EdX Management Commands¶

Install dependencies¶

Dependencies can be installed via the command below.

$ make requirements

Run migrations¶

Local installations use SQLite by default. If you choose to use another database backend, make sure you have updated your settings and created the database (if necessary). Migrations can be run with Django’s migrate command.

$ python manage.py migrate

Run the server¶

The server can be run with Django’s runserver command. If you opt to run on a different port, make sure you update OIDC client via LMS admin.

$ python manage.py runserver 8003

Use Case¶

These management commands are designed for use when there is a need to programmatically create or update Django users, groups, and permissions, without needing to hardcode these in migrations or application code.

The commands are designed to work idempotently - that is, running them multiple times with the same inputs should always result in the same outcomes, and without additional side-effects if they are run more than once.

manage_group¶

The manage_group command is used to ensure that a specific django.contrib.auth.models.Group exists, and that it has a specific set of permissions.

The following example will create a group named mygroup if it does not exist (and will do nothing if it does exist):

$ python manage.py manage_group mygroup

The following example will create or update the group named privileged_group and assign to it the permissions for adding and deleting instances of model “Thing” in “myapp”:

$ python manage.py manage_group privileged_group -p myapp:Thing:add_thing myapp:Thing:delete_thing

In the above example, if the group already possessed another permission such as “update_thing”, that permission would be automatically removed.

An option to remove, instead of create, is also available:

$ python manage.py manage_group mygroup --remove

In the above example, the matching group would be deleted if it existed, and the command would do nothing otherwise.

manage_user¶

The manage_user command is used to ensure that a specific user exists, and that it has a specific set of groups. It can also be used to toggle the is_staff and is_superuser bits on that user account.

The following example will create a user named groucho if it does not exist:

$ python manage.py manage_user groucho groucho@example.com

In the above example, if groucho already exists, the command will continue without action / error, as long as the supplied email address matches the one already stored. If this is not the case, the command will fail with an error. This is intended as a control measure against potential scripting errors that might cause an existing user to lose control of an existing account.

To set the staff or superuser bits, use the associated options:

$ python manage.py manage_user groucho groucho@example.com --staff --superuser

In the above example, both bits will be set to true. In order to set the bits to false, omit the options.

To assign a user to specific groups, use the -g option:

$ python manage.py manage_user groucho groucho@example.com -g mygroup privileged_group

The above will ensure that groucho will be assigned to mygroup and privileged_group, and removed from any others to which they may already have been assigned.

Note that if any of the groups specified with -g do not exist, the command will output a warning, but will continue without creating the group. This measure is intended to ensure that, in an automated deployment setting, a prior misconfiguration involving some particular group will not cause a cascading failure in setting (or removing) other group memberships.

An option to remove, instead of create, is also available:

$ python manage.py manage_user groucho groucho@example.com --remove

In the above example, the matching user would be deleted if it existed, and the command would do nothing otherwise.

Updating Translations¶

This project uses Transifex to translate content. After new features are developed the translation source files should be pushed to Transifex. Our translation community will translate the content, after which we can retrieve the translations.

Pushing source translation files to Transifex requires access to the edx-platform. Request access from the Open Source Team if you will be pushing translation files. You should also configure the Transifex client if you have not done so already.

The make targets listed below can be used to push or pull translations.

Fake Translations¶

As you develop features it may be helpful to know which strings have been marked for translation, and which are not. Use the fake_translations make target for this purpose. This target will extract all strings marked for translation, generate fake translations in the Esperanto (eo) language directory, and compile the translations.

You can trigger the display of the translations by setting your browser’s language to Esperanto (eo), and navigating to a page on the site. Instead of plain English strings, you should see specially-accented English strings that look like this:

Thé Fütüré øf Ønlïné Édüçätïøn Ⱡσяєм ι# Før änýøné, änýwhéré, änýtïmé Ⱡσяєм #