id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	component	version	severity	resolution	keywords	cc	stage	has_patch	needs_docs	needs_tests	needs_better_patch	easy	ui_ux
9482	Can't import anything that depends on DANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE in project's `__init__.py` file.	Tai Lee	nobody	"I've got some basic code to register signal handlers in my project's `__init__.py`, as this seems the only place certain (or as close to certain as possible) to execute whenever Django is started with the `runfcgi`, `runserver`, `shell`, etc. management commands.

For example, if I import `settings` from `django.conf`, or any other module that relies on settings:

{{{
from django.conf import settings
if settings.DEBUG:
    ...
}}}

or:

{{{
from django.db import models
}}}

The following exception is raised:

{{{
ImportError: Settings cannot be imported, because environment variable DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE is undefined.
}}}

The reason is because `django.core.management.setup_environ` adds `DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE` to `os.environ` *after* importing the project module.

As far as I can tell, the fix is easy. Just move the assignment to `os.environ` up a few lines, before the import. I can't see how this could possibly break any existing code, nor any reason *not* to do it. We're not adding any code or functionality, just executing it earlier.
"		closed	Core (Other)	1.0		fixed	DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE settings import		Unreviewed	1	0	0	0	0	0