Welcome to djast — the AI-native Django SaaS boilerplate

Introduction

Building a SaaS product from scratch is hard. You spend weeks wiring up authentication, payment flows, email delivery, background jobs, and legal pages before you write a single line of product code. That is exactly the problem djast solves.

djast is an AI-native Django 5 boilerplate designed for developers who want to ship fast. It comes pre-configured with everything a modern SaaS needs — so you can focus on what makes your product unique instead of reinventing infrastructure.

Why djast Exists

Most Django starters give you a bare project with a README and wish you luck. djast goes further: it ships with production-ready auth (django-allauth with Google and GitHub OAuth), Stripe Checkout with webhook handling, Celery background tasks with Redis, Tailwind CSS, legal pages, markdown documentation, brute-force protection via django-axes, and an agent-ready architecture that AI coding assistants can navigate without hand-holding.

The goal is simple: go from zero to a deployable SaaS in a weekend, not a month.

What Is Included Out of the Box

Authentication and Security

Email/password signup, social OAuth (Google, GitHub), password reset, email verification, and brute-force lockout are all wired up. django-axes protects your login endpoints from credential stuffing attacks.

Payments

Stripe Checkout integration with webhook handlers for subscription lifecycle events. The service layer pattern keeps payment logic testable and separate from HTTP concerns.

Background Tasks

Celery 5.4 with Redis as broker and result backend. Periodic tasks via Celery Beat with django-celery-beat database scheduler. Every task is designed for idempotency and retries.

Frontend

Tailwind CSS 3.4 with django-tailwind. Separate landing page and authenticated app themes. Dark-mode landing page with a clean dashboard for logged-in users.

Content and SEO

A full blog module with multi-language support, SEO metadata, JSON-LD structured data, sitemaps, and lead-generation CTAs. A free tools module for developer utilities that drive organic traffic.

Developer Experience

Type hints on every function, Google-style docstrings, service layer pattern, feature toggles via the apps list in settings.py, Docker Compose for production deployment, and AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md files that teach AI agents how to extend the boilerplate.

How to Ship in a Weekend

Here is a realistic timeline for going from clone to deployed SaaS:

• Hour 1: Clone the repo, run python setup.py, start dev servers with python run.py.
• Hours 2-4: Customize branding — logo, colors, landing page copy, pricing tiers.
• Hours 5-8: Build your core feature as a new Django app. Add models, services, views, and templates following the existing patterns.
• Hours 9-12: Configure Stripe products, set up Resend for production email, add your domain.
• Hours 13-16: Write tests, deploy with Docker Compose, configure monitoring.

That is two focused days — not two months of infrastructure work.

Architecture Highlights

djast follows a strict service layer pattern. Views are thin HTTP adapters that parse requests and return responses. All business logic lives in services.py files that accept typed arguments and return dataclasses. This makes the codebase testable, readable, and agent-friendly.

Feature toggles in settings.py let you enable or disable entire apps. URL routing and middleware adapt automatically — no dead code paths cluttering your project.

Key Takeaways

• djast eliminates weeks of boilerplate setup for Django SaaS products.
• Auth, payments, background jobs, email, and legal pages are production-ready.
• The service layer pattern and type hints make the codebase maintainable and AI-agent-friendly.
• Blog and free tools modules drive organic traffic and lead generation.
• Deploy with Docker Compose in minutes — web, worker, beat, postgres, and redis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is djast free?

djast is open source. Clone it, customize it, ship your product. No license fees, no vendor lock-in.

What Python and Django versions does it use?

Python 3.10+ and Django 5.0.6. All dependencies are pinned in requirements.txt.

Can I use it for a non-SaaS project?

Absolutely. Disable the Stripe app in settings.py and you have a solid Django starter with auth, background tasks, and Tailwind CSS.

How does the AI-native architecture work?

Every app includes AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS.md files, coding standards in .agentic/coding_standards.md, and a service layer that agents can extend without breaking conventions. Feature toggles mean agents only see the code that is active.

Does it support multi-language content?

Yes. Both the blog and free tools modules support translations linked via translation_group UUIDs with automatic hreflang tag generation.