The Django shell python manage.py shell is a very powerful tool that increases developer productivity if used correctly.

With a few lines of configuration, you don’t have to leave the shell anymore to apply code changes.I highly recommend using shell_plus which auto-imports your models and commonly used helpers. In order to reload the code base without leaving the shell, you need to use the autoreload extension of IPython.

First, make sure you are using IPython by adding the line SHELL_PLUS = "ipython" to your Django config.

Create a file .iptyhon/profile_default/ipython_config.py with the following content:

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

Open the shell using IPYTHONDIR=.ipython python manage.py shell_plus, make a code change, and re-run the code in the shell.

Magic!