How to use the Django Development Patterns agent skill

What the skill makes the agent do

Agent skills are folders of instructions that an AI agent can load when a task matches them. The django-patterns skill is a single file, SKILL.md, containing written Django patterns and code examples. When it is active, the agent uses these patterns as a guide while writing or reviewing Django code.

The skill does not run anything by itself. It contains no scripts and makes no network calls. It is guidance for writing code, not a finished website or app.

• Suggests a project layout with a config folder, split settings files and an apps folder.
• Shows how to split settings into base.py, development.py, production.py and test.py.
• Shows model design, including a custom user model, field indexes and check constraints.
• Shows custom QuerySets and managers, such as select_related and prefetch_related to avoid N+1 queries.
• Covers Django REST Framework serializers and API design, plus caching, signals and middleware topics.

Install the django-patterns skill

Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it. You can install the skill in one of two places. For all your projects, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

If you use the Claude apps instead, you can upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/ (available across projects).
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder (available only there).
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload.

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Describe a Django task in plain words and the agent will use the skill when the request matches its scope. The skill is meant to apply when you are building Django web applications, designing Django REST Framework APIs, working with the Django ORM and models, setting up project structure, or implementing caching, signals or middleware.

Naming Django and the kind of help you want makes the match more reliable.

• "Set up a Django project with separate dev and production settings."
• "Review my Django models and tell me if my ORM queries will be slow."
• "Design a DRF API for a products app with serializers and permissions."
• "Add caching to this Django view using the project's conventions."

Examples of what you get

For a new project, the agent can follow the recommended layout: a config package with settings, urls, wsgi and asgi files, and an apps folder with users and products apps, each with its own models, views, serializers, permissions, filters and services.

For a model review, the agent can compare your code against the patterns, such as a custom QuerySet with with_category() that calls select_related('category') so that listing products does not trigger one query per product.

What you need before using it

The skill assumes you are writing Django code, so you need a working Python and Django setup. The examples also use Django REST Framework, PostgreSQL as the database, and several packages: django-cors-headers, whitenoise, django-debug-toolbar and an environment variable helper. The skill is about Django; if your project does not use Django, its patterns will not apply.

• Python and Django
• Django REST Framework (suggested by the examples)
• PostgreSQL (the example database configuration)
• django-cors-headers, whitenoise, django-debug-toolbar and an environment variable helper

Safety notes before copying settings

The production settings example is a starting point, not a drop-in configuration. It hardcodes a log path, /var/log/django/django.log, and enables HSTS settings with a one-year max age and preload. Check that the path exists and is writable on your server, and that HSTS and SSL redirect fit your hosting setup before you deploy.

The skill runs no scripts and uses no network access, so the main risk is copying configuration you have not checked.

• Replace the hardcoded log path with one that exists on your host.
• Confirm HSTS settings suit your domains before enabling preload.
• Load secrets such as DJANGO_SECRET_KEY and database credentials from environment variables, as the examples do.

Tips for getting good results

Ask the agent to follow the skill explicitly when you want consistent layout across a team. Give it your current file structure so it can suggest changes rather than generic ones. For query work, paste the view or queryset code so the agent can point at specific N+1 or missing-index problems.

• Name the Django feature you care about: settings, models, ORM, DRF or caching.
• Share the relevant file, not just a description.
• Treat the output as a proposal and run your own tests before merging.