Django guide

PyCharm Django setup on Windows — Community & Professional guide

To set up Django in PyCharm on Windows: create a new Django project (PyCharm Professional) or install Django in a venv (Community). PyCharm Professional has full Django support — template debugging, URL routing navigation, manage.py console.

Set up Django in PyCharm on Windows

  • 1

    Create a new Django project

    Professional: File → New Project → Django. PyCharm creates the project structure, installs Django and configures the run configuration automatically.
    Community: Create a standard project, then install Django in terminal.

  • 2

    Install Django (Community users)

    PyCharm Terminal (Alt+F12)
    (.venv) PS> pip install django
    (.venv) PS> django-admin startproject mysite .
    (.venv) PS> python manage.py runserver
  • 3

    Create a run configuration

    Run → Edit Configurations → + → Django Server. Set the host (127.0.0.1) and port (8000). Click OK. Press Shift+F10 to run Django.

Django questions

Does PyCharm Community support Django?

Yes, but with limitations. Community supports running Django, editing templates with basic highlighting, and managing the project. It does not have Django-specific features like template debugging, URL routing navigation or the Django manage.py console. For full Django IDE support, PyCharm Professional is recommended.

PyCharm Django not detecting templates

Go to File → Settings → Languages & Frameworks → Django. Make sure "Enable Django Support" is checked and the template folder is configured. In PyCharm Professional, this is set automatically when you create a Django project.

Using venv with Django?

Virtual environment setup guide.

venv guide