Prefab

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Getting started ​

How to bootstrap a new project using Prefab as a foundation.

1. Create the project settings ​

Create a settings file that imports from Prefab and extends it:

python
# myproject/settings/base.py
from prefab.settings.base import *

PROJECT_NAME = 'myproject'
PROJECT_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '../')

BASE_DOMAIN = 'example.com'
SITE_NAME = 'My Project'
SITE_URL = 'https://%s' % BASE_DOMAIN
SITE_EMAIL = 'hello@%s' % BASE_DOMAIN
SITE_SLOGAN = 'Tagline here'

ROOT_URLCONF = 'myproject.urls'

STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(PROJECT_PATH, '../static')
STATICFILES_DIRS = (os.path.join(PROJECT_PATH, 'assets'),)
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(PROJECT_PATH, '../media')

INSTALLED_APPS += [
    'myproject',
    'myproject.apps.myapp',
]
python
# myproject/settings/development.py
from myproject.settings.base import *
from prefab.settings.development import *
python
# myproject/settings/production.py
from myproject.settings.base import *
from prefab.settings.production import *

See prefab/settings/example.py for a full reference settings file.

2. Create the URL configuration ​

Prefab's prefab.urls provides a base URL configuration you can include or use as a reference. A typical project wires it like this:

python
# myproject/urls.py
from prefab.urls import urlpatterns  # includes admin, account, webhooks, health

from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns += [
    path('', include('myproject.apps.pages.urls')),
]

Pre-wired routes (from prefab.urls):

URLDescription
admin/django/Django built-in admin
admin/Prefab admin2 dashboard
account/Accounts app (login, register, etc.)
webhooks/Webhooks app
robots.txtRobots template
healthz/Health check endpoint

3. Set up the Dockerfile ​

Inherit from the Prefab Docker image. The ONBUILD instructions in the Prefab image automatically:

  • Copy your requirements.txt and install it (build stage)
  • Copy your project files into /app/ (runtime stage)
  • Copy all compiled Python packages and binaries from the build stage
dockerfile
ARG PREFAB_VERSION=latest
FROM registry.gitlab.com/baksteen/prefab:${PREFAB_VERSION}

If your project has additional native build dependencies, extend the build stage:

dockerfile
FROM registry.gitlab.com/baksteen/prefab:${PREFAB_VERSION} AS build

RUN apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends my-build-dep

FROM registry.gitlab.com/baksteen/prefab:${PREFAB_VERSION}

4. Set up docker-compose for local development ​

yaml
# docker-compose.yml
volumes:
  postgres:

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: myproject
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
    volumes:
      - postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  redis:
    image: redis
  web:
    build: .
    environment:
      DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: myproject.settings.development
    command: python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
    volumes:
      - .:/app
    ports:
      - 8000:8000
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis

5. Run migrations and create a superuser ​

bash
make migrations
make superuser

Or directly:

bash
docker compose run --rm web python manage.py migrate
docker compose run --rm web python manage.py createsuperuser

6. Optional apps ​

Enable additional Prefab apps by adding them to INSTALLED_APPS:

python
INSTALLED_APPS += [
    'prefab.apps.pages',
    'prefab.apps.blocks',
    'prefab.apps.regions',
    'prefab.apps.forms',
    'prefab.apps.subscriptions',
    'prefab.apps.websites',
]

Each app may require additional URL wiring and migrations — see the individual app READMEs.