How to make db dumpfile in django

Question

I want to make a dump in django irrespective of database I am using and can be loaded later. The command 'dumpdata' is perfect for this, but it is printing output on console. More over I am calling it using call_command function so I cannot store its content in any variable as it is printing output on console.

Please let me know how store dump to a file using dumpdata or any other command or api.

Thanks

Answer 1

You just use it like that:

./manage.py dumpdata > data_dump.json

After that action, there will be data_dump.json file in the directory in which you executed that command.

There are multiple options coming with that, but you probably already know it. The thing you need to know is how to redirect output from standard output into some file: you perform that action by putting > before file name.

To append something to the file you would use >>, but since you are dumping the data from Django and the output is most likely JSON, you will not want that (because it will make JSON invalid).

Answer 2

You can choose a file to put the output of dumpdata into if you call it from within Python using call_command, for example:

from django.core.management import call_command

output = open(output_filename,'w') # Point stdout at a file for dumping data to.
call_command('dumpdata','model_name',format='json',indent=3,stdout=output)
output.close()

However, if you try calling this from the command line with e.g. --stdout=filename.json at the end of your dumpdata command, it gives the error manage.py: error: no such option: --stdout.

So it is there, you just have to call it within a Python script rather than on the command line. If you want it as a command line option, then redirection (as others have suggested) is your best bet.