Reactive server-side rendering for Django, powered by Rust
djust brings Phoenix LiveView-style reactive components to Django. You write server-side Python; the client updates automatically over a WebSocket. There is no JavaScript to write, no bundler, and no build step in your project.
djust.org · Documentation · Quick Start · Examples
- Fast — Rust-powered template engine and virtual DOM diffing (10–100x faster than plain Django rendering; see Performance)
- Reactive components — Phoenix LiveView-style server-side reactivity
- Django compatible — works with existing Django templates and components
- No build step — ~55 KB gzipped client JavaScript, no bundling required
- WebSocket updates — real-time DOM patches over WebSocket, with HTTP fallback
- Minimal payloads — diffing sends only what changed
- Rust core — performance-critical paths (templates, VDOM, parsing) are written in Rust
- Debug panel — interactive debugging with event history and VDOM inspection
- Lazy hydration — defer WebSocket connections for below-the-fold content to reduce memory
- TurboNav compatible — works with Turbo-style client-side navigation
- PWA support — offline-first Progressive Web Apps with automatic sync
- Multi-tenant — tenant isolation for SaaS architectures
- Auth — view-level and handler-level authorization via Django permissions
from djust import LiveView, event_handler
class CounterView(LiveView):
template_string = """
<div>
<h1>Count: {{ count }}</h1>
<button dj-click="increment">+</button>
<button dj-click="decrement">-</button>
</div>
"""
def mount(self, request, **kwargs):
self.count = 0
@event_handler
def increment(self):
self.count += 1 # Automatically updates client
@event_handler
def decrement(self):
self.count -= 1No JavaScript needed. State changes trigger minimal DOM updates automatically.
djust uses a Rust-powered virtual DOM (VDOM) to diff server-rendered HTML and send only the changed patches over WebSocket. A few core attributes make everything click.
{% load djust_tags %}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
{% djust_scripts %} {# Loads the client runtime #}
</head>
<body dj-view="{{ dj_view_id }}"> {# Identifies the WebSocket session #}
<div dj-root> {# Reactive boundary — only this is diffed #}
<h1>Count: {{ count }}</h1>
<button dj-click="increment">+</button>
</div>
{# Static content outside dj-root is never touched by VDOM patching #}
</body>
</html>| Attribute | Where | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
{% djust_scripts %} |
<head> |
Injects client JavaScript |
dj-view="{{ dj_view_id }}" |
<body> |
Connects page to WebSocket session |
dj-root |
Inner <div> |
Marks the reactive region; only HTML inside is diffed and patched |
For lists that can reorder or have items inserted/deleted, add data-key or
dj-key on each item. djust uses this to emit MoveChild patches instead of
remove-then-insert pairs, preserving DOM state (focus, scroll position,
animations):
{% for item in items %}
<div data-key="{{ item.id }}">
{{ item.name }}
<button dj-click="delete" data-item-id="{{ item.id }}">Delete</button>
</div>
{% endfor %}Without a key, djust diffs by position — correct, but it produces more DOM mutations for reorders.
Using {% if %} without {% else %} inside an HTML attribute value can cause
VDOM patching misalignment, because of djust's branch-aware div-depth counting:
{# WRONG: one-sided if inside class attribute #}
<div class="card {% if active %}active{% endif %}">
{# CORRECT: use full if/else #}
<div class="card {% if active %}active{% else %}{% endif %}">
{# ALSO CORRECT: move conditional outside the tag #}
{% if active %}
<div class="card active">
{% else %}
<div class="card">
{% endif %}
...
</div>This applies only to attribute values — {% if %} blocks in element content
work fine.
See the VDOM Architecture guide and Template Cheat Sheet for full details.
A complete walkthrough from zero to a working reactive counter in five steps.
pip install djust django-channelsIn myproject/settings.py:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
# ... your existing apps ...
'channels', # WebSocket support
'djust',
]
ASGI_APPLICATION = 'myproject.asgi.application'
CHANNEL_LAYERS = {
'default': {
'BACKEND': 'channels.layers.InMemoryChannelLayer',
}
}Replace myproject/asgi.py with:
import os
from django.core.asgi import get_asgi_application
from channels.routing import ProtocolTypeRouter, URLRouter
from channels.auth import AuthMiddlewareStack
from djust.websocket import LiveViewConsumer
from django.urls import path
os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'myproject.settings')
application = ProtocolTypeRouter({
"http": get_asgi_application(),
"websocket": AuthMiddlewareStack(
URLRouter([
path('ws/live/', LiveViewConsumer.as_asgi()),
])
),
})In myproject/urls.py:
from django.urls import path
from myapp.views import CounterView
urlpatterns = [
path('counter/', CounterView.as_view(), name='counter'),
]myapp/views.py:
from djust import LiveView, event_handler
class CounterView(LiveView):
template_name = 'counter.html'
def mount(self, request, **kwargs):
self.count = 0
@event_handler
def increment(self):
self.count += 1
@event_handler
def decrement(self):
self.count -= 1myapp/templates/counter.html:
{% load djust_tags %}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Counter</title>
{% djust_scripts %}
</head>
<body dj-view="{{ dj_view_id }}">
<div dj-root>
<h1>Count: {{ count }}</h1>
<button dj-click="increment">+</button>
<button dj-click="decrement">-</button>
</div>
</body>
</html>Run with uvicorn myproject.asgi:application --reload and open /counter/.
Clicking the buttons updates the count without a page reload — no JavaScript
written, no build step.
Next steps:
- Template Cheat Sheet — all directives and filters at a glance
- Components Guide — build reusable components with theming
- CSS Framework Guide — Tailwind and Bootstrap integration
- Deployment Guide — production deployment with uvicorn, Redis, and Nginx
Benchmarked on an M1 MacBook Pro (2021):
| Operation | Django | djust | Speedup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template rendering (100 items) | 2.5 ms | 0.15 ms | 16.7x |
| Large list (10k items) | 450 ms | 12 ms | 37.5x |
| Virtual DOM diff | N/A | 0.08 ms | sub-ms |
| Round-trip update | 50 ms | 5 ms | 10x |
Run the benchmarks yourself:
cd benchmarks
python benchmark.py- Python 3.10+
- Django 4.2+
- Rust 1.70+ (only required when building from source)
pip install djust# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/djust-org/djust.git
cd djust
# Install Rust (if needed)
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Install everything and build
make install
# Start the development server
make start
# See all available commands
make helpCommon Make commands:
make start— start development server with hot reloadmake stop— stop the development servermake status— check if the server is runningmake test— run all testsmake clean— clean build artifactsmake help— show all available commands
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/djust-org/djust.git
cd djust
# Install Rust (if needed)
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Install uv (if needed)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
# Create virtual environment and install dependencies
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
# Install maturin and build
uv pip install maturin
maturin develop --release# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/djust-org/djust.git
cd djust
# Install Rust (if needed)
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
# Install maturin
pip install maturin
# Build and install
maturin develop --release
# Or build a wheel
maturin build --release
pip install target/wheels/djust-*.whlThe full documentation lives at docs.djust.org. The sections below cover the core API; see Getting Started above for first-time setup.
from djust import LiveView, event_handler
class TodoListView(LiveView):
template_name = 'todos.html' # Or use template_string
def mount(self, request, **kwargs):
"""Called when view is first loaded"""
self.todos = []
@event_handler
def add_todo(self, text):
"""Event handler — called from client"""
self.todos.append({'text': text, 'done': False})
@event_handler
def toggle_todo(self, index):
self.todos[index]['done'] = not self.todos[index]['done']from djust import live_view
@live_view(template_name='counter.html')
def counter_view(request):
count = 0
def increment():
nonlocal count
count += 1
return locals() # Returns all local variables as contextdjust supports Django template syntax with event binding:
<!-- Variables -->
<h1>{{ title }}</h1>
<!-- Filters (all 57 Django built-in filters supported) -->
<p>{{ text|upper }}</p>
<p>{{ description|truncatewords:20 }}</p>
<a href="?q={{ query|urlencode }}">Search</a>
{{ body|urlize }} {# No |safe needed — djust auto-marks urlize output as safe (see note below) #}
<!-- Control flow -->
{% if show %}
<div>Visible</div>
{% endif %}
{% if count > 10 %}
<div>Many items!</div>
{% endif %}
{% for item in items %}
<li>{{ item }}</li>
{% endfor %}
<!-- URL resolution -->
<a href="{% url 'myapp:detail' pk=item.id %}">View</a>
<!-- Template includes -->
{% include "partials/header.html" %}
<!-- Event binding -->
<button dj-click="increment">Click me</button>
<input dj-input="on_search" type="text" />
<form dj-submit="submit_form">
<input name="email" />
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>Django migration note: In standard Django,
urlizerequires|safeto render its HTML output. djust's Rust template engine automatically marksurlize,urlizetrunc, andunordered_listas safe (viasafe_output_filtersin the renderer), because these filters handle their own HTML escaping internally. Adding|safeafter them is unnecessary.
dj-click— click eventsdj-input— input events (passesvalue)dj-change— change events (passesvalue)dj-submit— form submission (passes form data as a dict)
djust includes a component system with automatic state management and stable component IDs.
from djust.components import AlertComponent
class MyView(LiveView):
def mount(self, request):
# Components get automatic IDs based on attribute names
self.alert_success = AlertComponent(
message="Operation successful!",
type="success",
dismissible=True
)
# component_id automatically becomes "alert_success"Components automatically receive a stable component_id based on their
attribute name in your view, which eliminates manual ID management:
# When you write:
self.alert_success = AlertComponent(message="Success!")
# The framework automatically:
# 1. Sets component.component_id = "alert_success"
# 2. Persists this ID across renders and events
# 3. Uses it in HTML: data-component-id="alert_success"
# 4. Routes events back to the correct componentWhy it works:
- The attribute name (
alert_success) is already unique within your view - It's stable across re-renders and WebSocket reconnections
- Event handlers can reference components by their attribute names
- No manual ID strings to keep in sync
Event routing example:
class MyView(LiveView):
def mount(self, request):
self.alert_warning = AlertComponent(
message="Warning message",
dismissible=True
)
@event_handler
def dismiss(self, component_id: str = None):
"""Handle dismissal — automatically routes to correct component"""
if component_id and hasattr(self, component_id):
component = getattr(self, component_id)
if hasattr(component, 'dismiss'):
component.dismiss() # component_id="alert_warning"When the dismiss button is clicked, the client sends component_id="alert_warning",
and the handler uses getattr(self, "alert_warning") to find the component.
from djust import LiveComponent, event_handler
from djust.components import register_component
class ButtonComponent(LiveComponent):
template = '<button dj-click="on_click" data-component-id="{{ component_id }}">{{ label }}</button>'
def mount(self, **kwargs):
self.label = kwargs.get("label", "Click")
self.clicks = 0
@event_handler()
def on_click(self, **kwargs):
self.clicks += 1
self.trigger_update()
def get_context_data(self):
return {"label": self.label, "clicks": self.clicks}
# register_component accepts LiveComponent subclasses (stateful, event-driven)
register_component('my-button', ButtonComponent)from djust import LiveView, event_handler, reactive
class MyView(LiveView):
@event_handler
def handle_click(self):
"""Marks method as event handler"""
pass
@reactive
def count(self):
"""Reactive property — auto-triggers updates"""
return self._count
@count.setter
def count(self, value):
self._count = valueConfigure djust in your Django settings.py:
LIVEVIEW_CONFIG = {
# Transport mode
'use_websocket': True, # Set to False for HTTP-only mode (no WebSocket dependency)
# Debug settings
'debug_vdom': False, # Enable detailed VDOM patch logging (for troubleshooting)
# Serialization (issue #292)
'strict_serialization': False, # Raise TypeError for non-serializable state values (recommended in development)
# CSS Framework
'css_framework': 'bootstrap5', # Options: 'bootstrap5', 'tailwind', None
}Common configuration options:
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
use_websocket |
True |
Use WebSocket transport (requires Django Channels) |
debug_vdom |
False |
Enable detailed VDOM debugging logs |
strict_serialization |
False |
Raise TypeError for non-serializable state (recommended in dev) |
css_framework |
'bootstrap5' |
CSS framework for components |
CSS framework setup. For Tailwind CSS, use the one-command setup:
python manage.py djust_setup_css tailwindThis auto-detects template directories, creates config files, and builds your CSS. For production:
python manage.py djust_setup_css tailwind --minifySee the CSS Framework Guide for detailed setup instructions, Bootstrap configuration, and CI/CD integration.
Debug mode. When troubleshooting VDOM issues, enable debug logging:
# In settings.py
LIVEVIEW_CONFIG = {
'debug_vdom': True,
}
# Or programmatically
from djust.config import config
config.set('debug_vdom', True)This logs:
- Server-side: patch generation details (stderr)
- Client-side: patch application and DOM traversal (browser console)
djust provides Python-only state management decorators that remove the need for manual JavaScript.
Build a debounced search in eight lines of Python (no JavaScript):
from djust import LiveView
from djust.decorators import debounce
class ProductSearchView(LiveView):
template_string = """
<input dj-input="search" placeholder="Search products..." />
<div>{% for p in results %}<div>{{ p.name }}</div>{% endfor %}</div>
"""
def mount(self, request):
self.results = []
@debounce(wait=0.5) # Wait 500ms after typing stops
def search(self, query: str = "", **kwargs):
self.results = Product.objects.filter(name__icontains=query)[:10]The server only queries after you stop typing. Add @optimistic for instant UI
updates, or @cache(ttl=300) to cache responses for five minutes.
See the State Management Quick Start.
| Decorator | Use When | Example |
|---|---|---|
@debounce(wait) |
User is typing | Search, autosave |
@throttle(interval) |
Rapid events | Scroll, resize |
@optimistic |
Instant feedback | Counter, toggle |
@cache(ttl, key_params) |
Repeated queries | Autocomplete |
@client_state(keys) |
Multi-component | Dashboard filters |
@background |
Long operations | AI generation, file processing |
DraftModeMixin |
Auto-save forms | Contact form |
Quick decision guide:
- Typing in an input? →
@debounce(0.5) - Scrolling/resizing? →
@throttle(0.1) - Need an instant UI update? →
@optimistic - Same query multiple times? →
@cache(ttl) - Multiple components? →
@client_state([keys]) - Long-running work? →
@backgroundorself.start_async(callback) - Auto-save forms? →
DraftModeMixin
More documentation:
- Quick Start — get productive fast
- Full Tutorial — step-by-step product search
- API Reference — complete decorator docs and cheat sheet
- Examples — copy-paste-ready code
- Migration Guide — convert JavaScript to Python
- Framework Comparison — vs Phoenix LiveView and Laravel Livewire
djust provides three navigation mechanisms for building multi-view applications without full page reloads:
| Scenario | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Filter/sort/paginate within same view | dj-patch / live_patch() |
No remount, URL stays bookmarkable |
| Navigate to a different LiveView | dj-navigate / live_redirect() |
Same WebSocket, no page reload |
| Link to non-LiveView page | Standard <a href> |
Full page load needed |
Is this a direct user click on a link?
├─ Yes → Is it the same view (filter/sort)?
│ ├─ Yes → Use dj-patch
│ └─ No → Use dj-navigate
│
└─ No → Is navigation conditional on server logic?
├─ Yes → Use live_redirect() in @event_handler
│ Examples: form validation, auth checks, async operations
└─ No → You probably need dj-navigate (see anti-pattern below)
This is the most common mistake when building multi-view djust apps. Using
dj-click to trigger a handler that immediately calls live_redirect() creates
an unnecessary round-trip.
Wrong — using dj-click to trigger a handler that calls live_redirect():
# Anti-pattern: handler does nothing but navigate
@event_handler()
def go_to_item(self, item_id, **kwargs):
self.live_redirect(f"/items/{item_id}/") # Wasteful round-trip<!-- Wrong: forces a WebSocket round-trip just to navigate -->
<button dj-click="go_to_item" dj-value-item_id="{{ item.id }}">View</button>What actually happens:
- User clicks button → client sends WebSocket message (50–100ms)
- Server receives message, processes handler (10–50ms)
- Server responds with
live_redirectcommand (50–100ms) - Client finally navigates to the new view
Total: 110–250ms, plus handler processing time.
Right — using dj-navigate directly:
<!-- Right: client navigates immediately, no server round-trip -->
<a dj-navigate="/items/{{ item.id }}/">View Item</a>What happens:
- User clicks link → client navigates directly
Total: ~10ms (just DOM updates).
Why it matters:
- Performance: 10–20x faster navigation
- Network efficiency: saves WebSocket bandwidth
- User experience: instant response, no loading indicators needed
- Simplicity: less code, fewer moving parts
Use handlers for navigation only when navigation depends on server-side logic or validation.
Conditional navigation after form validation:
@event_handler()
def submit_form(self, **kwargs):
if self.form.is_valid():
self.form.save()
self.live_redirect("/success/") # OK: conditional on validation
else:
# Stay on form to show errors
passNavigation based on auth/permissions:
@event_handler()
def view_sensitive_data(self, **kwargs):
if not self.request.user.has_perm('app.view_sensitive'):
self.live_redirect("/access-denied/") # OK: auth check required
return
self.show_sensitive = TrueNavigation after async operations:
@event_handler()
async def create_and_view_item(self, name, **kwargs):
item = await Item.objects.acreate(name=name, owner=self.request.user)
self.live_redirect(f"/items/{item.id}/") # OK: navigate to newly created itemMulti-step wizard logic:
@event_handler()
def next_step(self, **kwargs):
if self.current_step == "payment" and not self.payment_valid:
# Stay on payment step if invalid
return
self.current_step = self.get_next_step()
self.live_patch(params={"step": self.current_step}) # OK: conditional flowThe common theme: the handler does meaningful work before navigating. If your
handler only calls live_redirect(), use dj-navigate instead.
from djust import LiveView
from djust.mixins.navigation import NavigationMixin
from djust.decorators import event_handler
class ProductListView(NavigationMixin, LiveView):
template_string = """
<!-- Filter within same view: use dj-patch -->
<a dj-patch="?category=electronics">Electronics</a>
<a dj-patch="?category=books">Books</a>
<div>
{% for product in products %}
<!-- Navigate to different view: use dj-navigate -->
<a dj-navigate="/products/{{ product.id }}/">{{ product.name }}</a>
{% endfor %}
</div>
"""
def mount(self, request, **kwargs):
self.category = "all"
self.products = []
def handle_params(self, params, uri):
"""Called when URL changes via dj-patch or browser back/forward"""
self.category = params.get("category", "all")
self.products = Product.objects.filter(category=self.category)See the Navigation Guide for the complete API
reference (live_patch(), live_redirect(), handle_params()).
Interactive debugging tool for LiveView development (DEBUG mode only):
# In settings.py
DEBUG = True # Debug panel automatically enabledOpen it with Ctrl+Shift+D (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+D (Mac), or click the
floating debug button.
Features:
- Event handlers — discover all handlers with parameters, types, and descriptions
- Event history — real-time log with timing metrics (e.g.,
search • 45.2ms) - VDOM patches — monitor DOM updates with sub-millisecond precision
- Variables — inspect current view state
See the Debug Panel Guide and Event Handler Best Practices.
Always use the @event_handler decorator for auto-discovery and validation:
from djust.decorators import event_handler
@event_handler()
def search(self, value: str = "", **kwargs):
"""Search handler — description shown in debug panel"""
self.search_query = valueParameter convention: use value for form inputs (dj-input, dj-change
events):
# Correct — matches what form events send
@event_handler()
def search(self, value: str = "", **kwargs):
self.search_query = value
# Wrong — won't receive input value
@event_handler()
def search(self, query: str = "", **kwargs):
self.search_query = query # Always "" (default)┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Browser │
│ ├── client.js (~55 KB gz) — events & DOM │
│ └── WebSocket connection │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↕ WebSocket (Binary/JSON)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Django + Channels (Python) │
│ ├── LiveView classes │
│ ├── Event handlers │
│ └── State management │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↕ Python/Rust FFI (PyO3)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Rust core (native speed) │
│ ├── Template engine (<1ms) │
│ ├── Virtual DOM diffing (<100μs) │
│ ├── HTML parser │
│ └── Binary serialization (MessagePack) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
See the examples/demo_project directory for complete working examples:
- Counter — simple reactive counter
- Todo List — CRUD operations with lists
- Chat — real-time messaging
Run the demo:
cd examples/demo_project
pip install -r requirements.txt
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py runserverVisit http://localhost:8000.
djust/
├── crates/
│ ├── djust_core/ # Core types & utilities
│ ├── djust_templates/ # Template engine
│ ├── djust_vdom/ # Virtual DOM & diffing
│ ├── djust_components/ # Reusable component library
│ └── djust_live/ # Main PyO3 bindings
├── python/
│ └── djust/ # Python package
│ ├── live_view.py # LiveView base class
│ ├── component.py # Component system
│ ├── websocket.py # WebSocket consumer
│ └── static/
│ └── client.js # Client runtime
├── branding/ # Logo and brand assets
├── examples/ # Example projects
├── benchmarks/ # Performance benchmarks
└── tests/ # Tests
# All tests (Python + Rust + JavaScript)
make test
# Individual test suites
make test-python # Python tests
make test-rust # Rust tests
make test-js # JavaScript tests
# Specific tests
pytest tests/unit/test_live_view.py
cargo test --workspace --exclude djust_liveFor comprehensive testing documentation, see the Testing Guide.
cargo doc --opendjust 1.0 is released and stable. Active planning lives in the issue tracker. One notable item still open:
- React/Vue component compatibility
- CSRF protection via Django middleware
- XSS protection via automatic template escaping (the Rust engine escapes all variables by default)
- HTML-producing filters (
urlize,urlizetrunc,unordered_list) handle their own escaping internally; the Rust engine'ssafe_output_filterswhitelist prevents double-escaping, so|safeis never needed with these filters - WebSocket authentication via Django sessions
- WebSocket origin validation and HMAC message signing
- Per-view and global rate limiting
- Configurable allowed origins for WebSocket connections
- View-level auth enforcement (
login_required,permission_required) beforemount() - Handler-level
@permission_requiredfor protecting individual event handlers djust_auditcommand anddjust.S005system check for auth-posture visibility
Report security issues to security@djust.org.
Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first.
Areas where help is especially useful:
- More example applications
- Performance optimizations
- Documentation improvements
- Browser compatibility testing
djust is open source (MIT licensed) and free. If you use djust in production or want to support development:
- Star this repository to help others discover it
- Sponsor on GitHub — from $5/month
MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.
- Inspired by Phoenix LiveView
- Built with PyO3 for Python/Rust interop
- Uses html5ever for HTML parsing
- Built on the Rust and Django communities
- djust.org — official website
- Documentation — guides and API reference
- Examples — live code examples
- Issues — bug reports and feature requests
- Email: support@djust.org
Maintained by the djust community.
