wagtail-generate

A UV-installable CLI for creating Wagtail CMS projects with a repeatable codebase layout. The standard layout includes UV and Docker development, SQLite (with PostgreSQL and MySQL options), formatting tools, and pre-commit hooks.

Quick start

With UV installed, install from a local checkout (requires Python 3.14 or later):

uv tool install /path/to/wagtail-generate

Run from outside the generator checkout:

wagtail-generate start mysite --site-name "My Site" --site-directory .
cd my_site
make dev

Make is required for make dev. Open http://localhost:8000. Follow the generated project's README.md for administrator setup, Docker, databases, and checks. Each site has its own Python environment and lockfile.

Options

Run wagtail-generate start --help for all flags and defaults. Running wagtail-generate start mysite prompts for a site name and source location.

• --site-name "My Site" sets the readable name and default folder (my_site). The positional name (mysite) determines the Python package.
• --directory PATH overrides the destination, which must be missing or empty and outside the generator checkout.
• --site-directory . puts Wagtail code at the root; --site-directory src uses a source subfolder. UV files and manage.py remain at the root.
• --database postgresql or --database mysql selects a server database; SQLite is the default. Server database development uses Docker Compose.
• --layout standard selects the current generator layout (the default). --template PATH supplies a custom local Wagtail project template.

See Developer guide to develop the generator or try its playground.