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This guide will walk you through setting up the SMS project for local development.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
  • Python 3.12+
  • PostgreSQL 15+ (Docker recommended)
  • Redis (Optional for dev, required for production/caching tasks)
  • Git

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Step-by-Step Installation

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Step 1: Clone the repository

First, clone the project to your local machine: 
git clone <repository-url>
cd sms

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Step 2: Set up PostgreSQL (Docker method)

The easiest way to get the database running is via Docker: 
docker run --name postgres-dev \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=devdb \
  -e POSTGRES_USER=devuser \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=devpass \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  -d postgres:15

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Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment

Set up a Python virtual environment to isolate project dependencies: 
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
Install the required dependencies: 
pip install -r requirements.txt

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Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

The project uses .env.dev for local development. Copy the example file: 
cp .env.example .env.dev
Make sure the DATABASE_URL in .env.dev matches the credentials used in your PostgreSQL setup (postgres://devuser:devpass@localhost:5432/devdb).

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Step 5: Database Migrations

Because the system uses django-tenants, you must migrate the public schema first, then the tenant schemas. 
# Make migrations for the apps
python manage.py makemigrations authentication
python manage.py makemigrations clients
python manage.py makemigrations core
python manage.py makemigrations

# Apply migrations
python manage.py migrate_schemas --shared
python manage.py migrate_schemas

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Step 6: Create the Public Tenant

For the multi-tenant system to work, you must create a public tenant which acts as the main routing domain: 
python manage.py create_tenant
Follow the interactive prompts to set the domain (e.g., localhost) and name.

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Step 7: Run the Server

Start the Django development server: 
python manage.py runserver
You can now navigate to http://localhost:8000 to interact with the API or admin portal!