Unknown django-admin command raises "settings not configured" when no project exists

[Maxime Lorant]

When you try to execute a command that does not exist outside a Django project (e.g. createproject instead of startproject...), Django raise a ImproperlyConfigured that does not fit with the real error:

(testdjango):~/testdjango$ django-admin.py not-a-real-command test
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/root/testdjango/bin/django-admin.py", line 5, in <module>
    management.execute_from_command_line()
  File "/root/testdjango/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 338, in execute_from_command_line
    utility.execute()
  File "/root/testdjango/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 330, in execute
    self.fetch_command(subcommand).run_from_argv(self.argv)
  File "/root/testdjango/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py", line 182, in fetch_command
    settings.INSTALLED_APPS
  File "/root/testdjango/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/conf/__init__.py", line 48, in __getattr__
    self._setup(name)
  File "/root/testdjango/local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/django/conf/__init__.py", line 42, in _setup
    % (desc, ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE))
django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured: Requested setting INSTALLED_APPS, but settings are not configured. You must either define the environment variable DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE or call settings.configure() before accessing settings.

The expected output is:

(testdjango):~/testdjango$ django-admin.py not-a-real-command test
Unknown command: 'not-a-real-command'
Type 'django-admin.py help' for usage.

[Maxime Lorant]

Suggestion of patch

[Tim Graham]

I think your proposal makes sense. It keeps the fix for #21634, but only when using manage.py. Claude, what do you think?

[Claude Paroz]

Here is my suggestion: ​https://github.com/django/django/pull/5158

[Maxime Lorant]

Indeed, as a Django user, I would also prefer this implementation: it provides the correct error message and give a hint in case the user tried to use a custom command. (Also, it avoids hardcoded filename, like "django-admin" in the code...)

Thanks Claude.

[Claude Paroz <claude@…>]

In c1893e2:

Fixed #25285 -- Provided unknown command message with plain django-admin.py

Thanks Maxime Lorant for the report and Tim Graham for suggesting
the improved comment.