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Overview

The reset_demo management command completely resets the Wagtail Bakery Demo to its initial state. This is a destructive operation that drops all database tables, removes media files, rebuilds the schema, and reloads the initial fixture data.
This is a destructive command! It will permanently delete:
  • All database content (pages, snippets, users, images, etc.)
  • All media files (from local storage or S3)
  • All cached data
Only use this command when you want to completely reset the demo environment.

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Usage

python manage.py reset_demo

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Command Arguments

This command does not accept any arguments or options. It runs non-interactively and does not prompt for confirmation.

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Database Requirements

This command only works with PostgreSQL databases. It will raise an error if used with SQLite, MySQL, or other database backends.
The command checks the database engine and raises a CommandError if PostgreSQL is not detected: 
if settings.DATABASES[DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS]["ENGINE"] not in POSTGRESQL_ENGINES:
    raise CommandError(
        "This command can be used only with PostgreSQL databases."
    )

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What It Does

The command executes a complete reset sequence:
1

Remove Media Files

Removes all media files from storage:
  • If using S3: Deletes all objects from the S3 bucket
  • If using local storage: Deletes all Image and Document model instances
2

Reset Database Schema

Drops all database tables using reset_schema command (requires django-extensions)
3

Run Migrations

Rebuilds all database tables by running migrations from scratch
4

Clear All Caches

Clears all configured Django cache backends
5

Load Initial Data

Calls load_initial_data to restore the default demo content and media files
6

Reset Admin Password

Calls reset_admin_password to ensure the admin password matches the environment configuration

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Example Usage

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Reset Development Environment

$ python manage.py reset_demo
Removing images
Removing documents
Reset schema
Operations to perform:
  Apply all migrations: admin, auth, contenttypes, sessions, ...
Running migrations:
  Applying contenttypes.0001_initial... OK
  Applying auth.0001_initial... OK
  ...
Copying media files to configured storage...
Awesome. Your data is loaded! The bakery's doors are almost ready to open...

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Reset Before Demo or Testing

# Reset to clean state
python manage.py reset_demo

# Optionally add random test data
python manage.py create_random_data 50 25 100

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Source Code Location

bakerydemo/base/management/commands/reset_demo.py

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Dependencies

This command depends on:
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django-extensions
package
required
Provides the reset_schema command for dropping all database tables. This must be installed and added to INSTALLED_APPS.
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PostgreSQL
database
required
The command only works with PostgreSQL databases due to the reset_schema requirement.

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Storage Backend Handling

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AWS S3 Storage

If using S3 (detected by checking if “s3” is in the storage class name), the command deletes all objects: 
if "s3" in default_storage.__class__.__name__.lower():
    self.stdout.write("Removing files from S3")
    default_storage.bucket.objects.all().delete()

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Local File Storage

For local storage, the command deletes database records for images and documents: 
self.stdout.write("Removing images")
get_image_model().objects.all().delete()

self.stdout.write("Removing documents")
get_document_model().objects.all().delete()
With local storage, the physical media files may remain on disk even though database records are deleted. The load_initial_data command will repopulate the media directory.

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Workflow Integration

This command is commonly used in deployment and maintenance workflows:

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Deployment Reset Script

#!/bin/bash
# reset-and-deploy.sh

set -e

echo "Resetting demo environment..."
python manage.py reset_demo

echo "Creating additional test data..."
python manage.py create_random_data 20 10 40

echo "Collecting static files..."
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

echo "Demo reset complete!"

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Scheduled Reset (Cron)

# Reset demo every night at 2 AM
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/bakerydemo && python manage.py reset_demo

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Error Handling

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PostgreSQL Required Error

django.core.management.base.CommandError: 
This command can be used only with PostgreSQL databases.
Solution: This command only works with PostgreSQL. Use load_initial_data with SQLite instead, or switch to PostgreSQL.

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Missing django-extensions

django.core.management.base.CommandError: 
Unknown command: 'reset_schema'
Solution: Install django-extensions and add it to INSTALLED_APPS: 
pip install django-extensions

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    'django_extensions',
]

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Safety Considerations

Production Warning: Never use this command in production environments. It will delete all data permanently.
Best practices:
  1. Only use in development/demo environments
  2. Backup important data before running if needed
  3. Verify database connection points to correct environment
  4. Check DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE environment variable
  5. Consider using separate demo database from production

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Alternative Approaches

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Soft Reset (SQLite Compatible)

For SQLite or less destructive reset: 
# Delete database file (SQLite only)
rm db.sqlite3

# Rebuild
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py load_initial_data

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Partial Reset

To reset only content without schema changes: 
# Clear pages
python manage.py shell -c "from wagtail.models import Page; Page.objects.filter(depth__gt=2).delete()"

# Reload data
python manage.py load_initial_data

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See Also

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