Installation¶

Install django-completion in the same Python environment as your Django project. It is a Django app, not a global shell utility.

1. Install the package¶

pip install django-completion
# or
uv add django-completion

2. Add to INSTALLED_APPS¶

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    ...
    "django_completion",
]

For teams that prefer to keep development tools out of production:

if DEBUG:
    INSTALLED_APPS += ["django_completion"]

DEBUG is not always the right environment switch. Separate settings modules or a custom environment flag may be a better fit for some deployments.

3. Install the shell hook¶

python manage.py autocomplete install

This auto-detects bash or zsh from $SHELL. To specify explicitly:

python manage.py autocomplete install --shell bash
python manage.py autocomplete install --shell zsh

The command:

• writes a versioned completion script to ~/.local/share/django-completion/
• appends a marker-delimited source block to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
• builds .django-completion-cache.json immediately so completion works right away

4. Reload your shell¶

source ~/.bashrc   # bash
source ~/.zshrc    # zsh

Opening a new terminal works too.

5. Check status¶

python manage.py autocomplete status

For bug reports or deeper diagnostics:

python manage.py autocomplete status --verbose

Compatibility¶

Uninstall¶

python manage.py autocomplete uninstall

This removes the shell hook from your RC file, deletes the managed script files, and removes the managed install directory if it is empty. It never touches files outside the managed path.

Then remove "django_completion" from INSTALLED_APPS and uninstall the package if you no longer need it:

pip uninstall django-completion

Installing from source¶

git clone https://github.com/soldatov-ss/django-completion.git
cd django-completion
uv sync