Stack: Django & Wagtail (Docker)

Stack: Django & Wagtail (Docker)

Last Updated: 29/12/2025 Version: 1.3.1 Maintained By: Development Team Language: British English (en_GB) Timezone: Europe/London

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Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Architecture
• Commands
• Coding Standards
  • Django
  • Wagtail
  • Templates
  • Type Hinting
• File Structure
• Testing (pytest)

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Architecture

Layer	Technology
Platform	Raw Docker (Docker Compose)
Backend	Python 3.10+, Django 5.x, Wagtail 6.x
Server	Gunicorn / Nginx
Testing	pytest, pytest-django

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Commands

Task	Command
Start environment	docker compose up -d
Stop environment	docker compose down
View logs	docker compose logs -f web
Django manage	docker compose exec web python manage.py <command>
Django shell	docker compose exec web python manage.py shell
Run tests	docker compose exec web pytest
Run specific test	docker compose exec web pytest tests/test_file.py -k test_name
Migrations	docker compose exec web python manage.py migrate
Make migrations	docker compose exec web python manage.py makemigrations
Create superuser	docker compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser
Collect static	docker compose exec web python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
Pip install	docker compose exec web pip install <package>

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Coding Standards

Django

• Logic lives in Services or Models, not Views
• Views should be thin - delegate to services
• Use class-based views for CRUD operations
• Use function-based views for custom logic

Wagtail

• Use StreamField for flexible content
• Split blocks into blocks.py files
• Use StructBlock for grouped fields
• Keep page models focused

Templates

• Use DTL inheritance: {% extends 'base.html' %}
• Use {% include %} sparingly - prefer template inheritance
• Use {% block %} for overridable sections
• Keep logic minimal in templates

Type Hinting

CRITICAL: All Python code must use strict type hints.

from typing import Optional, List
from django.db.models import QuerySet

def get_active_users(limit: Optional[int] = None) -> QuerySet['User']:
    """
    Retrieves active users from the database.

    Args:
        limit: Maximum number of users to return. None returns all.

    Returns:
        QuerySet[User]: Active user records.
    """
    users = User.objects.filter(is_active=True)
    if limit:
        users = users[:limit]
    return users

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File Structure

project/
├── apps/
│   ├── core/               # Shared functionality
│   │   ├── models.py
│   │   ├── services.py     # Business logic
│   │   └── utils.py
│   ├── users/              # User management
│   └── content/            # Wagtail content
│       ├── models.py       # Page models
│       └── blocks.py       # StreamField blocks
├── templates/
│   ├── base.html
│   └── pages/
├── static/
├── tests/
│   ├── conftest.py         # pytest fixtures
│   ├── test_models.py
│   └── test_services.py
├── manage.py
├── docker-compose.yml
└── requirements.txt

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Testing (pytest)

import pytest
from apps.users.services import UserService

@pytest.fixture
def user_service() -> UserService:
    return UserService()

def test_create_user(user_service: UserService, db) -> None:
    """Test user creation with valid data."""
    user = user_service.create(
        email='[email protected]',
        name='Test User'
    )

    assert user.email == '[email protected]'
    assert user.is_active is True