Add management command for generating a Django SECRET_KEY

[Joe Philip]

Summary

Django provides a utility function, django.core.management.utils.get_random_secret_key(), for generating cryptographically secure secret keys. However, Django does not currently offer a built-in django-admin or manage.py command to generate a new SECRET_KEY for production use.

Developers frequently need to generate a proper secret key when:

• deploying to production,
• regenerating keys for CI/CD pipelines,
• creating new environments,
• or building automation scripts.

Since Django encourages using a strong, unique secret key in production, providing a first-class management command improves the developer experience and aligns with Django's philosophy of offering batteries-included tools.

---

Proposed Feature

Introduce a new management command:

python manage.py generate_secret_key

This command would output a securely generated secret key using Django's existing function:

`python
get_random_secret_key()
`

Example Output

`
g6v#s-!98=u&1xp$@1g&3s5)k5a(4l#1$g@)n#hjz9c4
`

---

Rationale

1. Consistency – Django already provides the function but not an accessible command.
2. Developer convenience – Users currently rely on third-party snippets, shell scripts, or copy-paste from docs.
3. Security – Encourages developers to use Django’s own cryptographically strong generator rather than unsafe or custom-made solutions.
4. Automation – Useful for scripts, CI pipelines, container builds, and provisioning tools.

---

Proposed Implementation

A new command under:

`
django/core/management/commands/generate_secret_key.py
`

Example implementation:

`python
from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key

class Command(BaseCommand):

help = "Generate a new Django SECRET_KEY."

def handle(self, *args, options):

self.stdout.write(get_random_secret_key())

`

---

Documentation

Add a section to docs/ref/django-admin.txt describing the new command with usage examples.

---

Tests

A test would be added to ensure:

• The command runs successfully.
• The output is a string.
• The generated key meets expected length and randomness criteria.

Example:

`python
from django.core.management import call_command
from django.test import SimpleTestCase

class GenerateSecretKeyTests(SimpleTestCase):

def test_generates_valid_key(self):

key = call_command('generate_secret_key', stdout=None)
self.assertIsInstance(key, str)
self.assertGreater(len(key), 30)

`