================================
How to install Django on Windows
================================

This document will guide you through installing Python 3.14 and Django on
Windows. It also provides instructions for setting up a virtual environment,
which makes it easier to work on Python projects. This is meant as a beginner's
guide for users working on Django projects and does not reflect how Django
should be installed when developing changes for Django itself.

The steps in this guide have been tested with Windows 10. In other
versions, the steps would be similar. You will need to be familiar with using
the Windows command prompt.

.. _install_python_windows:

Install Python
==============

Django is a Python web framework, thus requiring Python to be installed on your
machine. At the time of writing, Python 3.14 is the latest version.

To install Python on your machine go to https://www.python.org/downloads/. The
website should offer you a download button for the latest Python version.
Download the executable installer and run it. Check the boxes next to "Install
launcher for all users (recommended)" then click "Install Now".

After installation, open the command prompt and check that the Python version
matches the version you installed by executing:

.. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> py --version

.. admonition:: ``py`` is not recognized or found

    Depending on how you've installed Python (such as via the Microsoft Store),
    ``py`` may not be available in the command prompt.

    You will then need to use ``python`` instead of ``py`` when entering
    commands.

.. seealso::

    For more details, see :doc:`python:using/windows` documentation.

About ``pip``
=============

:pypi:`pip` is a package manager for Python and is included by default with the
Python installer. It helps to install and uninstall Python packages
(such as Django!). For the rest of the installation, we'll use ``pip`` to
install Python packages from the command line.

.. _virtualenvironment:

Setting up a virtual environment
================================

It is best practice to provide a dedicated environment for each Django project
you create. There are many options to manage environments and packages within
the Python ecosystem, some of which are recommended in the `Python
documentation <https://packaging.python.org/guides/tool-recommendations/>`_.
Python itself comes with :doc:`venv <python:tutorial/venv>` for managing
environments which we will use for this guide.

To create a virtual environment for your project, open a new command prompt,
navigate to the folder where you want to create your project and then enter the
following:

.. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> py -m venv project-name

This will create a folder called 'project-name' if it does not already exist
and set up the virtual environment. To activate the environment, run:

.. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> project-name\Scripts\activate.bat

The virtual environment will be activated and you'll see "(project-name)" next
to the command prompt to designate that. Each time you start a new command
prompt, you'll need to activate the environment again.

Install Django
==============

Django can be installed easily using ``pip`` within your virtual environment.

In the command prompt, ensure your virtual environment is active, and execute
the following command:

.. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> py -m pip install Django

This will download and install the latest Django release.

After the installation has completed, you can verify your Django installation
by executing ``django-admin --version`` in the command prompt.

See :ref:`database-installation` for information on database installation
with Django.

Colored terminal output
=======================

A quality-of-life feature adds colored (rather than monochrome) output to the
terminal. In modern terminals this should work for both CMD and PowerShell. If
for some reason this needs to be disabled, set the environmental variable
:envvar:`DJANGO_COLORS` to ``nocolor``.

On older Windows versions, or legacy terminals, :pypi:`colorama` 0.4.6+ must be
installed to enable syntax coloring:

.. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> py -m pip install "colorama >= 0.4.6"

See :ref:`syntax-coloring` for more information on color settings.

Common pitfalls
===============

* If ``django-admin`` only displays the help text no matter what arguments
  it is given, there is probably a problem with the file association in
  Windows. Check if there is more than one environment variable set for
  running Python scripts in ``PATH``. This usually occurs when there is more
  than one Python version installed.

* If you are connecting to the internet behind a proxy, there might be problems
  in running the command ``py -m pip install Django``. Set the environment
  variables for proxy configuration in the command prompt as follows:

  .. code-block:: doscon

    ...\> set http_proxy=http://username:password@proxyserver:proxyport
    ...\> set https_proxy=https://username:password@proxyserver:proxyport

* In general, Django assumes that ``UTF-8`` encoding is used for I/O. This may
  cause problems if your system is set to use a different encoding. Recent
  versions of Python allow setting the :envvar:`PYTHONUTF8` environment
  variable in order to force a ``UTF-8`` encoding. Windows 10 also provides a
  system-wide setting by checking ``Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language
  support`` in :menuselection:`Language --> Administrative Language Settings
  --> Change system locale` in system settings.
