# The project template By default, running the `wagtail start` command (e.g. `wagtail start mysite`) will create a new Django project with the following structure: ```text mysite/ home/ migrations/ __init__.py 0001_initial.py 0002_create_homepage.py templates/ home/ home_page.html __init__.py models.py search/ templates/ search/ search.html __init__.py views.py mysite/ settings/ __init__.py base.py dev.py production.py static/ css/ mysite.css js/ mysite.js templates/ 404.html 500.html base.html __init__.py urls.py wsgi.py Dockerfile manage.py requirements.txt ``` To use a custom template instead, you can specify the `--template` option when running the `wagtail start` command. This option accepts a directory, file path, or URL of a custom project template (similar to {option}`django-admin startproject --template `). For example, with a custom template hosted as a GitHub repository, you can use a URL like the following: ```shell wagtail start myproject --template=https://github.com/githubuser/wagtail-awesome-template/archive/main.zip ``` The following is a reference for the default project template. ## The "home" app Location: `/mysite/home/` This app is here to help get you started quicker by providing a `HomePage` model with migrations to create one when you first set up your app. ## Default templates and static files Location: `/mysite/mysite/templates/` and `/mysite/mysite/static/` The templates directory contains `base.html`, `404.html` and `500.html`. These files are very commonly needed on Wagtail sites, so they have been added into the template. The static directory contains an empty JavaScript and CSS file. ## Django settings Location: `/mysite/mysite/settings/` The Django settings files are split up into `base.py`, `dev.py`, `production.py` and `local.py`. - `base.py` This file is for global settings that will be used in both development and production. Aim to keep most of your configuration in this file. - `dev.py` This file is for settings that will only be used by developers. For example: `DEBUG = True` - `production.py` This file is for settings that will only run on a production server. For example: `DEBUG = False` - `local.py` This file is used for settings local to a particular machine. This file should never be tracked by a version control system. ```{note} On production servers, we recommend that you only store secrets in ``local.py`` (such as API keys and passwords). This can save you headaches in the future if you are ever trying to debug why a server is behaving badly. If you are using multiple servers which need different settings then we recommend that you create a different ``production.py`` file for each one. ``` ## Dockerfile Location: `/mysite/Dockerfile` Contains configuration for building and deploying the site as a [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/) container. To build and use the Docker image for your project, run: ```sh docker build -t mysite . docker run -p 8000:8000 mysite ```