Management Commands#

django-sysconfig ships a config management command for interacting with configuration values directly from the terminal. It's useful for inspecting values, scripting changes, and importing or exporting configuration across environments.

python manage.py config <subcommand> [options]

Get#

Print the current value of a single config path.

python manage.py config get <path>

Arguments

Examples

python manage.py config get myapp.general.site_name
# My App

python manage.py config get billing.pricing.tax_rate
# 0.20

The value is printed as a string. The underlying Python type (int, bool, Decimal) is not preserved in the output — this command is for inspection, not for piping into other programs.

Set#

Set a single config value from the command line.

python manage.py config set <path> <value>

Arguments

Examples

python manage.py config set myapp.general.site_name "Acme Corp"
python manage.py config set myapp.general.max_items 500
python manage.py config set myapp.general.maintenance_mode True

The value is parsed and validated through the field's frontend model and validators before being saved. If validation fails, nothing is written and the error is printed.

Reset#

Reset a config value back to its field default.

python manage.py config reset <path> [--force]

Arguments

Flags

Examples

# With confirmation prompt
python manage.py config reset myapp.general.maintenance_mode

# Skip the prompt
python manage.py config reset myapp.general.maintenance_mode --force

Without --force, you will be asked to confirm before the reset takes effect. This cannot be undone.

Export#

Export all registered configuration values to a JSON file.

python manage.py config export [app] [--output <path>]

Arguments

Flags

Examples

# Export all apps
python manage.py config export

# Export a single app
python manage.py config export myapp

# Export to a specific path
python manage.py config export --output /tmp/backup.json

The output file is written with 0600 permissions (owner read/write only) because it contains plaintext secrets.

Output format

{
  "version": 1,
  "exported_at": "2026-01-15T10:30:00+00:00",
  "config": {
    "myapp": {
      "general": {
        "site_name": "Acme Corp",
        "maintenance_mode": false
      }
    }
  }
}

Import#

Import configuration values from a JSON file or stdin.

python manage.py config import [--file <path>] [--stdin] [--dry-run] [--force] [-S]

Flags

--file and --stdin are mutually exclusive. One of them must be provided.

Examples

# Import from a file
python manage.py config import --file config_export.json

# Import from stdin
cat config_export.json | python manage.py config import --stdin

# Validate without writing
python manage.py config import --file config_export.json --dry-run

# Skip confirmation and callbacks (useful in CI/CD pipelines)
python manage.py config import --file config_export.json --force --skip-on-save-callbacks

Dry run

--dry-run runs the full import pipeline — path resolution, type coercion, serialization, and validators — inside a database transaction that is always rolled back. This means a passing dry run is a genuine guarantee that the real import will succeed.

python manage.py config import --file config_export.json --dry-run
# ✔ Dry run passed — 12 value(s) look valid

Atomicity

The import runs inside a single database transaction. If any value fails validation, the entire import is rolled back and nothing is written.

Skipping callbacks

--skip-on-save-callbacks suppresses all on_save callbacks for the duration of the import. This is useful when:

• Restoring a snapshot — you don't want 50 Slack notifications firing at once
• Cloning an environment — callbacks may be environment-specific
• Running in CI/CD — side effects are noise in automated pipelines

Cache refresh always runs regardless of this flag — the cache is always kept consistent after import.

Common workflows#

Inspect a value in production#

python manage.py config get billing.general.live_mode

Enable maintenance mode without logging in as staff#

python manage.py config set myapp.general.maintenance_mode True

Back up all config before a risky deployment#

python manage.py config export --output pre_deploy_backup.json

Restore config after a failed deployment#

python manage.py config import --file pre_deploy_backup.json --force

Rotate SECRET_KEY without losing encrypted values#

See the full procedure in the Encryption guide.

Seed a fresh environment from an existing one#

# On the source environment
python manage.py config export --output seed.json

# On the target environment
python manage.py config import --file seed.json --force --skip-on-save-callbacks