django-modular-startapp 0.1.0

A Django management command that scaffolds apps using packages instead of single-file modules

django-modular-startapp

A Django management command that replaces startapp with a package-based scaffold — replacing single-file modules like models.py, views.py, and tests.py with proper packages (models/, views/, tests/, etc.).

Why

Django's built-in startapp creates flat single-file modules. As apps grow, splitting models.py into models/ and views.py into views/ becomes necessary anyway. This command starts you off with that structure from the beginning.

Installation

pip install django-modular-startapp

Add to INSTALLED_APPS in your settings:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    ...
    "django_modular_startapp",
]

Usage

python manage.py modular_startapp <app_name>

To create the app in a specific directory:

python manage.py modular_startapp <app_name> --directory path/to/dir

Generated Structure

<app_name>/
├── __init__.py
├── apps.py
├── urls.py
├── migrations/
│   └── __init__.py
├── admin/
│   └── __init__.py       # stub with admin.site.register example
├── models/
│   └── __init__.py       # stub with import hints
├── views/
│   └── __init__.py       # stub with import hints
└── tests/
    └── __init__.py       # stub with import hints

Notes

• models/ — Add a file per model (e.g. user.py) and re-export from __init__.py so Django's migration system can discover them.
• admin/ — One file per registered model keeps admin configuration readable.
• views/ — Split by view type or resource (e.g. list.py, detail.py).
• tests/ — One file per area under test (e.g. test_models.py, test_views.py).

Requirements

• Python 3.12+
• Django 4.2+

License

MIT