Django Hello World is a starter template that deploys a Django application on Vercel as Serverless Functions using the Python Runtime.
What is Django Hello World?
Django Hello World is a minimal Django starter from Vercel's examples repository. It takes a standard Django project with a manage.py file and configures it to run on Vercel's serverless infrastructure, producing a deployed web application at a public URL. It runs on Vercel using the Python Runtime and is maintained by Vercel as part of the vercel/examples collection.
Key Features
- Serverless Functions — Runs Django through Vercel's Python Runtime, scaling each request as a serverless function.
- Automatic WSGI detection — Vercel reads
manage.pyto locate the WSGI entrypoint and static file configuration. - One-click deploy — A deploy button clones the repository and prompts for the
DJANGO_SECRET_KEYenvironment variable. - Local development with uv — Use
uv syncanduv run python manage.py runserverto serve the app atlocalhost:8000. - Live demo — A hosted instance is available at https://django-template.vercel.app/.
- Environment variable setup — Requires
DJANGO_SECRET_KEYfor cryptographic signing; a command is provided to generate one.
Who is it for?
- Django developers who want to test deployment on Vercel without configuring a legacy server.
- Python developers learning serverless deployment patterns, since the template shows how the WSGI app maps to serverless functions.
- Teams starting new projects who need a minimal Django foundation that already works on Vercel.
What can you do with Django Hello World?
- Deploy a Django app in minutes: Click the Vercel Deploy button, set the secret key, and get a live URL that handles HTTP requests via serverless functions.
- Use as a project skeleton: Clone the repo locally, run it with uv, and start adding Django apps, models, and views while keeping the Vercel configuration intact.
How does Django Hello World work?
Vercel detects the presence of manage.py in the project and uses that to find the WSGI entrypoint and static file configuration. When a request arrives, Vercel invokes the Django application as a Python serverless function. For local development, the template uses uv sync to install dependencies and uv run python manage.py runserver to start Django at http://localhost:8000.
FAQ
Does Django Hello World require a special Vercel configuration file?
No. The template relies on Vercel's automatic detection of manage.py to configure the serverless function, so no separate vercel.json is included in the source.
What is DJANGO_SECRET_KEY and why is it needed?
Django uses a secret key for cryptographic signing of cookies and other data. Vercel requires you to set this as an environment variable during deployment; the template provides a one-line command to generate a random key for production.
Can I use this template with an existing Django project?
The template is a minimal starter, but you can replicate its structure. Since Vercel detects manage.py, any standard Django project with a WSGI entrypoint should deploy in a similar way.
