================================
How to install Django on Windows
================================

This document will guide you through installing Python and Django for basic
usage on Windows. This is meant as a beginner's guide for users working on
Django projects and does not reflect how Django should be installed when
developing patches for Django itself.

The steps in this guide have been tested with Windows 7 and 8. In other
versions, the steps would be similar.

Install Python
==============

Django is a Python web framework, thus requiring Python to be installed on your
machine.

To install Python on your machine go to https://python.org/download/, and
download a Windows MSI installer for Python. Once downloaded, run the MSI
installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

After installation, open the command prompt and check the Python version by
executing ``python --version``. If you encounter a problem, make sure you
have set the ``PATH`` variable correctly. You might need to adjust your
``PATH`` environment variable to include paths to the Python executable and
additional scripts. For example, if your Python is installed in
``C:\Python34\``, the following paths need to be added to ``PATH``::

    C:\Python34\;C:\Python34\Scripts;

Install Setuptools
==================

To install Python packages on your computer, Setuptools is needed. Download the
latest version of `Setuptools <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/setuptools>`_ for
your Python version and follow the installation instructions given there.

Install PIP
===========

`PIP <http://www.pip-installer.org/>`_ is a package manager for Python that
uses the `Python Package Index <https://pypi.python.org>`_ to install Python
packages. PIP will later be used to install Django from PyPI. If you've
installed Python 3.4, ``pip`` is included so you may skip this section.

Open a command prompt and execute ``easy_install pip``. This will install
``pip`` on your system. This command will work if you have successfully
installed Setuptools.

Alternatively, go to `<http://www.pip-installer.org/en/latest/installing.html>`_
for installing/upgrading instructions.

Install Django
==============

Django can be installed easily using ``pip``.

In the command prompt, execute the following command: ``pip install django``.
This will download and install Django.

After the installation has completed, you can verify your Django installation
by executing ``django-admin --version`` in the command prompt.

See :ref:`database-installation` for information on database installation
with Django.

Common pitfalls
===============

* If ``django-admin`` only displays the help text no matter what arguments
  it is given, there is probably a problem with the file association in
  Windows. Check if there is more than one environment variable set for
  running Python scripts in ``PATH``. This usually occurs when there is more
  than one Python version installed.

* If you are connecting to the internet behind a proxy, there might be problem
  in running the commands ``easy_install pip`` and ``pip install django``.
  Set the environment variables for proxy configuration in the command prompt
  as follows::

    set http_proxy=http://username:password@proxyserver:proxyport
    set https_proxy=https://username:password@proxyserver:proxyport