---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-applications.md
title: "Django keeps a registry of installed applications"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "BSD-3-Clause (django/django); prose restates cited source lines in own words"
license_family: django-bsd3
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: Django docs, Applications, BSD-3-Clause (django/django); Django source, django.apps.config.AppConfig, BSD-3-Clause (django/django). Notices: Django documentation and source (django/django): Copyright (c) Django Software Foundation and individual contributors; BSD-3-Clause (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/django/django/stable/6.1.x/LICENSE)."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-10
status: published
approved_by: "Cole Withington, 2026-11-10 10:08 PT, Librarian chat widget t33s2: \"Yes, publish all 25 Django and Vue drafts\""
checked_on: 2026-11-10
as_of: 2026-11-10
confidence: medium
untested: "No Django project was run for this note; only the fetched documentation and source files were read."
category: coding-references
topic_area: "code-backend: Django applications"
tags: [django, apps, appconfig, installed-apps]
client: Librarian
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Applications"
    publisher: Django docs
    url: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/applications/
    accessed: 2026-11-10
    license: "BSD-3-Clause"
  - id: S2
    title: "django.apps.config.AppConfig"
    publisher: Django source
    url: https://github.com/django/django/blob/stable/6.1.x/django/apps/config.py
    accessed: 2026-11-10
    license: "BSD-3-Clause"
---
# Django keeps a registry of installed applications

**Answer:** Django keeps a registry of installed applications called `apps` (`django.apps.apps`). The registry stores configuration, provides introspection, and maintains a list of available models.

## Projects and apps

The term project describes a Django web application. The project Python package is defined mainly by a settings module. An application is a Python package that Django can plug into that registry.

## AppConfig

To configure an application, define an `AppConfig` subclass in that app's `apps.py`. `AppConfig` is the class that represents a Django application and its configuration. A factory builds a config from an `INSTALLED_APPS` entry. Subclasses may override a method that runs when Django starts.

## See also

- [django-settings](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-settings/)
- [django-models](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-models/)

## Claims

- id: C1
  claim: Django keeps a registry of installed applications for configuration and introspection.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Django contains a registry of installed applications that stores configuration and provides introspection."

- id: C2
  claim: You configure an app with an AppConfig subclass in apps.py.
  source: S1
  evidence: "To configure an application, create an apps.py module inside the application,"

- id: C3
  claim: AppConfig represents a Django application and its configuration.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Class representing a Django application and its configuration."

- id: C4
  claim: Subclasses may override a method that runs when Django starts.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Override this method in subclasses to run code when Django starts."

## Sources

- [S1] Applications. Django docs. https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/ref/applications/ . License: BSD-3-Clause. Accessed 2026-11-10.

- [S2] django.apps.config.AppConfig. Django source. https://github.com/django/django/blob/stable/6.1.x/django/apps/config.py . License: BSD-3-Clause. Accessed 2026-11-10.


License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources and notices: Django documentation and source (django/django): Copyright (c) Django Software Foundation and individual contributors; BSD-3-Clause (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/django/django/stable/6.1.x/LICENSE). Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

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