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The SMS system is built on Django and uses a distinct multi-tenant architecture allowing a single application instance to serve multiple clients (schools) while ensuring strict data isolation.

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Multi-Tenancy

We use django-tenants to implement multi-tenancy at the database schema level.
  • Public Schema: Contains shared global data like Client, Domain, and global settings. Access is made via the main domain (e.g., example.com).
  • Tenant Schemas: Each school gets its own schema (e.g., school_a, school_b). All specific data (students, classes, attendances) is stored inside the tenant schema, entirely separated from others. Access is routed via subdomains (e.g., school_a.example.com).
When making queries or performing operations programmatically, you must execute them within the context of a tenant schema using with tenant: or let the middleware handle it automatically based on the incoming request domain.

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Request Flow

  1. Client Request: A request is dispatched to a URL (e.g., https://school.sms.local/api/core/students/).
  2. Tenant Middleware: Django intercepts the request, checks the hostname (school.sms.local), looks up the Domain in the public schema, and maps it to a unique Client tenant.
  3. Schema Routing: The connection schema search path is updated SET search_path TO school, public.
  4. View Processing: The request is routed to the view. Any database ORM queries transparently hit the school schema.

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Key Subsystems

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Clients Module

Handles the creation, modification, and management of Tenants and their Domains.

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Core Module

The main business logic container for schools. Manages:
  • Academic Info: Sessions, Terms, Classes, and Forms.
  • Student Data: Bios, Admissions, Demographics.
  • Grades & Attendance: Subject assignments, tracking sheets.

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Chatbot Module

A micro-architecture inside the main app that interfaces with WhatsApp API.
  • Listens to incoming webhooks.
  • Routes messages using a state-machine or LLM integration to answer student queries dynamically.
  • Uses Celery/Redis to process incoming messages asynchronously to ensure high availability.