How to Build a Backend for Django?

introduction in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a backend for django using back4app’s robust, ai powered platform django is a high level web framework that encourages rapid backend development and clean, pragmatic design we’ll create a scalable and secure backend that integrates seamlessly with your django project by using back4app, you can take advantage of automated database management, powerful apis, file storage, user authentication, data validation, real time capabilities, and advanced security features you’ll see how back4app’s environment automatically generates server infrastructure, letting you focus on your django app’s business logic this approach shortens development time by removing the need to manually set up servers and databases by the end of this tutorial, you’ll have a robust structure for your web applications that can be extended with more complex features, integrations, and custom logic prerequisites a back4app account and a new back4app project getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app if you do not have an account, you can create one for free follow the guide above to get your project ready a django project set up locally make sure you have a working django environment if you’re starting from scratch, follow django’s official documentation https //docs djangoproject com/en/4 2/intro/install/ confirm that your project’s installed apps and basic views and templates structure are ready python 3 7+ installed you will need a modern python environment for your django app familiarity with django’s model view architecture and basic crud operations if you are new to django or need to brush up, check out django’s documentation https //docs djangoproject com/en/4 2/ having these prerequisites in place will ensure a smoother experience as you follow this tutorial step 1 – creating a new project on back4app and connecting why you need a back4app project a new project on back4app is the backbone of your backend development it provides you with parse server capabilities, database tools, and a powerful admin interface this central structure lets you offload server management and focus on your django app’s business logic create a new project log in to your back4app account click the “new app” button in your back4app dashboard name your app (e g , “django backend tutorial”) once created, your app will appear in your back4app dashboard this new project is where we’ll store data, manage security rules, and run server side code for your django app installing the parse python sdk to connect your django project to back4app, we’ll use the parse python sdk it allows you to handle data operations, user authentication, real time features, and more from within your python code retrieve your app keys in the back4app dashboard, go to app settings or security & keys to find your application id and client key (or rest key ) and the parse server url (e g , https //parseapi back4app com ) install the sdk pip install parse rest initialize parse in your django project for example, create a new file called parse config py inside your main django app directory (the same folder that contains views py or models py ) \# parse config py from parse rest connection import register application id = "your application id" rest api key = "your rest api key" parse server url = "https //parseapi back4app com" \# register your app with parse register(application id, rest api key, master key=none, endpoint=parse server url) with this configuration, any file in your django project can import parse config to ensure a connection to your back4app backend you can now query and save data from your django code using the parse python sdk step 2 – setting up the database 1\ creating a data model just like django uses models to store data in a relational database, parse uses classes to store objects you can create classes in the back4app dashboard or define them on the fly in the back4app dashboard navigate to database click create a class name it (e g , “todo”), then add fields like title (string) and iscompleted (boolean) 2\ using the ai agent to automatically generate a data model back4app’s ai agent can help you automatically generates a schema open the ai agent in your app dashboard describe your data model (e g , “a todo app schema with title, iscompleted, and user pointer ”) let the ai agent build it for you this can save time, especially if your django app requires complex relationships or advanced data validation 3\ reading and writing data using the parse sdk below is an example of creating and querying a todo object from within your django project \# views py from parse config import from parse rest datatypes import object class todo(object) pass def create todo item(title, is completed=false) todo = todo(title=title, iscompleted=is completed) todo save() # this performs the crud operation to save data in back4app def get all todos() return todo query all() # retrieves all todo objects from back4app you can call these functions from your django views or shell this setup works in tandem with your django app logic, so your web framework remains fully integrated with the parse backend 4\ reading and writing data using rest api if you prefer rest, here’s how to create a todo object curl x post \\ h "x parse application id your application id" \\ h "x parse rest api key your rest api key" \\ h "content type application/json" \\ d '{"title" "buy groceries", "iscompleted" false}' \\ https //parseapi back4app com/classes/todo 5\ reading and writing data using graphql api back4app also provides a graphql interface for example mutation { createtodo(input { fields { title "clean the house" iscompleted false } }) { todo { objectid title iscompleted } } } this is useful if you want to integrate graphql queries in your django views or microservices as part of a modern data architecture 6\ working with live queries (optional) for real time updates, you can enable live queries in the back4app dashboard at the moment, the official parse python sdk may have limited direct live query support however, you can still subscribe to changes via websockets or other approaches if needed check the back4app docs https //www back4app com/docs for the latest updates on python live queries step 3 – applying security with acls and clps 1\ brief overview use access control lists (acls) and class level permissions (clps) to protect your data acls control read/write permissions per object, while clps apply to an entire class 2\ step by step setting up class level permissions go to the database section in back4app choose the class (e g , todo ) adjust read/write access or require login configuring acls in code this ensures your django project respects the same granular security rules set in back4app step 4 – writing cloud code functions 1\ why cloud code with cloud code, you run business logic on the server side for instance, you can perform data validation, integrate external apis, or trigger events before saving data this is a powerful complement to your django views and templates, letting you centralize advanced logic in one place 2\ example function cloud code is typically written in javascript you deploy it to back4app, and then call it from your django app via the parse python sdk or rest requests a simple function // main js parse cloud define('calculatetextlength', async (request) => { const { text } = request params; if (!text) { throw new error('no text provided'); } return { length text length }; }); 3\ deployment use the back4app cli or dashboard deploy your main js with cloud functions once deployed, they become accessible to your django code via from parse config import import requests def call calculate text length(text) url = "https //parseapi back4app com/functions/calculatetextlength" headers = { "x parse application id" application id, "x parse rest api key" rest api key, "content type" "application/json" } payload = {"text" text} response = requests post(url, json=payload, headers=headers) return response json() 4\ npm if you need external node modules in your cloud code, declare them in your cloud code directory’s package json back4app automatically installs them upon deployment step 5 – configuring authentication 1\ enable or set up user authentication by default, parse includes the user class for signups and logins configure email verification, password resets, and more in the back4app dashboard 2\ django code samples \# models py or a separate file from parse config import from parse rest user import user def register user(username, password, email) new user = user signup(username, password, email=email) return new user def login user(username, password) return user login(username, password) 3\ social login if you need google, apple, or facebook logins, configure them in auth settings of back4app and follow the respective guides your django app can then link or log in users by calling the relevant parse methods step 6 – handling file storage 1\ setting up file storage back4app securely stores files uploaded via the parse sdk you can upload from django by sending a file to a parse file field from parse rest datatypes import object, file class photo(object) pass def upload image(file path) with open(file path, 'rb') as f parse file = file(file path, f read()) photo = photo(imagefile=parse file) photo save() return photo 2\ example if you want to add user uploaded images, integrate an \<input type="file"> in your django templates, then handle the file in a view function that calls upload image() 3\ security considerations parse provides a configuration that controls who can upload files { "fileupload" { "enableforpublic" true, "enableforanonymoususer" true, "enableforauthenticateduser" true } } adjust these to match your security needs, ensuring that only trusted users can store and access sensitive files step 7 – email verification and password reset 1\ overview django’s admin interface handles many things, but for your parse powered backend, you can also enable email verification and password resets it’s vital for verifying real users and providing a smooth account recovery path 2\ dashboard configuration open your back4app app enable email verification in app settings > email settings customize the email templates to match your branding 3\ code/implementation in your django app, you might offer a password reset form when a user requests a reset, call parse’s password reset endpoint or the appropriate python method if supported in the sdk step 8 – scheduling tasks with cloud jobs 1\ what cloud jobs do cloud jobs let you run automated tasks, such as cleaning old data or generating reports this complements django’s crontab or celery workflows by centralizing tasks in back4app’s environment 2\ example // main js parse cloud job('cleanupoldtodos', async (request) => { const todo = parse object extend('todo'); const query = new parse query(todo); const now = new date(); const thirty days = 30 24 60 60 1000; const cutoff = new date(now thirty days); query lessthan('createdat', cutoff); const oldtodos = await query find({ usemasterkey true }); await parse object destroyall(oldtodos, { usemasterkey true }); return `deleted ${oldtodos length} old todos `; }); after deploying, schedule it in the back4app dashboard under server settings > background jobs to run daily or weekly step 9 – integrating webhooks 1\ definition webhooks let you send http requests to external services when certain events happen in your back4app classes for example, notify a slack channel or a payment service whenever a new record is created 2\ configuration go to more > webhooks in the dashboard set up your external endpoint (e g , a url in your django project) define triggers (like “object created” in todo ) 3\ example whenever a new todo is created, a post request goes to your django app’s endpoint in django, you’d parse the json data and handle it (e g , logging or further processing) step 10 – exploring the back4app admin panel 1\ where to find it the back4app admin app is in your console under more > admin app it’s a model centric interface for managing your data without writing code 2\ features database view, edit, or delete records quickly logs monitor errors or process logs background jobs manage your cloud jobs schedules analytics & push if relevant to your app, access push notifications and analytics data this is similar to django’s own admin interface , but focuses on the parse backend conclusion by following this guide, you have learned how to build a backend for django using back4app you have created a secure and scalable backend structure for your django app set up a data model, performed crud operations, and leveraged real time features implemented acls, clps, and user authentication for high level security used cloud code for business logic, data validation, and external integrations stored files, scheduled cloud jobs, and configured webhooks for advanced workflows explored the back4app admin app to manage your data effectively with this foundation, you can confidently extend your django project integrate advanced features, optimize performance, and add custom logic to handle enterprise level requirements keep experimenting with the parse python sdk to deliver powerful web applications happy coding! next steps build a production ready django app with advanced caching, user roles, and performance tweaks leverage more advanced back4app features such as advanced analytics or role based access control learn from official back4app documentation for deeper knowledge of logs, real time queries, and data optimization explore other tutorials to see how you can combine django’s powerful “views and templates” with external apis and m