Follow these steps to launch the application locally:

✅ STEP 1: Download or Clone the Project

Option A: If you have a ZIP file

1. Extract it to a folder.

2. Open that folder in VS Code:

VS Code → File → Open Folder…

Option B: If using Git clone

git clone https://github.com/username/repository-name.git
cd repository-name
code .

✅ STEP 2: Set Up Virtual Environment

This keeps your project dependencies isolated.

# Create virtual environment (in project folder)
python -m venv venv

# Activate it:
# On Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate

# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

✅ STEP 3: Install Requirements

Most Django projects have a requirements.txt file. Install the packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt

If requirements.txt is missing, you can manually install Django:

pip install django

✅ STEP 4: Configure .env or Settings (If Required)

Some projects require .env files (for secret keys or DB settings).

Check the README or .env.example if present, and create your own .env.

✅ STEP 5: Run Migrations

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

✅ STEP 6: Create Superuser (for Admin Login)

python manage.py createsuperuser

Follow the prompts.

✅ STEP 7: Run the Django Development Server

python manage.py runserver

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your browser.
Use /admin to access the admin panel.

Code Explanation:

📁 1. Models: models.py

This file is empty since Django’s built-in User model is used. There’s no need to create a custom model unless additional fields are required.

🧠 2. Views: views.py

📝 User Registration

def registerPage(request):
if request.user.is_authenticated:
return redirect('home')
else:
form = CreateUserForm()
if request.method == 'POST':
form = CreateUserForm(request.POST)
if form.is_valid():
form.save()
return redirect('login')
return render(request, 'register.html', {'form': form})

Displays a registration form using CreateUserForm.

If the form is valid and submitted, a new user is saved.

🔑 Login View

def loginPage(request):
if request.user.is_authenticated:
return redirect('home')
else:
if request.method == 'POST':
username = request.POST.get('username')
password = request.POST.get('password')

user = authenticate(request, username=username, password=password)

if user is not None:
login(request, user)
return redirect('home')
return render(request, 'login.html')

Authenticates credentials using Django’s authenticate() function.

If valid, login() logs the user in and redirects to the home page.

🚪 Logout

def logoutUser(request):
logout(request)
return redirect('login')

Logs out the current user using Django’s logout() function.

🏠 Home View (Protected)

@login_required(login_url='login')
def home(request):
return render(request, 'home.html')

Uses the @login_required decorator to restrict access to authenticated users.

📄 3. Forms: forms.py

from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm
from django.contrib.auth.models import User

class CreateUserForm(UserCreationForm):
class Meta:
model = User
fields = ['username', 'email', 'password1', 'password2']

Extends UserCreationForm to include email in addition to username and passwords.

🗺 4. URLs: urls.py

urlpatterns = [
path('', views.home, name='home'),
path('register/', views.registerPage, name='register'),
path('login/', views.loginPage, name='login'),
path('logout/', views.logoutUser, name='logout'),
]

Routes to each view: home, login, register, logout.

🎨 5. Templates:

Includes:

register.html – signup form

login.html – login form

home.html – welcome page for authenticated users