djx-cli — Django Express

Convention over configuration for Django. Inspired by Ruby on Rails.

3 commands. Full CRUD app. No boilerplate.

pip install djx-cli
djx new myblog && cd myblog
djx scaffold Post title:string content:text published:boolean
python manage.py migrate && python manage.py runserver
# → http://127.0.0.1:8000/posts/ — list, create, edit, delete. Done.

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Why DJX?

Django is powerful but verbose. Starting a new feature means manually creating models, views, templates, URLs, and wiring them together. DJX does all of that in one command — the same way Rails has done it for 20 years.

Task	Django	DJX
New project	django-admin startproject + manual venv + settings	djx new myproject
New CRUD feature	model + views + urls + templates (manual)	djx scaffold Post title:string
See all routes	no built-in command	djx routes
Remove a feature	delete files manually	djx destroy scaffold Post

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Installation

pip install djx-cli

Requires Python 3.8+ and works with Django 4.2+.

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Quick Start

# 1. Create a new project — venv, Django, git, migrations all automatic
djx new myblog
cd myblog
source venv/bin/activate   # Linux/Mac
# venv\Scripts\activate    # Windows

# 2. Scaffold a full CRUD feature
djx scaffold Post title:string content:text published:boolean

# 3. Run migrations and start server
python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserver

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000/posts/ — you have a working list, create, edit, and delete. No code written.

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Commands

djx new <project>

Create a new Django project with everything configured.

djx new myproject

Creates: Django project, git repository, README, initial migrations. Asks if you want a virtual environment created automatically.

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djx scaffold <Model> <fields>

Generate a complete CRUD feature — model, views, templates, and URLs all wired together.

djx scaffold Post title:string content:text published:boolean
djx scaffold Comment body:text author:string post:references:Post

Generates:

• posts/models.py — model with all fields
• posts/views.py — ListView, DetailView, CreateView, UpdateView, DeleteView
• posts/templates/posts/ — list, detail, form, confirm_delete templates
• posts/urls.py — all routes
• Wired into project urls.py automatically
• Added to INSTALLED_APPS automatically

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djx model <Model> <fields>

Generate a model only (no views or templates).

djx model Article title:string body:text author:string

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djx controller <Model>

Generate views and templates for an existing model.

djx controller Post

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djx destroy <type> <Model>

Clean removal of a scaffold, model, or controller.

djx destroy scaffold Post    # removes app, URLs, INSTALLED_APPS entry
djx destroy model Post       # removes model only
djx destroy controller Post  # removes views and templates only

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djx routes

Display all registered URL routes in a clean table.

djx routes

📍 Routes
URL Pattern              Name           View
=====================================================
posts/                   post-list      ListView
posts/<int:pk>/          post-detail    DetailView
posts/new/               post-create    CreateView
posts/<int:pk>/edit/     post-update    UpdateView
posts/<int:pk>/delete/   post-delete    DeleteView
✓ Total routes: 28

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djx db

Shortcut for the most common database workflow.

djx db          # makemigrations + migrate in one command
djx db reset    # flush + migrate (wipe and rebuild)

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djx console

Django shell with all your models already imported — no manual imports needed.

djx console
# ✓ Models loaded: Post, Comment, User
# >>> Post.objects.all()

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djx add <package>

Install a package and add it to INSTALLED_APPS automatically.

djx add django-crispy-forms
djx add djangorestframework

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djx config <KEY> <value>

Set a value in settings.py from the terminal.

djx config DEBUG False
djx config ALLOWED_HOSTS '["*"]'

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djx wire <app>

Manually wire an app's URLs into the project urls.py.

djx wire posts

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Field Types

DJX type	Django field
string	CharField(max_length=200)
text	TextField()
integer	IntegerField()
boolean	BooleanField()
date	DateField()
datetime	DateTimeField()
decimal	DecimalField()
email	EmailField()
url	URLField()
references:Model	ForeignKey(Model)

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Project Structure

After djx new myblog && djx scaffold Post title:string content:text:

myblog/
├── manage.py
├── README.md
├── myblog/
│   ├── settings.py
│   └── urls.py
└── posts/
    ├── models.py
    ├── views.py
    ├── urls.py
    ├── migrations/
    └── templates/
        └── posts/
            ├── post_list.html
            ├── post_detail.html
            ├── post_form.html
            └── post_confirm_delete.html

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Conventions

DJX follows these conventions so you don't have to think about them:

• App name is the pluralized, lowercased model name (Post → posts)
• Templates follow app/model_action.html pattern
• URLs follow RESTful patterns (/posts/, /posts/new/, /posts/1/edit/)
• All models get created_at and updated_at automatically
• Apps are auto-added to INSTALLED_APPS
• URLs are auto-wired to the project urls.py

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! DJX is early-stage and there's a lot to build.

git clone https://github.com/RedsonNgwira/djx-cli.git
cd djx-cli
pip install -e .
djx --help

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Ideas for contributions:

• djx console — Django shell with all models auto-imported
• djx generate api — DRF REST API scaffold
• djx server — runserver with better defaults
• djx db migrate — shortcut for makemigrations + migrate
• Windows compatibility improvements
• More field types

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.

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Built with ❤️ from Malawi 🇲🇼 by Redson Ngwira