I'm working on a Django project and encountering an issue with Django authentication. Here's my current implementation:

# models.py
from django.db import models

class UserProfile(models.Model):
    user = models.OneToOneField(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    bio = models.TextField()
    
# Signal handler
@receiver(post_save, sender=User)
def create_profile(sender, instance, created, **kwargs):
    if created:
        UserProfile.objects.create(user=instance)

The specific error I'm getting is: "django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured: The SECRET_KEY setting must not be empty"

I've already tried the following approaches:

• Checked Django documentation and Stack Overflow
• Verified my database schema and migrations
• Added debugging prints to trace the issue
• Tested with different data inputs

Environment details:

• Django version: 5.0.1
• Python version: 3.11.0
• Database: PostgreSQL 15
• Operating system: Windows 11

Has anyone encountered this before? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

The choice between Django signals and overriding save() depends on your use case:

Use save() method when:

• The logic is directly related to the model
• You need to modify the instance before saving
• The operation is essential for data integrity

class Article(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    slug = models.SlugField(unique=True)
    
    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
        if not self.slug:
            self.slug = slugify(self.title)
        super().save(*args, **kwargs)

Use signals when:

• You need decoupled logic
• Multiple models need the same behavior
• You're working with third-party models

from django.db.models.signals import post_save
from django.dispatch import receiver

@receiver(post_save, sender=User)
def create_user_profile(sender, instance, created, **kwargs):
    if created:
        UserProfile.objects.create(user=instance)

To handle Django database transactions properly and avoid data inconsistency, use Django's transaction management:

from django.db import transaction

# Method 1: Decorator
@transaction.atomic
def transfer_money(from_account, to_account, amount):
    from_account.balance -= amount
    from_account.save()
    
    to_account.balance += amount
    to_account.save()

# Method 2: Context manager
def complex_operation():
    with transaction.atomic():
        # All operations in this block are atomic
        user = User.objects.create(username='test')
        profile = UserProfile.objects.create(user=user)
        # If any operation fails, all are rolled back

For more complex scenarios with savepoints:

def nested_transactions():
    with transaction.atomic():
        # Outer transaction
        user = User.objects.create(username='test')
        
        try:
            with transaction.atomic():
                # Inner transaction (savepoint)
                risky_operation()
        except Exception:
            # Inner transaction rolled back, outer continues
            handle_error()

This Django error typically occurs when you're trying to save a model instance that violates a unique constraint. Here's how to handle it properly:

from django.db import IntegrityError
from django.http import JsonResponse

try:
    user = User.objects.create(
        username=username,
        email=email
    )
except IntegrityError as e:
    if 'username' in str(e):
        return JsonResponse({'error': 'Username already exists'}, status=400)
    elif 'email' in str(e):
        return JsonResponse({'error': 'Email already exists'}, status=400)
    else:
        return JsonResponse({'error': 'Data integrity error'}, status=400)

Always use get_or_create() when you want to avoid duplicates:

user, created = User.objects.get_or_create(
    username=username,
    defaults={'email': email, 'first_name': first_name}
)