Getting Started

Create a Django Project

Unicorn requires a working Django project before it can be used. While it is recommended that you have some experience working with Python and Django, below is a list of steps you would need do to use Unicorn.

Install the latest version of Python

Unicorn works with Python 3.8 or greater. If you don’t have Python installed, you will need to download and install it on your local machine.

You can find the latest version of Python at python.org.

Once you have installed Python, make sure that it has been added to your PATH.

python --version

Create a virtual environment

Before installing Django, you will need to create a new directory for your project. It is also recommended to create a virtual environment where you can install Django, Unicorn, and any other dependencies. Once you have created and navigated to the directory, type the following command to create a virtual environment.

python -m venv .venv

Note

Some package managers automatically create a virtual environment so this step might not be required. But, a virtual environment is suggested if directly using pip to install dependencies.

Install Django and start a project

You are now ready to install Django and start your project.

python -m pip install Django
django-admin startproject project-name .

If you have never created a Django project before, you may want to get acquainted with it first. There are several resources, including some official tutorials, though the Django Girls Tutorial is also highly recommended.

Once you have a working Django project, you are ready to install Unicorn.