How to reload modules in django shell?

Question

I am working with Django and use Django shell all the time. The annoying part is that while the Django server reloads on code changes, the shell does not, so every time I ma

Answer 1

Use shell_plus with an ipython config. This will enable autoreload before shell_plus automatically imports anything.

pip install django-extensions
pip install ipython
ipython profile create

Edit your ipython profile (~/.ipython/profile_default/ipython_config.py):

c.InteractiveShellApp.exec_lines = ['%autoreload 2']
c.InteractiveShellApp.extensions = ['autoreload']

Open a shell - note that you do not need to include --ipython:

python manage.py shell_plus

Now anything defined in SHELL_PLUS_PRE_IMPORTS or SHELL_PLUS_POST_IMPORTS (docs) will autoreload!

Note that if your shell is at a debugger (ex pdb.set_trace()) when you save a file it can interfere with the reload.