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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
• 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.

@misc{iil_note_xcnraem7,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Django keeps a registry of installed applications}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-10},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-applications/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:xcnraem7. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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