Django is moving to annual releases in 2028: what it means

Goal: Understand Django's purpose and separately state the schedule change planned for 2028.

Safe context for the agent:
- The first three paragraphs of this article.
- The linked Django foundation article.

Allowed:
- Explain Django, Python, and a software version in plain language.
- Ask up to three questions about unfamiliar terms.

Not allowed:
- Switch to commands, installation, or migration.
- Invent details about a project that does not exist.

Stop when:
- The agent recommends an upgrade before explaining the change.
- The agent mixes official facts with its own recommendation.

Expected artifact: Two sentences in your own words: what Django is and what changes in 2028.

How to verify:
- Check Django's purpose against the foundation article.
- Check the 2028 claim against the official announcement, not only the agent's answer.

Goal: Separate dates and official rules from editorial recommendations.

Safe context for the agent:
- The sections about the new cycle and transition schedule.
- The official Django announcement listed under Sources.

Allowed:
- Extract dates, support windows, and rules of the new cycle.
- Flag a statement that does not appear in the official announcement.

Not allowed:
- Invent future Django features.
- Infer compatibility for a specific package without its documentation and tests.

Stop when:
- The official source is unavailable.
- Dates in the article and source disagree.

Expected artifact: Short claim-to-source notes for the new cycle and the four transition releases.

How to verify:
- The learner opens the official announcement and locates every date directly.

Goal: Arrange the concepts in the order Django, Python, support, and decision.

Safe context for the agent:
- Your two-sentence explanation.
- Verified claim-to-source notes.
- One concept that remains unclear.

Allowed:
- Suggest a short concept map.
- Identify the next useful question to investigate.

Not allowed:
- Replace a knowledge gap with invented certainty.
- Add an installation or upgrade plan.

Stop when:
- The plan introduces an unsupported date or an immediate-upgrade requirement.

Expected artifact: A three-point explanation plan and one open question.

How to verify:
- Every factual point can be confirmed in the article or official announcement.

Goal: Apply your understanding through a safe action: prepare a concise summary of the news.

Safe context for the agent:
- The verified notes and explanation plan.
- Your own draft of no more than one paragraph.

Allowed:
- Edit the draft for accuracy and clarity.
- Remove a claim that is absent from the source.

Not allowed:
- Suggest commands, installation, migration, or a version choice for an invented project.
- Add unsupported Django 2028 features.

Stop when:
- The summary requires a fact that the official source does not confirm.

Expected artifact: One paragraph stating what changes, when it happens, and why no immediate migration is required.

How to verify:
- The learner compares every sentence with the verified notes.

Goal: Confirm the dates, support duration, and the 6.2 LTS transition exception.

Safe context for the agent:
- Your summary.
- The official Django announcement.

Allowed:
- Check the summary against the source sentence by sentence.
- Mark an uncertain claim for removal or clarification.

Not allowed:
- Treat the agent's earlier answer as an official source.

Stop when:
- Any date or support condition disagrees with the source.

Expected artifact: A verified summary with a link to the official announcement and no unsupported conclusions.

How to verify:
- The official source is opened directly rather than relayed by the agent.

Goal: Make sure your understanding does not depend on memorizing the agent's wording.

Safe context for the agent:
- The verified summary.
- One question that remains after verification.

Allowed:
- Ask up to three clarifying questions.
- Point out a factual error or unclear causal link.

Not allowed:
- Rewrite the explanation so that the learner only memorizes an answer.
- Switch to commands or invent project context.

Stop when:
- The agent adds unsourced facts or recommends an immediate upgrade.

Expected artifact: A spoken or written explanation of what Django is, what changes in 2028, and what matters now.

How to verify:
- The learner can repeat the explanation without looking at the agent's text.

Goal: Understand that the announcement calls for a schedule review, not an automatic migration.

Safe context for the agent:
- The first three paragraphs and the official transition schedule.
- A short project description without code, secrets, or user data.

Allowed:
- Explain which facts are required for a decision.
- Ask about the required support window and acceptable upgrade window.

Not allowed:
- Recommend a specific release without inspecting the project.
- Request production access or secrets.

Stop when:
- The agent proposes an immediate upgrade solely because of the announcement.
- Credentials are requested for the explanation.

Expected artifact: One decision question, such as: 'When should this project next review compatibility?'

How to verify:
- The question does not assume in advance that an upgrade is required.

Goal: Locate declared Django and Python versions, dependency files, tests, and continuous integration configuration.

Safe context for the agent:
- Path to a separate working copy of the repository.
- requirements, pyproject.toml, poetry.lock, or uv.lock files when present.
- Project documentation without tokens, passwords, or environment-variable values.

Allowed:
- Read dependency and configuration files.
- Locate existing tests and continuous integration (CI) files.
- Prepare, but do not yet run, a list of local commands that only report versions and Git state.

Not allowed:
- Change packages or lockfiles.
- Run migrations, tests with unknown side effects, or network operations.
- Read secrets or access production.

Stop when:
- There is no separate working copy.
- The intended environment or Python interpreter is unclear.
- Credentials are required to continue.

Expected artifact: A no-change inspection report covering declared versions, dependency files, tests, CI, proposed reporting commands, and unconfirmed facts.

How to verify:
- Git status and diff show no changes.
- Every claim points to a specific file or is marked unconfirmed.

Goal: Choose between making no change, scheduling the next review, or separately investigating compatibility.

Safe context for the agent:
- The no-change inspection report.
- The official support deadline for the current release.
- Documented requirements of critical third-party packages.

Allowed:
- Compare verified dates and versions.
- Suggest a next review date.
- Prepare a separate future test plan without executing it.

Not allowed:
- Automatically perform an upgrade.
- Treat compatibility as proven without documentation and tests.
- Include direct production changes.

Stop when:
- There is no official source for the support deadline.
- Critical packages or test status have not been identified.

Expected artifact: One preliminary decision with evidence, risks, unknowns, and a next review date.

How to verify:
- The decision is not based on the LTS label alone.
- Another person can trace every conclusion to the report or an official source.

Goal: Confirm facts locally without changing dependencies, the database, or production.

Safe context for the agent:
- A separate working copy of the repository.
- A human-approved list of local commands that only report versions and Git state.
- The expected local environment name, without secrets.

Allowed:
- Run only the approved local commands that report versions or Git state.
- Record standard output and exit codes.

Not allowed:
- Install, remove, or update packages.
- Change lockfiles, run migrations, or access the network.
- Use production access, secrets, or user data.

Stop when:
- A command attempts to write a file, install a package, or access the network.
- The active environment differs from the expected environment.
- A command requests credentials.

Expected artifact: Captured version-check output, exit codes, and confirmation that Git status and diff show no changes.

How to verify:
- A person reviews both the approved command list and the actual output.
- Git status and diff still show no changes after execution.

Goal: Confirm key facts against official sources and repository state.

Safe context for the agent:
- The preliminary decision and local inspection output.
- Django's official schedule.
- Dependency files and documentation for critical packages.

Allowed:
- Check support windows against the official source.
- Compare declared and installed versions.
- Review Git status and diff again.

Not allowed:
- Treat the agent's answer or an unconfirmed assumption as evidence.
- Resolve a discrepancy by automatically upgrading.

Stop when:
- Sources disagree.
- The project version or a critical package requirement is unconfirmed.

Expected artifact: A verified decision with official links, remaining uncertainties, and a next review date.

How to verify:
- Every support deadline has a direct official link.
- No tracked or untracked files were changed during inspection or execution.

Goal: Make the decision understandable for human approval before any future upgrade.

Safe context for the agent:
- The verified decision, links, risks, and uncertainties.
- The intended audience: project owner, developer, or instructor.

Allowed:
- Condense the decision without removing its limits.
- Separate confirmed facts from recommendations.

Not allowed:
- Hide uncertainties or present the plan as a completed upgrade.
- Add commands or change the project.

Stop when:
- The explanation lacks a source for a date or does not name the next step.

Expected artifact: A decision record stating the current condition, verified dates, selected action, risks, owner, and next review date.

How to verify:
- Another person can reconstruct the decision from its links and artifacts without trusting the agent.