// the find
cookiecutter/cookiecutter-django
Cookiecutter Django is a framework for jumpstarting production-ready Django projects quickly.
A cookiecutter template that generates a full Django project scaffold with production-ready configuration baked in — Postgres, Celery, Docker Compose, Traefik, Sentry, allauth, and more. It's for Django developers who want a week-one setup that doesn't embarrass them in production, not a blank-slate startproject.
12-Factor settings via django-environ is the right call and the template enforces it consistently. The Docker Compose setup covers local dev, production, and separate Celery worker/beat/flower containers — you get a realistic process model from day one. Custom user model is included by default, which saves the painful migration you'd otherwise do after your first real feature. The CI workflow, pre-commit config, and dependabot setup are wired in; you'd have to actively remove them to skip good hygiene.
The number of prompt options (20+ questions) means first-timers often just mash Enter and end up with a setup they don't understand. There's no HTMX or Alpine.js option — the frontend choices are Bootstrap with Gulp/Webpack, which feels dated for 2026 Django projects that have largely moved to that stack. Heroku support is still listed prominently but Railway and Fly.io have eaten Heroku's lunch for small Django apps; the deployment docs haven't caught up. Generated projects use requirements .txt files alongside uv.lock, which is confusing — pick one.