Django Orbit - A modern debugging and observability tool that orbits your Django application

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Hi everyone! :waving_hand:

I’m excited to share a major update for Django Orbit v0.6.3, an open-source observability and debugging tool designed for the modern Django ecosystem.

If you’ve ever used Laravel Telescope, you know the feeling of having a “Mission Control” for your app. I wanted that same level of DX (Developer Experience) for Django, but with a twist: Satellite Observability.

What is “Satellite Observability”?

Unlike traditional debug toolbars, Orbit runs on its own isolated URL (/orbit/).

  • :white_check_mark: No DOM pollution: It doesn’t inject HTML into your templates.
  • :white_check_mark: Frontend agnostic: Works perfectly with React, Vue, HTMX, or even headless APIs.
  • :white_check_mark: Zero CSS conflicts: Your app styles remain untouched.

:rocket: What’s New in v0.6.3: The “Bulletproof” Release

The biggest challenge with dev tools is ensuring they don’t break the app they are supposed to monitor. This release fixes that:

  • :electric_plug: Plug-and-Play Module System: Every watcher (Cache, DB, Mail) now operates independently. If one module fails to initialize, the others keep working normally. No more crashes.
  • :green_heart: Health Dashboard (/orbit/health/): A new diagnostics page with visual indicators (Green/Red/Yellow) showing the status of your monitoring stack with full tracebacks for failed modules.
  • :hammer_and_wrench: Fail-Safe Configuration: Added WATCHER_FAIL_SILENTLY (default: True). It logs errors but keeps your dev server running no matter what.
  • :file_folder: Storage & Transactions: Now monitoring file operations (S3/Local) and database transaction blocks (atomic()) with duration and status tracking.

:sparkles: Key Features at a Glance:

  • :globe_with_meridians: Requests & SQL: Capture HTTP data and queries with N+1 detection.
  • :alarm_clock: Background Jobs: Native support for Celery, Django-Q, RQ, and APScheduler.
  • :e_mail: Mail & Signals: Track outgoing emails and signal dispatches.
  • :red_circle: Redis Watcher: Monitor GET/SET and other Redis commands in real-time.
  • :shield: Gates & Permissions: Audit every authorization check in your app.
  • :bar_chart: Stats Dashboard: Apdex scores, percentiles (P95, P99), and throughput charts.

Quick Start

pip install django-orbit

  1. Add 'orbit' to INSTALLED_APPS.
  2. Add 'orbit.middleware.OrbitMiddleware' to your MIDDLEWARE.
  3. Include path('orbit/', include('orbit.urls')) in your URLs.

Preview

Dashboard

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Links & Feedback

I’m building this in public and would love to hear your thoughts. What’s the one thing you feel is missing from your current Django debugging workflow?

Happy building! :rocket:

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