تسجيل التطبيقات في INSTALLED_APPS

Creating an app folder is not enough. Django only activates an app once you add it to the INSTALLED_APPS list in settings.

Open settings.py and look near the top for INSTALLED_APPS. It is a plain Python list of strings, one per active app.

You will see entries like django.contrib.auth and admin. These ship with Django and power features you get for free.

To switch on your app, add its name as a string to the list. The simple form is just the app's folder name.

The recommended form points to the config class in apps.py. Using the full AppConfig path is the modern Django convention.

Once registered, Django can find your models, templates, and admin entries. Skip this step and your features simply will not load.

Migrations only run for apps in the list. Without registration, makemigrations ignores your models and no tables get created.

Django reads INSTALLED_APPS top to bottom. Order rarely matters, but it can affect template and static file lookups when names clash.

It is a Python list, so every entry needs a trailing comma. A missing comma is a classic, confusing beginner error here.

After editing, run the dev server. If Django starts without an error about your app, the registration worked correctly.

Installed packages like Django REST Framework also go in this list. Registering them is what turns a pip install into working features.

What happens to your app's models if you forget INSTALLED_APPS?

You added your app to INSTALLED_APPS, ideally via its AppConfig path. That one line lets Django load your models, admin, and migrations. ✅