
    counter.py

# myapp/components/counter.py

class Component:
    def mount(self, request):
        """Called on first page load. Return initial state."""
        return {"count": 0}

    def increment(self, request, data):
        """Called via dj:click. Return state updates."""
        return {"count": data["count"] + 1}

    def decrement(self, request, data):
        return {"count": data["count"] - 1}

    def reset(self, request, data):
        return {"count": 0}

Step 2: Create a View (standard Django)

# myapp/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render

def home(request):
    return render(request, "home.html")

Step 3: Create Template

<!-- myapp/templates/home.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Counter</title></head>
<body>

<div dj:component="counter" dj:state="count=0">
    <h1>Count: [[ count ]]</h1>
    <button dj:click="increment">+1</button>
    <button dj:click="decrement">-1</button>
    <button dj:click="reset">Reset</button>
</div>

</body>
</html>

No JavaScript needed. The middleware auto-injects everything.

Component System

File Structure

Components are auto-discovered from all installed Django apps:

myapp/
  components/
    __init__.py
    home.py               ← dj:component="home"
    counter.py            ← dj:component="counter"
    admin/
      __init__.py
      dashboard.py        ← dj:component="admin/dashboard"
      users.py            ← dj:component="admin/users"

Component Class

Every component file must have a Component class with at least a mount method:

class Component:
    def mount(self, request):
        """Required. Called on first page load.
        Returns the initial state dict.
        """
        return {"items": [], "name": ""}

    def add_item(self, request, data):
        """Called via dj:click or dj:submit.
        Receives current state in `data`.
        Returns state updates (merged with existing state).
        """
        items = data.get("items", [])
        items.append(data.get("name", ""))
        return {"items": items, "name": ""}

    def delete_item(self, request, data, item_id):
        """Supports extra arguments via dj:click="delete_item(item.id)".
        Arguments are passed after `data`.
        """
        items = [i for i in data["items"] if i["id"] != item_id]
        return {"items": items}

Method Signatures

Method	Signature	When Called
`mount`	`mount(self, request)`	First page load + pagination
Action	`method(self, request, data)`	`dj:click`, `dj:submit`
With args	`method(self, request, data, arg1, arg2)`	`dj:click="method(val1, val2)"`
No data	`method(self, request)`	When no state needed

Explicit Component Module

By default, components are auto-discovered from installed apps. You can override this:

# settings.py
DJACT_COMPONENTS_MODULE = "myapp.components"

Directives Reference

Setup Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`dj:component="name"`	Links HTML element to a Python component	`<div dj:component="counter">`
`dj:state="key=val, ..."`	Initial client-side state (before mount)	`<div dj:state="count=0, name=''">`

Event Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`dj:click="method"`	Call server method on click	`<button dj:click="save">`
`dj:click="method(arg)"`	Call with arguments (evaluated from scope)	`<button dj:click="delete(user.id)">`
`dj:submit="method"`	Call server method on form submit	`<form dj:submit="save_user">`
`dj:function="setState(...)"`	Client-side state update (no server call)	`<button dj:function="setState(tab='settings')">`

Binding Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`dj:model="field"`	Two-way data binding for inputs	`<input dj:model="username">`

Rendering Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`dj:for="item in list"`	Loop — repeat element for each item	`<tr dj:for="user in users">`
`dj:if="condition"`	Conditional — show/hide based on expression	`<div dj:if="error">`
`dj:empty="list"`	Show only when list is empty	`<p dj:empty="users">No users.</p>`
`dj:error="field"`	Show validation error for a field	`<span dj:error="username">[[ message ]]</span>`
`dj:paginate="list"`	Auto-generate pagination UI	`<div dj:paginate="users">`

Navigation Directives

Directive	Description	Example
`dj:navigate="/url"`	SPA navigation without full reload	`<a dj:navigate="/dashboard">`

Two-Way Data Binding

dj:model creates a live connection between an input and the state:

<input dj:model="username" placeholder="Type here...">
<p>You typed: [[ username ]]</p>

Supports:

<input type="text"> — binds .value
<input type="checkbox"> — binds .checked
<textarea> — binds .value
<select> — binds .value

Template Expressions

Use [[ expression ]] (double square brackets) to render dynamic values:

<h1>[[ title ]]</h1>
<p>[[ user.name ]] has [[ user.posts.length ]] posts</p>
<span>[[ count > 0 ? 'Active' : 'Empty' ]]</span>
<p>[[ price * quantity ]]</p>

Supported operators:

Arithmetic: +, -, *, /
Comparison: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=
Logical: &&, ||, !
Ternary: condition ? yes : no
Dot paths: user.name, item.category.title
Properties: .length on arrays and strings

Note: Uses [[ ]] instead of {{ }} to avoid conflict with Django's template engine.

Loops and Conditionals

dj:for

<table>
    <tr dj:for="user in users">
        <td>[[ user.username ]]</td>
        <td>[[ user.email ]]</td>
        <td>[[ $index ]]</td>  <!-- 0-based index -->
    </tr>
</table>

Inside loops, you can access:

user — the current item
$index — the 0-based loop index
All parent state variables

dj:if

<div dj:if="error" class="alert">[[ error ]]</div>
<div dj:if="users.length > 0">Found [[ users.length ]] users</div>
<div dj:if="!loading">Content loaded</div>

dj:empty

<p dj:empty="users">No users found. Create one above.</p>

Shows only when the referenced list has zero items.

Pagination

Server-Side Pagination

Use the built-in paginate() helper. No change_page method needed — it's fully automatic:

from djact.pagination import paginate
from django.contrib.auth.models import User

class Component:
    def mount(self, request):
        users = paginate(User.objects.all(), request, 10)
        return {"users": users}

    def delete_user(self, request, data, user_id):
        User.objects.filter(id=user_id).delete()
        # Automatically stays on current page!
        users = paginate(User.objects.all(), request, 10)
        return {"users": users}

<div dj:component="users">
    <table>
        <tr dj:for="user in users">
            <td>[[ user.username ]]</td>
            <td>[[ user.email ]]</td>
        </tr>
    </table>
    <p dj:empty="users">No users found.</p>

    <!-- Auto-generates Laravel-style pagination UI -->
    <div dj:paginate="users"></div>
</div>

How it works:

Page change clicks automatically call mount() with __page in request
paginate(queryset, request, per_page) extracts page automatically
When deleting/saving from page 5, current page is preserved from state
If items on current page are gone, it auto-clamps to last valid page

`paginate()` Function

from djact.pagination import paginate

result = paginate(queryset, page, per_page)

Argument	Type	Description
`queryset`	QuerySet or list	The data to paginate
`page`	int or HttpRequest	Page number, or request object (auto-extracts page)
`per_page`	int	Items per page (default: 10)

Returns:

{
    "data": [...],          # Items for current page
    "current_page": 1,      # Current page number
    "last_page": 5,          # Total number of pages
    "per_page": 10,          # Items per page
    "total": 47,             # Total item count
}

Custom Pagination Method

By default, page changes call mount(). To use a custom method:

<div dj:paginate="users" dj:paginate.method="load_users"></div>

Pagination Theme

Auto-detects system theme (light/dark). Override manually:

<div dj:paginate="users" dj:paginate.mode="dark"></div>
<div dj:paginate="users" dj:paginate.mode="light"></div>

Client-Side Pagination

For small lists already in state, paginate on the client:

<div dj:for="item in items">...</div>
<div dj:paginate="items" dj:per-page="5"></div>

No server calls — pagination happens in the browser.

Validation

Basic Usage

Just call validate() — if validation fails, errors are auto-returned to the frontend. No if check needed:

from djact.validation import validate

class Component:
    def save_user(self, request, data):
        validate(data, {
            "username": "required|string|min:3|max:150",
            "email": "required|email|max:255",
        })

        # This code ONLY runs if validation passes ↑
        User.objects.create_user(username=data["username"], email=data["email"])
        return {"username": "", "email": "", "errors": {}}

How it works:

validate() checks all rules
If any rule fails → raises ValidationError
views.py auto-catches it → returns {"errors": {"username": "The username field is required."}} to frontend
dj:error="username" shows the message in HTML

Default error messages are built-in. You don't need to write custom messages.

Custom Messages (Optional)

If you want to override default messages, pass a messages dict:

validate(data, {
    "username": "required|string|min:3",
    "email": "required|email",
}, messages={
    "username.required": "Bhai username daal!",
    "email.email": "Ye email nahi hai!",
})

But this is optional — default messages like "The username field is required." work out of the box.

Displaying Errors in HTML

Use dj:error="fieldname" — it auto-hides/shows based on state.errors:

<form dj:submit="save_user">
    <input dj:model="username" placeholder="Username">
    <span dj:error="username" style="color:red">[[ message ]]</span>

    <input dj:model="email" type="email" placeholder="Email">
    <span dj:error="email" style="color:red">[[ message ]]</span>

    <button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>

[[ message ]] — shows the default error message from the package
Custom text — write your own text instead of [[ message ]]:

<span dj:error="username" style="color:red">Username galat hai!</span>

Available Rules

Rule	Description	Example
`required`	Field must be present and non-empty	`"required"`
`string`	Must be a string	`"string"`
`numeric`	Must be a number	`"numeric"`
`integer`	Must be an integer	`"integer"`
`boolean`	Must be true/false	`"boolean"`
`email`	Must be valid email format	`"email"`
`url`	Must be valid URL	`"url"`
`alpha`	Only letters	`"alpha"`
`alpha_num`	Only letters and numbers	`"alpha_num"`
`min:N`	Min length (string) or min value (number)	`"min:3"`
`max:N`	Max length (string) or max value (number)	`"max:255"`
`size:N`	Exact length/value	`"size:10"`
`between:min,max`	Length/value between min and max	`"between:3,20"`
`in:a,b,c`	Must be one of listed values	`"in:admin,user,editor"`
`not_in:a,b,c`	Must NOT be one of listed values	`"not_in:banned,deleted"`
`regex:pattern`	Must match regex pattern	`"regex:^[A-Z]"`
`digits:N`	Must be exactly N digits	`"digits:10"`
`same:field`	Must match another field	`"same:password"`
`different:field`	Must differ from another field	`"different:old_password"`
`starts_with:prefix`	Must start with given prefix	`"starts_with:+91"`
`ends_with:suffix`	Must end with given suffix	`"ends_with:.com"`

Combining Rules

Rules are pipe-separated | and checked in order. First failing rule produces the error:

"username": "required|string|alpha_num|min:3|max:50"
"password": "required|string|min:8|max:128"
"phone": "required|digits:10"
"website": "url|max:500"
"role": "required|in:admin,user,moderator,editor"

SPA Navigation

Navigate between pages without full page reload:

<nav>
    <a dj:navigate="/">Home</a>
    <a dj:navigate="/dashboard">Dashboard</a>
    <a dj:navigate="/settings">Settings</a>
</nav>

How It Works

Click intercepted — no full page reload
Progress bar shown at top of page
New page fetched via fetch()
<body> content replaced
All djact components re-initialized
Debug panel preserved
Browser URL updated (back/forward works)

Fallback

If the fetch fails (network error, 500, etc.), falls back to a normal full page reload.

Link Color

Default color: #3b82f6 (blue). Override in settings:

# settings.py
NAVIGATE_COLOR = "#ff0000"

Client-Side Methods

dj:function runs logic on the client without a server call:

<!-- Set state directly -->
<button dj:function="setState(tab='profile')">Profile</button>
<button dj:function="setState(tab='settings')">Settings</button>

<!-- Use in loops (accesses loop scope) -->
<tr dj:for="user in users">
    <td>[[ user.name ]]</td>
    <td>
        <button dj:function="setState(editing_id=user.id, username=user.username)">
            Edit
        </button>
    </td>
</tr>

setState() merges updates into the current state and re-renders the DOM immediately.

Debug Panel

Automatically appears when Django DEBUG = True. A floating ⚡ button appears in the bottom-right corner.

Features

Draggable — drag the button anywhere on screen
Request Inspector — shows every server call with:
- Component name, method name
- HTTP status, latency (ms)
- Full request/response JSON (expandable)
Error Tracking — catches:
- Django server errors
- JavaScript errors
- Network failures
- Unhandled promise rejections
Activity Logs — timeline of all actions
Survives Navigation — stays active across dj:navigate page transitions

Activation

No configuration needed. Only enabled when:

# settings.py
DEBUG = True

In production (DEBUG = False), the debug panel is completely absent — no JS loaded, no DOM elements, no overhead.

Anti-Blink Protection

When a page loads, the entire dj:component content is hidden (opacity: 0) until the component's mount() call completes. This prevents:

Template text like [[ user.name ]] showing as literal text
dj:if="error" divs briefly flashing before being hidden
Loop templates showing before being cloned

The middleware injects:

<style id="djact-anti-blink">
  [dj\:component]:not([data-dj-ready]){opacity:0!important}
  [dj\:if],[dj\:empty],[dj\:for],[dj\:error]{display:none!important}
</style>

After mount() returns and the DOM is rendered:

Component gets data-dj-ready attribute → becomes visible
All directive elements are properly shown/hidden by JS

Zero configuration needed. Works automatically on every page.

Settings Reference

Setting	Default	Description
`DEBUG`	`False`	Enables debug panel when `True`
`DJACT_ENDPOINT_URL`	Auto-resolved	Override the AJAX endpoint URL
`DJACT_COMPONENTS_MODULE`	`None`	Explicit component module path (e.g. `"myapp.components"`)
`NAVIGATE_COLOR`	`#3b82f6`	Link color for `dj:navigate` elements

Architecture

How It Works

1. Django View renders HTML normally
   urls.py → views.py → render("template.html")

2. Middleware detects dj:component in response
   → Injects: CSRF meta, endpoint URL meta, anti-blink CSS, auto.js

3. Client JS boots (auto.js)
   → Component hidden (opacity:0)
   → Calls mount() on server via POST /djact/

4. Server loads Component class via importlib
   → Calls mount(self, request)
   → Returns JSON state dict

5. Client renders DOM
   → [[ expressions ]] interpolated
   → dj:for loops unrolled
   → dj:if / dj:error evaluated
   → Component becomes visible (data-dj-ready)

6. User interacts (dj:click, dj:submit, dj:model)
   → POST /djact/ with {component, method, data}
   → Server calls method, returns JSON
   → Client merges state and re-renders DOM

Package Structure

djact/
├── __init__.py          # v4.1.2, exports djact_endpoint + paginate + validate
├── apps.py              # Django app config
├── loader.py            # importlib component auto-discovery
├── middleware.py         # Asset injection + anti-blink
├── pagination.py        # paginate() helper
├── validation.py        # Laravel-style validate() helper
├── urls.py              # POST /djact/ endpoint
├── views.py             # JSON endpoint handler
├── py.typed             # PEP 561 marker
└── static/djact/
    ├── auto.js           # Entry point (bootstraps everything)
    ├── core.js           # Component lifecycle + state management
    ├── api.js            # fetch() wrapper + debug hooks
    ├── renderer.js       # DOM rendering engine (for, if, error, paginate)
    ├── renderer_expr.js  # Safe expression evaluator (no eval)
    ├── directives.js     # Event binding (click, submit, model)
    ├── state.js          # State string parser
    ├── paginate.js       # Pagination UI generator
    ├── navigate.js       # SPA navigation
    └── debug.js          # DevTools panel

Single Endpoint

All server calls go through one POST endpoint:

POST /djact/
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "component": "users",
    "method": "save_user",
    "data": { "username": "john", "email": "john@example.com" }
}

Response: { "users": {...}, "username": "", "email": "", "errors": {} }

Example: Full CRUD

Component

# myapp/components/users.py
from django.contrib.auth.models import User
from djact.pagination import paginate
from djact.validation import validate

class Component:
    def mount(self, request):
        return {
            "users": paginate(User.objects.all().order_by("-id"), request, 10),
            "username": "",
            "email": "",
            "editing_id": None,
            "errors": {},
        }

    def save_user(self, request, data):
        validate(data, {
            "username": "required|string|min:3|max:150",
            "email": "required|email|max:255",
        })

        # Only runs if validation passes ↑
        editing_id = data.get("editing_id")
        if editing_id:
            user = User.objects.get(id=editing_id)
            user.username = data["username"].strip()
            user.email = data["email"].strip()
            user.save()
        else:
            User.objects.create_user(
                username=data["username"].strip(),
                email=data["email"].strip(),
            )

        return {
            "users": paginate(User.objects.all().order_by("-id"), request, 10),
            "username": "",
            "email": "",
            "editing_id": None,
            "errors": {},
        }

    def delete_user(self, request, data, user_id):
        User.objects.filter(id=user_id).delete()
        return {"users": paginate(User.objects.all().order_by("-id"), request, 10)}

Template

<div dj:component="users" dj:state="users=[], username='', email='', editing_id=null, errors={}">

    <!-- Form -->
    <form dj:submit="save_user" style="display:flex; gap:8px; margin-bottom:16px; flex-wrap:wrap">
        <div>
            <input dj:model="username" placeholder="Username" required>
            <span dj:error="username" style="color:red; font-size:12px; display:block">[[ message ]]</span>
        </div>
        <div>
            <input dj:model="email" type="email" placeholder="Email">
            <span dj:error="email" style="color:red; font-size:12px; display:block">[[ message ]]</span>
        </div>
        <button type="submit">Save</button>
    </form>

    <!-- Table -->
    <table width="100%">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>ID</th>
                <th>Username</th>
                <th>Email</th>
                <th>Actions</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr dj:for="user in users">
                <td>[[ user.id ]]</td>
                <td>[[ user.username ]]</td>
                <td>[[ user.email ]]</td>
                <td>
                    <button dj:function="setState(editing_id=user.id, username=user.username, email=user.email)">
                        Edit
                    </button>
                    <button dj:click="delete_user(user.id)">
                        Delete
                    </button>
                </td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>

    <!-- Empty state -->
    <p dj:empty="users" style="text-align:center; color:#888">
        No users found. Create one above.
    </p>

    <!-- Pagination (auto — no change_page method needed) -->
    <div dj:paginate="users"></div>
</div>

License

MIT

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4.1.5

May 8, 2026

4.1.4

May 8, 2026

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djact 4.1.3

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Djact v4.1

Table of Contents

Features

Installation

1. Add to INSTALLED_APPS

2. Include URLs

3. Enable Middleware

Quick Start

Step 1: Create a Component

Step 2: Create a View (standard Django)

Step 3: Create Template

Component System

File Structure

Component Class

Method Signatures

Explicit Component Module

Directives Reference

Setup Directives

Event Directives

Binding Directives

Rendering Directives

Navigation Directives

Two-Way Data Binding

Template Expressions

Loops and Conditionals

dj:for

dj:if

dj:empty

Pagination

Server-Side Pagination

paginate() Function

Custom Pagination Method

Pagination Theme

Client-Side Pagination

Validation

Basic Usage

Custom Messages (Optional)

Displaying Errors in HTML

Available Rules

Combining Rules

SPA Navigation

How It Works

Fallback

Link Color

Client-Side Methods

Debug Panel

Features

Activation

Anti-Blink Protection

Settings Reference

Architecture

How It Works

Package Structure

Single Endpoint

Example: Full CRUD

Component

Template

License

Project details

Verified details

Maintainers

Unverified details

Project links

Meta

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Release history Release notifications | RSS feed

Download files

Source Distribution

Built Distribution

File details

File metadata

1. Add to `INSTALLED_APPS`

`paginate()` Function