Django Cursor Rules Template

---
description: "Project Structure"
alwaysApply: false
---
- Follow Django's app-based modular structure.
- Use      spaces for indentation.
- Use snake_case for variables, functions, and methods.
- Keep business logic in models, managers, and services — not in views.
- Use class-based views for common patterns, function-based for simple ones.
- Organize templates by app under templates/<app_name>/.

---
description: "Models & ORM"
alwaysApply: false
---
- Define models with explicit field types and constraints.
- Use Meta class for ordering, indexes, and constraints.
- Use related_name explicitly for ForeignKey and ManyToManyField.
- Use model managers for reusable queryset logic.
- Use select_related() and prefetch_related() to avoid N+1 queries.
- Use migrations for all schema changes — never alter tables manually.

---
description: "Views & APIs"
alwaysApply: false
---
- Use Django REST Framework for API endpoints.
- Use ModelSerializer for CRUD serializers.
- Use ViewSets with routers for standard REST patterns.
- Use permission_classes for access control on every endpoint.
- Use @action decorator for custom non-CRUD endpoints.
- Use pagination for list endpoints with reasonable defaults.

---
description: "Testing"
alwaysApply: false
---
- Use pytest-django for test discovery and fixtures.
- Use Django's TestCase or APITestCase for integration tests.
- Use factory_boy or model_bakery for test data generation.
- Test models, views, and serializers independently.
- Use transactional tests (TestCase wraps in a transaction).
- Mock external services — don't hit real APIs in tests.