Top 50 Technical Django Interview Questions for 2026

People predict that AI will take more jobs in 2026 than ever. But we developers know this is not going to happen. While the demand for some technologies is slowing down, Python continues to grow, mainly because AI itself is built on Python.

With Python’s growth, Django remains one of the most in-demand backend frameworks for building secure, scalable, and AI-powered web applications. But companies now expect candidates applying for Django roles to understand real-world architecture, performance, and deployment.

That’s why Django interviews in 2026 are more technical than ever. This guide covers the top 50 technical Django interview questions for 2026 to help you prepare with confidence.

Django Interview Questions Index

1. Explain the Model Template View (MTV) architecture pattern in Django

Django uses the Model Template View architecture, which is a variation of the common Model View Controller pattern. In Django, the Model handles the database interaction and data structure. The Template manages the presentation and how the data is displayed to the user (the user interface). The View contains the main business logic and decides which data to fetch from the Model and which Template to render. Django itself handles the role of the Controller implicitly, directing requests based on the URL and managing the flow between the Model and the Template. This design leads to loosely coupled components, making development simpler and faster.

2. What is the key difference between a Django project and a Django app?

A Django project is the entire framework setup, acting as the container for configuration and settings. It includes the settings.py file and the main URL configuration (urls.py). A Django app is a smaller, self-contained module meant to perform a specific task, such as a blog or a user management system. Apps are reusable and can be installed into different projects. A single project can, and usually does, contain multiple apps.

3. What are the critical roles of the settings dot py file?

The settings.py file is the central configuration hub for the entire Django project. It manages project-wide configurations like which applications are installed, which Middleware classes are active, and how URLs are routed. It also defines crucial security settings, such as Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protection and session management, as well as the connections details for any databases we plan to use, providing flexibility to work with different types of databases.

4. How does the URL dispatcher work to route an incoming request?

Django’s URL dispatcher is responsible for matching the incoming web request to the correct view function that will process it. It looks at the URL patterns defined in the urls.py file of the project and its included apps. When a request comes in, the dispatcher attempts to match the requested URL path against these defined patterns. If a match is found, the corresponding view function is called, and any parameters included in the URL are passed along to that function for processing.

5. Describe the use of Middleware in Django

Middleware is a framework of hooks that allows us to modify the request and response processing globally in a Django application. Middleware components sit between the web server and the view layer, executing specific code during various stages of the request and response cycle. This is useful for implementing features that affect every request, such as session management, user authentication, security protections like CSRF, or compression, allowing global customization of how data is handled.

6. What is the function of the manage.py file?

The manage.py file is a command-line utility that Django creates automatically in every project. It provides a bridge for interacting with the project in various ways, such as starting the development server, running database migrations, creating new apps, and running tests. It acts as a wrapper around the django-admin tool, ensuring the commands are executed within the correct project environment.

Namespaced URLs help us organize URL patterns, especially when a project uses multiple apps that might have views with the same name, for example, a ‘detail’ view for a blog and a ‘detail’ view for products. By using URL namespaces, we can uniquely identify the URL we want to reference. This avoids conflicts and makes the application more modular, especially when using the {% url %} template tag to reverse lookup a URL, ensuring the application points to the correct place.

8. Explain the concept of context in Django templates

Context in Django refers to a dictionary-like object that holds variables that we want to pass from a Django view function to a template for rendering. When the view finishes processing data, it prepares this context and sends it to the template engine. The template then uses this context to display dynamic content, allowing the template to access and show information like lists of blog posts, user names, or dates.

9. What are template tags and filters, and how do they differ?

Django Template Language (DTL) uses tags and filters to manage presentation logic. Tags, indicated by {% tag %}, are control structures that perform complex logic, such as loops ({% for %}), conditional statements ({% if %}), and inheritance ({% extends %}). Filters, indicated by {{ variable | filter }}, are simple functions applied to a variable’s value to modify or format it, such as changing text to lowercase or formatting a date.

10. What is the purpose of the static files framework in Django?

The static files framework in Django manages files that do not change during the application’s run time, such as CSS stylesheets, JavaScript files, and images. In a production environment, Django does not serve these files itself for performance reasons. Instead, the framework helps collect all static assets from various apps into one location defined by the STATIC_ROOT setting, allowing a dedicated and faster web server like Nginx or Apache to serve them directly.

11. What is the definition of a model in Django?

A model in Django is a Python class that defines the structure and behavior of data stored in the application’s database. It inherits from django.db.models.Model. Each model represents a single database table, and the attributes defined within the class (the fields) represent the columns in that table. Models are the core component of the Django Object Relational Mapping (ORM) system, allowing us to interact with the database using Python code instead of raw SQL.

12. What specific actions do the makemigrations and migrate commands perform?

The python manage.py makemigrations command scans all model files in our installed apps and detects any changes we have made to the model structure, such as adding a new field or changing a field type. It then creates corresponding migration files, which are Python scripts containing the instructions needed to change the database schema, but it does not apply these changes yet. The python manage.py migrate command then takes those waiting migration files and applies the SQL instructions they contain to the actual database, creating or updating the tables as necessary.

13. How does a OneToOneField differ from a regular ForeignKey?

A ForeignKey field defines a many-to-one relationship, meaning that many instances of one model can be related to a single instance of another model, for example, many blog posts linking to one author. A OneToOneField is similar to a ForeignKey, but it enforces uniqueness, ensuring that only one instance of the related model can link back, essentially creating a one-to-one relationship. This is often used for extending a built-in model, such as linking a Profile model to the standard User model.

14. Explain how a reverse relationship lookup works when using a ForeignKey

When we define a ForeignKey relationship from Model B to Model A, Django automatically creates a reverse relationship manager on Model A. This allows us to access all related instances of Model B from an instance of Model A. By default, this reverse manager is named using the lowercase name of Model B followed by _set, such as author.post_set.all() to retrieve all posts written by a specific author.

15. What are the benefits of squashing migrations?

Migration squashing is an advanced command that combines many small, historical migration files into a single, consolidated migration file. This process does not change the database schema itself, but it reduces the overall number of migration files in the project’s history. The primary benefits are improving the efficiency of the migration process, especially when setting up a new development environment or deploying a long-running project, and keeping the migration directory clean and organized.

16. What does the on_delete argument mean for ForeignKeys?

The on_delete argument is mandatory when defining a ForeignKey and it specifies what action Django should take when the object referenced by the foreign key is deleted. Common options include CASCADE, which deletes the object containing the foreign key as well; PROTECT, which prevents deletion of the referenced object; or SET_NULL, which sets the foreign key to null, provided the field allows null values.

17. Explain the purpose of the Meta class within a Django Model

The inner Meta class within a Django model is used to define metadata, which is information about the model that is not related to any specific field. This is where we specify options like the default ordering of query results, the verbose name of the model, database table names, and access permissions. It helps us control how the model behaves and is represented throughout the application, including the Django admin interface.

18. What is the difference between null=True and blank=True in a model field?

null=True is a database-related setting that allows the database column to store null values, meaning no data. This is important for fields that are optional in the database. blank=True is a validation-related setting that allows the field to be left empty in forms and the Django admin interface. These two settings can be used together, but they address different concerns: blank affects input validation, and null affects database storage.

19. How do we customize the built-in Django admin interface for a model?

We customize the Django admin interface by registering the model in the corresponding admin.py file within the app. Instead of just registering the model directly, we define an ModelAdmin class that inherits from admin.ModelAdmin. This class allows us to specify options such as which fields to display in the list view, how to search and filter data, and how the edit forms are laid out.

20. Describe a safe approach for migrating a field’s data type (for example, CharField to IntegerField) without data loss in production

Changing a field’s data type directly in a migration can lead to data loss or errors, especially on large production databases. A safer, multi-step approach is recommended. First, we add a new field with the desired data type (IntegerField). Second, we write a custom data migration (a Python script) that iterates through all existing objects and safely converts the data from the old CharField into the new IntegerField. Third, once the data transfer is complete and verified, we remove the old CharField in a subsequent migration, completing the transition without any downtime or data loss. This demonstrates a careful approach to production data management.

21. What does Object Relational Mapping (ORM) mean in the context of Django?

Object Relational Mapping (ORM) is a technique that lets us query and manipulate data in a database using an object-oriented paradigm. In Django, the ORM maps Python classes, called models, to database tables. Instead of writing raw SQL, we use Python code to interact with these models, and the ORM handles the complex task of translating our Python calls into efficient SQL queries. This simplifies development, improves code maintainability, and makes our code more portable across different database systems.

22. How does lazy evaluation affect QuerySets?

Lazy evaluation is a core concept of Django QuerySets. It means that when we create a QuerySet, such as filtering or ordering data, Django does not hit the database immediately. The database query is only executed when the QuerySet is actually evaluated or needed, for example, when we iterate over the results, slice the list, or call a specific method like list() or count(). While this is generally good for efficiency, allowing us to combine multiple filters before execution, it is also the root cause of the N+1 query problem if we access related data in a loop without proper optimization.

Both select_related and prefetch_related are methods used for optimization, often called eager loading, which prevents the N+1 query problem by loading related objects in the initial query. However, their mechanism is fundamentally different.

select_related works by performing a single, complex SQL JOIN operation at the database level. It is best used for retrieving relationships that return only a single object, such as ForeignKey or OneToOneField relationships.

prefetch_related performs a separate lookup for each related group of objects and then performs the joining in Python memory. It is ideal for relationships that return a collection of objects, like ManyToManyField or reverse ForeignKey lookups. The choice between the two depends entirely on the type of relationship being accessed.

24. How do Q objects allow complex lookups in the ORM?

Q objects in the Django ORM allow us to construct complex database queries using logical operators like AND (&), OR (|), and NOT (~). Normally, when we pass multiple arguments to a filter() call, Django combines them using AND. By using Q objects, we can build dynamic queries that involve OR conditions, such as finding records where the title matches ‘A’ OR the description matches ‘B’. This capability is essential for implementing sophisticated search functionality.

25. When should we use F expressions instead of Python operations?

We should use F expressions when we need to perform operations directly on database fields rather than using Python to manipulate data that has already been pulled from the database. For example, if we need to increase the value of a ‘hits’ counter field by one, we use an F expression to tell the database to update the value relative to its current state. Using F expressions is highly efficient because it avoids race conditions and prevents unnecessary database reads and writes, performing the calculation entirely within the database.

26. What is a QuerySet and what are its key properties?

A QuerySet represents a collection of database queries, and it is the fundamental unit for interacting with the ORM. Its key properties are that it is iterable, meaning we can loop through it to access model instances, and it is lazy, meaning the database is not queried until the data is explicitly needed. Additionally, QuerySets are chainable, allowing us to stack multiple methods like filter(), exclude(), and order_by() to refine the query before it is finally executed.

27. What is a custom model manager and why might we define one?

By default, every Django model has a manager called objects that we use to run database queries. A custom model manager is defined by inheriting from models.Manager and is used to create reusable, complex, or application-specific query methods. For example, instead of writing Post.objects.filter(status=’published’) repeatedly, we can define a custom manager with a method called Post.objects.published(). This centralizes our query logic, making the code cleaner, more readable, and easier to maintain.

28. How do we obtain the raw SQL query that the ORM is generating?

To debug or optimize performance, we sometimes need to see the exact SQL query Django’s ORM is executing. We can obtain the raw SQL string from any executed QuerySet by accessing its query attribute and converting it to a string using str(queryset.query). This is an essential tool for identifying why a certain query might be running slowly in the database.

29. Explain how Django can support multiple databases

Django supports using multiple databases within a single project through its database routing feature. We define the configuration for each database in the project’s settings file. We then use a custom database router class to determine which database should be used for read and write operations for specific apps or models. This setup is common when we need to separate analytical data from transactional data or when dealing with legacy systems. We must consider issues like data consistency and cross-database constraints when implementing this feature.

30. Describe two ways we can handle transactional integrity in Django

Transactional integrity ensures that a series of database operations either all succeed or all fail together, preventing data corruption. Two common ways to handle this in Django are using atomic blocks and the transaction.on_commit hook. The atomic block, provided by django.db.transaction.atomic(), creates a database transaction. If any code inside the block fails or raises an exception, all database operations within that block are rolled back. The on_commit hook is used for actions that must only happen if the current transaction is successful, such as sending emails or updating a cache, ensuring those actions are not executed if the primary database change fails.

31. What are the pros and cons of Function Based Views (FBVs) compared to Class Based Views (CBVs)?

Function Based Views (FBVs) are simpler and more explicit, all the logic is written directly within a single function. This makes them easy to read, understand, and use for small or simple views. But they often lead to repeated code (code duplication) for common tasks like handling form submission or retrieving a list of objects. Class Based Views (CBVs) organize logic into class methods, providing structure and promoting reusability through inheritance and mixins. They are better suited for complex views and provide a more object-oriented approach. There is no single “better” choice; the decision should be made based on the complexity and reusability requirements of the specific view.

32. Explain the primary function of the django.shortcuts.render function

The django.shortcuts.render function is a convenience function that simplifies the common task of loading a template, filling it with context data, and returning an HttpResponse object. When a view is executed, it uses render to gather the request object, the name of the template file, and the context dictionary containing the data. The function then processes the template, inserts the context variables, and wraps the resulting HTML output into the standard response object that is sent back to the user’s browser.

33. How does Django handle variable lookup order within the template language?

When the Django Template Language (DTL) encounters a variable like {{ object.attribute }}, it follows a specific dot-lookup order to find the value. First, it attempts a dictionary lookup, checking if object is a dictionary and if attribute is a key within it. If that fails, it tries an attribute lookup, checking if object has a method or property named attribute. If that also fails, it checks for a list-index lookup. This flexible system allows the template to access data structures, properties, or even methods (like object.choice_set.all()) passed from the view.

34. When would we choose to implement an asynchronous view in Django?

We choose to implement an asynchronous view when the work involved is I/O-bound, meaning the view spends a lot of time waiting for external operations to complete, rather than performing calculations. Examples include making calls to external Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), handling real-time WebSockets via Django Channels, or streaming large files as a response. Using async views in these scenarios allows the server to handle other incoming requests while waiting, significantly improving overall concurrency and scalability.

35. What is the key pitfall to watch for when using async views, especially with the ORM?

The critical pitfall is that the core Django ORM and many third-party packages are synchronous. If we call a synchronous ORM method (like Post.objects.all()) directly inside an asynchronous view, it will block the entire thread, negating the performance benefits of using async. To safely use the ORM or any synchronous code inside an async view, we must explicitly wrap the synchronous code using the sync_to_async helper function and ensure we await the result.

36. Describe the Django request and response lifecycle

The Django lifecycle begins when an HTTP request is received by the server. The request first passes through the Django environment, where any activated Middleware components process it. Next, the URL dispatcher matches the request URL to a specific view function. The view function executes the primary logic, interacting with the models (ORM) if necessary, and determines the final output. This output, usually a rendered template or JSON data, is wrapped in an HttpResponse object. This response object then passes back through the Middleware, allowing final modifications (like compression or logging), before being sent back to the client.

37. What is the role of the {% include %} template tag?

The {% include %} template tag allows us to load content from one template file and render it with the current context inside another template. This is a core feature for creating modular and reusable template components, such as headers, footers, navigation bars, or small data snippets. By breaking the display into smaller files, we make our templates cleaner and easier to maintain.

38. How do we ensure a user must be logged in to access a Function Based View?

We use the built-in @login_required decorator, which is imported from django.contrib.auth.decorators. We place this decorator immediately above the definition of the function based view. If an unauthenticated user attempts to access the view, the decorator redirects them to the login page defined in the project settings, ensuring that the view’s business logic is only executed for authorized users.

39. Why might permanent redirection (HTTP 301) not always be the best option?

Permanent redirection uses the HTTP 301 status code, which tells the client (browser or search engine) that the requested resource has moved permanently. The problem is that browsers and search engines heavily cache 301 redirects. If the resource location changes again, or if the redirect was configured incorrectly, it can be very difficult for users or search engines to find the new, correct location because the 301 status is treated as authoritative and long-lasting. Temporary redirection (HTTP 302) is safer for non-permanent moves.

40. How do we pass URL parameters (variables) to a view function?

URL parameters are defined within the path() function in the urls.py file, usually using converters like <int:pk> or <str:slug>. When the URL dispatcher matches an incoming URL, it extracts the values corresponding to these converters. These extracted values are then automatically passed as keyword arguments to the corresponding view function, allowing the view to use these values, for example, to fetch a specific object from the database using the primary key (pk).

41. What are Django Signals and how do they decouple applications?

Django Signals are a communication mechanism that allows different parts of an application to notify each other when certain actions or events occur, in a loosely coupled way. They operate on a publisher-subscriber pattern: a sender (publisher) sends a signal, and one or more receivers (subscribers) execute a function when that signal is received. This is very useful for decoupling, for instance, running a logging operation or clearing a cache every time a model is saved, without the model having explicit knowledge of the receiver’s code.

42. List two common security protections built into Django

Django is known for its “batteries-included” approach to security, offering built-in protections against common web vulnerabilities. Two important built-in protections are:

Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Protection: Django includes middleware that prevents attackers from submitting unauthorized requests from a different site by requiring a secret token in all POST, PUT, and DELETE requests.
SQL Injection Protection: The Django ORM automatically handles the sanitization of data when building database queries, meaning we do not have to manually escape user-provided values. This abstraction prevents most common SQL injection attacks.

43. Describe different strategies for caching content in a Django application

Django offers several caching strategies to improve performance by reducing database load and computation time. We can choose from different cache backends like Memcached, Redis, or local file systems. Strategies include:

Per-Site Caching: Caching the entire output of the site for every request, which is often done through Middleware.
Per-View Caching: Caching the output of specific view functions that are computationally expensive but change infrequently.
Template Fragment Caching: Using template tags to cache small, dynamic parts of a template, like a sidebar or navigation menu, while leaving the rest of the page dynamic.
Low-Level Caching: Directly using the cache Application Programming Interface (API) in our Python code to store and retrieve specific, expensive calculation results.

44. Explain the difference between Model signals like pre_save and post_save

Model signals are built-in signals that fire automatically during the lifecycle of a model instance. The difference lies in their timing: pre_save is emitted immediately before a model instance’s save() method is called and the data is written to the database. post_save is emitted immediately after the save() method is called and the data has been successfully committed to the database. This distinction is crucial because if we need to modify the data being saved, we must use pre_save. If we need the saved object (including its primary key) for a follow-up action, we use post_save.

45. How would you implement rate limiting for an API endpoint in Django?

Rate limiting restricts the number of requests a user or client can make to an endpoint within a given time period, preventing abuse and protecting resources. A common way to implement this in Django is to use a third-party package, often within Django REST Framework, or by writing custom Middleware that interacts with the caching system. The Middleware would track the request count for a given user or IP address over a time window. If the count exceeds the defined limit, the Middleware stops the request and returns an HTTP 429 “Too Many Requests” status code.

46. What is the role of the ALLOWED_HOSTS setting in production, and why is it important?

The ALLOWED_HOSTS setting is a crucial security measure that defines a list of hostnames or IP addresses that the Django project is allowed to serve. This is only enforced when Django is running with DEBUG = False (in production). If an incoming request has a Host header that is not in this list, Django will refuse to process the request. This prevents a common attack known as HTTP Host header attacks, where an attacker manipulates the host header to redirect traffic or steal cookies.

47. What is serialization in Django, and why is it needed for modern web services?

Serialization is the process of translating complex data types, such as Django model instances and QuerySets, into native Python data types that can be easily rendered into standard web formats like JSON or XML. It is necessary for modern web services because web clients (like JavaScript frontends or mobile apps) need data in a universally readable format to function. When building APIs, we use serializers (often from Django REST Framework) to validate incoming data and to convert outgoing QuerySets into structured, transportable formats.

48. How can we use the ifchanged template tag to optimize rendering?

The {% ifchanged %} template tag is used to check if a specific value has changed from the previous iteration within a loop. If the value has changed, the content inside the tag block is rendered, otherwise, it can be skipped or an optional {% else %} clause can be displayed. We use this for optimization when displaying long lists, for example, showing the date only once when grouping posts by date, avoiding unnecessary repetition and reducing the size of the final rendered HTML.

49. Why is it important to define a custom user model even if we currently only need the default fields?

It is considered best practice to define a custom user model (AbstractUser or AbstractBaseUser) at the very beginning of a project, even if we only need the default fields. This is because changing the user model later, once the database contains actual user data and related ForeignKeys, is extremely difficult and highly disruptive, requiring complex data migrations. By starting with a custom model, we ensure future flexibility, allowing us to easily add unique fields (like a phone number or custom permissions) later without requiring major database surgery.

50. If we discover a bottleneck in our application, what are the initial steps we should take to optimize performance?

The initial steps involve careful measurement and analysis before making changes. First, we must use profiling tools, such as the Django Debug Toolbar or django-silk, to precisely identify the source of the slowdown. Often, the bottleneck is traced back to the database. We would then review the slow queries, looking for opportunities to use select_related or prefetch_related to eliminate N+1 issues. If the bottleneck is non-database related, we look at implementing strategic caching for expensive view output or template fragments, or optimizing CPU-intensive tasks using asynchronous programming if the task is I/O-bound.

Conclusion

Uff… these 50 questions feel crazy hard to remember, right? But trust me, you are not the only one. But you don’t need to memorise everything. You just need to know the concepts behind each question. Once you understand the logic behind these Django interview questions, you will be able to create answers on your own.

If you still need a helping hand, I have linked some core Django fundamentals below:

You can go through these tutorials in less than an hour and then come back to these questions. I am confident you will be able to answer them easily.