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I attempt to run a Django shell in IPython:

ipython manage.py shell

It reports the following error:

Type 'manage.py help ' for help on a specific subcommand.

I searched and found a popular solution which guides you to install django.extensions and to enable it in settings.

I am creating a minimal project while the solution is heavy. Meanwhile, I have to install and enable it on every project.

Is there a lightweight way?

I start a new project, python manage.py shell -i ipython fails to work

$ python manage.py shell -i ipython
CommandError: Couldn't import ipython interface.
$ ipython --version
6.4.0

Answers

Simply install ipython into your virtualenv. manage.py shell should use it by default.

You can also use manage.py shell with the -i option to explicitly select a shell (the options are ipython, bpython, or python for a regular Python shell):

python manage.py shell -i ipython

Either way, you do need to install ipython into your environment, but you don't need to make any changes to your project settings.