DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE is undefined with pycharm

Question

I have the DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE problem. I am using Pycharm and under Project Settings -> Django Support everything is set and enabled. Nevertheless I get following error while trying do an import in models.py:

from django.db import models

C:\Python27\python.exe C:/Users/Grimbo/PycharmProjects/Muspy/poll/models.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:/Users/Grimbo/PycharmProjects/Mus/poll/models.py", line 1, in <module>
    from django.db import models
  File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\db\__init__.py", line 11, in <module>
    if DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS not in settings.DATABASES:
  File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\utils\functional.py", line 184, in inner
    self._setup()
  File "C:\Python27\lib\site-packages\django\conf\__init__.py", line 40, in _setup
    raise ImportError("Settings cannot be imported, because environment variable %s is undefined." % ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE)
ImportError: Settings cannot be imported, because environment variable DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE is undefined.

print(sys.path):

['C:\\Program Files (x86)\\JetBrains\\PyCharm 2.6.3\\helpers\\pydev', 'C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM32\\python27.zip', 'C:\\Python27\\DLLs', 'C:\\Python27\\lib', 'C:\\Python27\\lib\\plat-win', 'C:\\Python27\\lib\\lib-tk', 'C:\\Python27', 'C:\\Python27\\lib\\site-packages', 'C:\\Users\\Grimbo\\PycharmProjects\\Mus']

Does someone has an idea what's wrong?

Answer 1

Check out this link. Specifically, you want to set the Environmental Variable in the configuration. By default, you will see PYTHONBUFFERED = 1, and you will want to add DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE = project.settings - obviously replacing project with the actual name of your project.

Another good thing to do is to go to File-> Settings -> Django Support -> and be sure that your Django Root, Settings.py, and Manage.py fields are correct.

Answer 2

Following Dan Hoerst's answer worked for me, but it wasn't clear where to set the environment variable. You can find the setting under the menu option:

Run -> Edit Configurations...

Expand the Django Server option on the left hand side and then select your project. There you will find the Environment Variables: setting. Remember to use the dotted path like Muspy.settings and not the file path.

Dan, I'd reply to your answer, but don't have the rep.