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Django usually opens a database connection when a query needs one and manages its closure automatically. For a web request, you normally do not need to reset the connection manually: configure how long connections persist, and let Django close or replace connections that are no longer usable. For a worker or other long-running process, use Django’s connection-lifecycle helpers where appropriate.

How Django handles database connections

Django opens a connection when database access is needed and no usable connection is already available. In a request-based application, Django manages connection cleanup at request boundaries. If a database error leaves a connection unusable, Django checks it and closes it; a later request can establish a fresh connection. Closing a connection does not repair an underlying outage, bad credentials, network problem, transaction issue, or failing query.

Connection settings apply to each entry in DATABASES. Set the option on the database alias your code actually uses. Django’s settings reference documents the current setting behavior; consult the documentation matching your installed Django release because documentation and supported versions change.

Control connection persistence with CONN_MAX_AGE

Set CONN_MAX_AGE in the desired database configuration to determine how long a connection may persist. Django’s documented default is 0, which closes the connection at the end of each request. A positive integer is a lifetime in seconds, while None allows unlimited persistence.

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DATABASES = {
    "default": {
        # Keep the existing ENGINE, NAME, USER, PASSWORD, HOST, and PORT values.
        "CONN_MAX_AGE": 60,
    },
}

The value 60 above is only an example, not a universally suitable recommendation. If the database server or an intermediary drops idle connections after a timeout, set Django’s maximum age below that timeout. A shorter lifetime can reduce stale-connection problems, but reconnecting more often adds connection-setup work.

When to use short-lived connections

Use the default 0 or another low value when the application accesses a database infrequently, when connection limits are tight, or when persistent connections provide little benefit. Django maintains a connection per thread, so the number of application threads affects how many simultaneous database connections may be needed.

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When persistence may help

Persistent connections can reduce setup overhead when opening a connection takes a meaningful share of request-processing time and the application regularly uses the database. Weigh that potential improvement against the database’s capacity for concurrent connections and its idle timeout; Django’s database guide describes these trade-offs. The linked guide is for Django 4.2 and is marked unsupported, so use the guide for your own release for version-specific details.

Health-check persistent connections before reuse

When persistent connections are enabled and the database might have closed an idle connection, consider setting CONN_HEALTH_CHECKS to True for that database configuration:

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DATABASES = {
    "default": {
        # Keep the existing database connection settings.
        "CONN_MAX_AGE": 60,
        "CONN_HEALTH_CHECKS": True,
    },
}

Django health-checks an existing persistent connection before reusing it in a request that accesses the database. The check occurs once per request, and only when database access occurs. If the check finds a dead connection, Django can establish another when the database is accepting connections. This check helps handle a stale connection; it cannot make an unavailable database available. See the Django settings reference.

Close old connections in long-running processes

A worker, management command, or custom process that runs beyond a normal request may not reach the same request cleanup boundaries. Django documents django.db.close_old_connections() to close old or unusable connections. Place it according to the process’s lifecycle so connections are checked and cleaned up at suitable points; the correct placement depends on how that worker or command runs.

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from django.db import close_old_connections

close_old_connections()
# Perform work that may access the database.

This illustrates the helper, not a complete worker implementation. Follow the lifecycle guidance for the framework or task queue you use, and avoid treating a one-time call as a fix for recurring database errors.

Choose a connection strategy

Approach What it does Best fit Trade-off
CONN_MAX_AGE = 0 Closes the connection at request end. Infrequent database use or a need to limit persistent connections. Connection setup occurs again for later requests.
Positive CONN_MAX_AGE Allows reuse for the configured number of seconds. Regular database access when connection setup overhead matters. Must account for server idle timeouts and per-thread connections.
CONN_MAX_AGE = None Allows unlimited persistence. Only when that lifecycle is appropriate for the database and deployment. Requires careful consideration of idle timeouts and simultaneous connection capacity.
CONN_HEALTH_CHECKS = True Checks an existing persistent connection before reuse in a database-using request. Persistent connections that may be dropped while idle. It detects unusable connections but does not resolve database or network outages.
close_old_connections() Closes old or unusable connections. Long-running code outside ordinary request handling. Placement depends on the process lifecycle.
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Check for causes a connection reset will not fix

If the error continues after Django replaces a connection, diagnose the failure rather than repeatedly forcing a reset. The details needed to identify a project-specific cause include:

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  • Your Django version, database backend, and database server.
  • The full exception text and the operation that triggers it.
  • Whether the error follows an idle period or a database restart.
  • Whether the database access happens during an HTTP request or in a long-running process.
  • Whether credentials, network availability, transaction state, or connection-level settings changed.

With persistent connections, connection parameters are not reapplied on every request. If application code changes connection-level state, such as the isolation level or time zone, restore the expected defaults or apply the required value consistently; disabling persistence is another option.

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