12 Hidden Gem Django Libraries You Should Know About!

These 12 underrated Django libraries can save you hours, improve performance, and add superpowers to your applications.

Pythonworld

06 May 2025 — 6 min read

Take your Django projects to the next level.

12 Hidden Gem Django Libraries You Should Know About!

Django is packed with built-in features, but third-party libraries can take your development to the next level. Here are 12 lesser-known Django libraries that can boost productivity, improve performance, and simplify development!

1. Django Ninja — FastAPI for Django

Why You Need It: If you love Django but want FastAPI-style APIs, Django Ninja is the perfect solution. It provides automatic OpenAPI docs, async support, and type hints.

https://django-ninja.dev/

Installation:

pip install django-ninja

Example:

# urls.py 
from django.contrib import admin 
from django.urls import path 
from ninja import NinjaAPI 
 
api = NinjaAPI() 
@api.get("/add") 
def add(request, a: int, b: int): 
    return {"result": a + b} 
urlpatterns = [ 
    path("admin/", admin.site.urls), 
    path("api/", api.urls), 
]

Use it for: Building high-performance REST APIs in Django.

2. Django Q — Distributed Task Queue

Why You Need It: Need asynchronous background tasks without Celery? Django Q provides a simple, scalable alternative.

https://django-q.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Installation:

pip install django-q

Example:

from django_q.tasks import async_task 
 
async_task("app.tasks.send_email", "user@example.com")

Use it for: Scheduling background tasks without extra dependencies.

3. Django Simple History — Track Model Changes

Why You Need It: Ever wished you could track all changes to your Django models? django-simple-history developed by jazzband lets you do exactly that!

https://django-simple-history.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quick_start.html

Installation:

pip install django-simple-history

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    # ... 
    'simple_history', 
] 
 
MIDDLEWARE = [ 
    # ... 
    'simple_history.middleware.HistoryRequestMiddleware', 
] 
 
# models.py 
from django.db import models 
from simple_history.models import HistoricalRecords 
class Poll(models.Model): 
    question = models.CharField(max_length=200) 
    pub_date = models.DateTimeField('date published') 
    history = HistoricalRecords() 
class Choice(models.Model): 
    poll = models.ForeignKey(Poll) 
    choice_text = models.CharField(max_length=200) 
    votes = models.IntegerField(default=0) 
    history = HistoricalRecords() 
 
# admin.py 
from django.contrib import admin 
from simple_history.admin import SimpleHistoryAdmin 
from .models import Poll, Choice 
admin.site.register(Poll, SimpleHistoryAdmin) 
admin.site.register(Choice, SimpleHistoryAdmin)

Use it for: Audit logging and tracking model changes over time.

4. Django Storages — Handle Media Files Like a Pro

Why You Need It: django-storages makes it easy to store files in AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure.

https://django-storages.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-storages[boto3]

Example (Settings for S3 Storage):

# settings.py 
DEFAULT_FILE_STORAGE = 'storages.backends.s3boto3.S3Boto3Storage' 
AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET_NAME = 'my-bucket'

Use it for: Handling static and media file storage efficiently.

5. Django Extensions — Supercharge Django Management Commands

Why You Need It: Adds powerful shell tools, auto models graphing, and custom management commands.

https://django-extensions.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-extensions

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = ( 
    ... 
    'django_extensions', 
)

python manage.py shell_plus

Use it for: Enhancing Django’s CLI capabilities.

6. Drf-yasg — Auto-Generate Swagger Docs for Django REST Framework

Why You Need It: Need interactive API docs? drf-yasg auto-generates Swagger/OpenAPI documentation.

https://pypi.org/project/drf-yasg/

Installation:

pip install drf-yasg

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
   ... 
   'django.contrib.staticfiles',  # required for serving swagger ui's css/js files 
   'drf_yasg', 
   ... 
] 
 
# urls.py 
from django.urls import re_path 
from rest_framework import permissions 
from drf_yasg.views import get_schema_view 
from drf_yasg import openapi 
schema_view = get_schema_view( 
   openapi.Info( 
      title="Snippets API", 
      default_version='v1', 
      description="Test description", 
      terms_of_service="https://www.google.com/policies/terms/", 
      contact=openapi.Contact(email="contact@snippets.local"), 
      license=openapi.License(name="BSD License"), 
   ), 
   public=True, 
   permission_classes=(permissions.AllowAny,), 
) 
urlpatterns = [ 
   path('swagger<format>/', schema_view.without_ui(cache_timeout=0), name='schema-json'), 
   path('swagger/', schema_view.with_ui('swagger', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-swagger-ui'), 
   path('redoc/', schema_view.with_ui('redoc', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-redoc'), 
]

This exposes 4 endpoints:

A JSON view of your API specification at /swagger.json

A YAML view of your API specification at /swagger.yaml

A swagger-ui view of your API specification at /swagger/

A ReDoc view of your API specification at /redoc/

Use it for: Creating Swagger API documentation effortlessly.

7. Django Import Export — Easily Handle CSV & Excel Data

Why You Need It: Simplifies importing and exporting data in Django Admin with support for CSV, Excel, JSON, and more.

https://django-import-export.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Installation:

pip install django-import-export

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = ( 
    ... 
    'import_export', 
) 
 
# models.py 
class Author(models.Model): 
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100) 
    def __str__(self): 
        return self.name 
 
class Category(models.Model): 
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100) 
    def __str__(self): 
        return self.name 
 
class Book(models.Model): 
    name = models.CharField('Book name', max_length=100) 
    author = models.ForeignKey(Author, blank=True, null=True) 
    author_email = models.EmailField('Author email', max_length=75, blank=True) 
    imported = models.BooleanField(default=False) 
    published = models.DateField('Published', blank=True, null=True) 
    price = models.DecimalField(max_digits=10, decimal_places=2, null=True, blank=True) 
    categories = models.ManyToManyField(Category, blank=True) 
    def __str__(self): 
        return self.name 
 
# admin.py 
from import_export import resources 
from core.models import Book 
class BookResource(resources.ModelResource): 
    class Meta: 
        model = Book

Use it for: Handling large data imports/exports efficiently.

Why You Need It: Visualize SQL queries, cache usage, and performance bottlenecks right in your browser.

https://django-debug-toolbar.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-debug-toolbar

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    "debug_toolbar", 
] 
 
MIDDLEWARE = [ 
    "debug_toolbar.middleware.DebugToolbarMiddleware", 
] 
 
# urls.py 
from django.urls import include, path 
from debug_toolbar.toolbar import debug_toolbar_urls 
urlpatterns = [ 
    # ... the rest of your URLconf goes here ... 
] + debug_toolbar_urls()

Use it for: Debugging slow queries and optimizing Django apps.

9. Django SQL Explorer — Run SQL Queries from Django Admin

Why You Need It: Run SQL queries directly in Django Admin without needing a separate database client.

https://django-sql-explorer.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-sql-explorer

Example:

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    'explorer', 
] 
 
# urls.py 
from django.urls import path, include 
urlpatterns = [ 
    path('explorer/', include('explorer.urls')), 
]

python manage.py migrate

Use it for: Running database queries from Django Admin.

10. Django CORS Headers — Fix CORS Issues Fast

Why You Need It: Need to allow cross-origin requests (CORS) in your Django API? This library makes it easy.

https://pypi.org/project/django-cors-headers/

Installation:

pip install django-cors-headers

Example

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    "corsheaders", 
] 
 
MIDDLEWARE = [ 
    ..., 
    "corsheaders.middleware.CorsMiddleware", 
    "django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware", 
    ..., 
] 
CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS = [ 
    "https://example.com", 
    "https://sub.example.com", 
    "http://localhost:8080", 
    "http://127.0.0.1:9000", 
] 
CORS_ALLOW_METHODS = ( 
    "DELETE", 
    "GET", 
    "OPTIONS", 
    "PATCH", 
    "POST", 
    "PUT", 
) 
CORS_ALLOW_HEADERS = ( 
    "accept", 
    "authorization", 
    "content-type", 
    "user-agent", 
    "x-csrftoken", 
    "x-requested-with", 
)

Use it for: Allowing frontend apps to access your Django API.

11. Django Axes — Prevent Brute-Force Attacks

Why You Need It: django-axes helps protect your login endpoints by blocking repeated failed login attempts.

https://django-axes.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-axes[ipware]  # use django-ipware for resolving client IP addresses OR 
pip install django-axes          # implement and configure custom AXES_CLIENT_IP_CALLABLE

Example

# settings.py  
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    'axes', 
] 
 
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [ 
    # AxesStandaloneBackend should be the first backend in the AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS list. 
    'axes.backends.AxesStandaloneBackend', 
    # Django ModelBackend is the default authentication backend. 
    'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend', 
] 
MIDDLEWARE = [ 
    'axes.middleware.AxesMiddleware', 
]

python manage.py migrate

Use it for: Enhancing security against brute-force attacks.

12. Django Guardian — Fine-Grained Object-Level Permissions

Why You Need It: django-guardian lets you set permissions at the object level, not just the model level.

https://django-guardian.readthedocs.io/en/stable/index.html

Installation:

pip install django-guardian

Example

# settings.py 
INSTALLED_APPS = [ 
    'guardian', 
] 
 
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = ( 
    'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend', # this is default 
    'guardian.backends.ObjectPermissionBackend', 
) 
 
# models.py 
class Task(models.Model): 
    summary = models.CharField(max_length=32) 
    content = models.TextField() 
    reported_by = models.ForeignKey(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE) 
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True) 
    class Meta: 
        # assigned new permissions 
        permissions = ( 
            ('assign_task', 'Assign task'), 
        ) 
 
# views.py 
from django.contrib.auth.models import User 
from guardian.shortcuts import assign_perm 
def index(request): 
  boss = User.objects.create(username='Big Boss') 
  joe = User.objects.create(username='joe') 
  task = Task.objects.create(summary='Some job', content='', reported_by=boss) 
  joe.has_perm('assign_task', task) # output - False 
  # use assign_perm function to assign the permission 
  assign_perm('assign_task', joe, task) 
   
  joe.has_perm('assign_task', task) # output - True

Use it for: Managing per-user or per-group permissions dynamically.

Final Thoughts

Django has an extensive ecosystem, but these 12 hidden gem libraries can help you optimize performance, improve security, and streamline development.

Which one do you find most useful? Let me know in the comments!

Take your Django projects to the next level.

12 Hidden Gem Django Libraries You Should Know About!

1. Django Ninja — FastAPI for Django

Installation:

Example:

2. Django Q — Distributed Task Queue

Installation:

Example:

3. Django Simple History — Track Model Changes

Installation:

Example:

4. Django Storages — Handle Media Files Like a Pro

Installation:

Example (Settings for S3 Storage):

5. Django Extensions — Supercharge Django Management Commands

Installation:

Example:

6. Drf-yasg — Auto-Generate Swagger Docs for Django REST Framework

Installation:

Example:

7. Django Import Export — Easily Handle CSV & Excel Data

Installation:

Example:

8. Django Debug Toolbar — Debug SQL Queries Like a Pro

Installation:

Example:

9. Django SQL Explorer — Run SQL Queries from Django Admin

Installation:

Example:

10. Django CORS Headers — Fix CORS Issues Fast

Installation:

Example

11. Django Axes — Prevent Brute-Force Attacks

Installation:

Example

12. Django Guardian — Fine-Grained Object-Level Permissions

Installation:

Example

Final Thoughts

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