To debug a Django app within Eclipse, you need to start manage.py with the runserver parameter from within eclipse. You also need the --noreload parameter or else the debugger may end up attached to the wrong process.

Steps

• Find manage.py in your source.
• Right click it, and Debug as.../Debug Configurations
• On the arguments tab, put runserver --noreload in the Program arguments box
• Click debug

You should at this point see the familiar output in the console inside Eclipse:

pydev debugger: starting
Validating models...
0 errors found

Django version 1.0.2 final, using settings 'dcsweb.settings'
Development server is running at http://127.0.0.1:8000/
Quit the server with CTRL-BREAK.

I had problems with something else running on port 8000, so I modified my parameters to be runserver 8001 --noreload so I was running on port 8001.

You can now set breakpoints in the code, and execution will stop when it hits them.

References

• http://penkin.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/django-with-pydev/
• http://matt.geek.nz/2009/02/debugging-django-apps-with-eclipse-and-pydev/