Documentation

Tutorial

The new tutorial is now a complete quadrilogy. If you have any feedback, please get in touch using the methods below in Support.

• Part 1: The Basics
• Part 2: Changing Models
• Part 3: Data Migrations
• Part 4: Workflow and Teams

It is intended to be a good reference as well as a tutorial, and contains much new advice, so even more experienced South users will benefit from chapters 2 onwards.

Support

For initial help with problems, see our mailing list, or #django-south on freenode. If you find a real bug, then file a new ticket.

Database API Reference

Please note that we're still adding new methods to the database API. If one you want is still missing and does not have a ticket, please add one.

• db.backend_name

• db.create_table(table_name, fields)
• db.delete_table(table_name, cascade=True)
• db.rename_table(table_name, new_table_name)
• db.clear_table(table_name)

• db.add_column(table_name, field_name, field, keep_default=True)
• db.delete_column(table_name, column_name)
• db.alter_column(table_name, column_name, field, explicit_name=True)
• db.rename_column(table_name, column_name, new_column_name)

• db.create_index(table_name, column_names, unique=False, db_tablespace="")
• db.delete_index(table_name, column_names, db_tablespace="")

• db.create_primary_key?(table_name, columns)
• db.delete_primary_key?(table_name)

• db.create_unique?(table_name, columns)
• db.delete_unique?(table_name, columns)

• db.execute(sql, params=[])
• db.execute_many(sql)

• db.send_create_signal(app_label, model_names)

• db.start_transaction?()
• db.commit_transaction?()
• db.rollback_transaction?()

Other Reference/Explanations

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Converting an app over to South
• Migration Structure, and how to write them
• Dependencies, and how they work
• Database API, how to interact with databases from within migrations
• Command Reference, how to interact with South from the console
• Unit Test Integration, because you're all writing lots of unit tests, like good coders
• ORM Freezing, or how to use the ORM inside migrations (0.5 and up)
• Autodetection of changes to models.py files (0.5 and up)
• Generic Relations, and how they work with South.
• Settings that affect South's behaviour.
• Extending Introspection to add rules for your custom fields, and third-party apps (0.6.2 and up)
• Fixtures and fitting them into your migration structure.