From 9ad3bc6e6b120dd1d8a0d542444c34a48e7a3a3a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 10:14:59 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 1/8] Integrate Django-RQ as an alternative task queue

- Added configuration options for Django-RQ in cookiecutter.json and project generation options documentation.
- Updated README.md to include Django-RQ features and setup instructions.
- Created a comprehensive guide for using Django-RQ, detailing task creation, enqueuing, and monitoring.
- Modified Docker and Docker Compose files to include services for Valkey and RQ components.
- Updated environment files to include VALKEY_URL for local and production setups.
- Adjusted Procfile to support RQ worker and scheduler commands.
- Enhanced base.py settings to configure RQ queues and added necessary imports in tasks and tests.
- Implemented cleanup hooks in post_gen_project.py to remove RQ files if not used.
- Added new start scripts for RQ worker, scheduler, and dashboard in both local and production setups.
---
 README.md                                     |   1 +
 cookiecutter.json                             |   1 +
 .../project-generation-options.rst            |   7 +
 .../developing-locally-docker.rst             |  29 ++
 docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst  |  11 +-
 docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst             | 366 ++++++++++++++++++
 hooks/post_gen_project.py                     |  19 +
 .../.envs/.local/.django                      |   6 +
 .../.envs/.production/.django                 |  12 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile        |   4 +
 .../compose/local/django/Dockerfile           |  14 +
 .../compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start   |   6 +
 .../compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start   |   6 +
 .../compose/local/django/rq/worker/start      |   6 +
 .../compose/production/django/Dockerfile      |  16 +
 .../production/django/rq/dashboard/start      |   7 +
 .../production/django/rq/scheduler/start      |   7 +
 .../compose/production/django/rq/worker/start |   7 +
 .../config/settings/base.py                   |  28 ++
 .../docker-compose.local.yml                  |  52 ++-
 .../docker-compose.production.yml             |  41 +-
 .../requirements/base.txt                     |   7 +
 .../users/tasks.py                            |  10 +-
 .../users/tests/test_tasks.py                 |  12 +-
 24 files changed, 665 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start
 create mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/worker/start

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 86c888aa27..e24de68ce0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ _These features can be enabled during initial project setup._
 
 - Serve static files from Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Storage or [Whitenoise](https://whitenoise.readthedocs.io/)
 - Configuration for [Celery](https://docs.celeryq.dev) and [Flower](https://github.com/mher/flower) (the latter in Docker setup only)
+- Configuration for [Django-RQ](https://github.com/rq/django-rq) with [Valkey](https://valkey.io/) as an alternative task queue
 - Integration with [Mailpit](https://github.com/axllent/mailpit/) for local email testing
 - Integration with [Sentry](https://sentry.io/welcome/) for error logging
 
diff --git a/cookiecutter.json b/cookiecutter.json
index 377145d27d..c09e33b718 100644
--- a/cookiecutter.json
+++ b/cookiecutter.json
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
   "use_drf": "n",
   "frontend_pipeline": ["None", "Django Compressor", "Gulp", "Webpack"],
   "use_celery": "n",
+  "use_rq": "n",
   "use_mailpit": "n",
   "use_sentry": "n",
   "use_whitenoise": "n",
diff --git a/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst b/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
index 5e6e06c8e9..1ac5acfb4e 100644
--- a/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
+++ b/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
@@ -114,6 +114,9 @@ Both Gulp and Webpack support Bootstrap recompilation with real-time variables a
 use_celery:
     Indicates whether the project should be configured to use Celery_.
 
+use_rq:
+    Indicates whether the project should be configured to use Django-RQ_ with Valkey_ as an alternative task queue to Celery. Django-RQ provides a simpler, more lightweight approach to background task processing.
+
 use_mailpit:
     Indicates whether the project should be configured to use Mailpit_.
 
@@ -182,6 +185,10 @@ debug:
 
 .. _Celery: https://github.com/celery/celery
 
+.. _Django-RQ: https://github.com/rq/django-rq
+
+.. _Valkey: https://valkey.io/
+
 .. _Mailpit: https://github.com/axllent/mailpit
 
 .. _Sentry: https://github.com/getsentry/sentry
diff --git a/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst b/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
index ea6f3e887d..d869c58388 100644
--- a/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
+++ b/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
@@ -250,6 +250,35 @@ By default, it's enabled both in local and production environments (``docker-com
 
 .. _`Flower`: https://github.com/mher/flower
 
+Django-RQ (Optional Task Queue)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+If you selected ``use_rq`` during project initialization, you can use Django-RQ with Valkey for background task processing.
+
+**Services included:**
+
+* **Valkey**: Redis-compatible data store on port 6379
+* **RQ Worker**: Processes background jobs from queues
+* **RQ Scheduler**: Handles scheduled/periodic tasks
+* **RQ Dashboard**: Web-based monitoring at http://localhost:9181
+
+**Quick example:**
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # myapp/tasks.py
+   import django_rq
+
+   @django_rq.job
+   def send_notification(user_id):
+       # Task code here
+       pass
+
+   # Enqueue from anywhere
+   send_notification.delay(user_id)
+
+See the :doc:`/4-guides/using-django-rq` guide for complete documentation.
+
 Using Webpack or Gulp
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst b/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
index 6ee22fc57b..b16170386b 100644
--- a/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
+++ b/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ Before you begin, check out the ``docker-compose.production.yml`` file in the ro
 
 * ``django``: your application running behind ``Gunicorn``;
 * ``postgres``: PostgreSQL database with the application's relational data;
-* ``redis``: Redis instance for caching;
+* ``redis``: Redis instance for caching (and Celery if enabled);
+* ``valkey``: Valkey instance for Django-RQ task queue (if ``use_rq`` is enabled);
 * ``traefik``: Traefik reverse proxy with HTTPS on by default.
 
 Provided you have opted for Celery (via setting ``use_celery`` to ``y``) there are three more services:
@@ -31,6 +32,14 @@ The ``flower`` service is served by Traefik over HTTPS, through the port ``5555`
 
 .. _`Flower`: https://github.com/mher/flower
 
+If you have opted for Django-RQ (via setting ``use_rq`` to ``y``) there are three additional services:
+
+* ``rqworker`` running an RQ worker process;
+* ``rqscheduler`` running an RQ scheduler process;
+* ``rqdashboard`` running the RQ Dashboard monitoring interface.
+
+The ``rqdashboard`` service is served by Traefik over HTTPS, through the port ``9181``. For more information about Django-RQ, check out :doc:`/4-guides/using-django-rq`.
+
 
 Configuring the Stack
 ---------------------
diff --git a/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9b5ad46263
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,366 @@
+Using Django-RQ
+===============
+
+.. index:: django-rq, task queue, background jobs, RQ, Valkey
+
+Django-RQ is a simple task queue system for Django that uses `RQ (Redis Queue) <https://python-rq.org/>`_ and `Valkey <https://valkey.io/>`_ as the message broker. It provides a lightweight alternative to Celery for applications that need background task processing with minimal configuration.
+
+Why Django-RQ?
+--------------
+
+Django-RQ offers several advantages:
+
+- **Simplicity**: Minimal configuration required compared to Celery
+- **Built-in Monitoring**: Includes RQ Dashboard for real-time queue monitoring
+- **Python-native**: Job failures can be inspected directly in Python
+- **Valkey Backend**: Uses Valkey, an open-source Redis-compatible data store
+- **Development-friendly**: Easy to test with synchronous mode
+
+When to Use Django-RQ vs Celery
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+**Use Django-RQ when:**
+
+- You need simple background tasks with minimal configuration
+- You want built-in monitoring without additional setup
+- You're comfortable with a simpler feature set
+- You prefer inspecting job failures in Python
+
+**Use Celery when:**
+
+- You need complex workflows with chains, groups, and chords
+- You require advanced routing and scheduling features
+- You need multiple broker support (RabbitMQ, etc.)
+- Your application demands enterprise-level task processing
+
+Architecture
+------------
+
+When ``use_rq`` is enabled, your project includes:
+
+**Services:**
+
+- **Valkey**: Redis-compatible data store running on port 6379
+- **RQ Worker**: Processes background jobs from queues
+- **RQ Scheduler**: Handles scheduled/periodic tasks
+- **RQ Dashboard**: Web-based monitoring interface on port 9181
+
+**Queues:**
+
+- ``default``: General purpose tasks (360s timeout)
+- ``high``: High-priority tasks (500s timeout)
+- ``low``: Low-priority tasks (default timeout)
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+Environment Variables
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Django-RQ uses the following environment variable:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   # For Docker environments
+   VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+   
+   # For local development (non-Docker)
+   VALKEY_URL=valkey://localhost:6379/0
+
+Settings
+~~~~~~~~
+
+The following settings are automatically configured in ``config/settings/base.py``:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   RQ_QUEUES = {
+       "default": {
+           "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+           "DEFAULT_TIMEOUT": 360,
+       },
+       "high": {
+           "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+           "DEFAULT_TIMEOUT": 500,
+       },
+       "low": {
+           "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+       },
+   }
+   RQ_SHOW_ADMIN_LINK = True
+
+Creating Tasks
+--------------
+
+Use the ``@job`` decorator to create background tasks:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # myapp/tasks.py
+   import django_rq
+
+   @django_rq.job
+   def send_welcome_email(user_id):
+       """Send a welcome email to a new user."""
+       from .models import User
+       from django.core.mail import send_mail
+       
+       user = User.objects.get(id=user_id)
+       send_mail(
+           "Welcome!",
+           f"Hello {user.username}, welcome to our platform!",
+           "noreply@example.com",
+           [user.email],
+       )
+
+Enqueuing Tasks
+---------------
+
+Enqueue tasks from your views or other code:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   from .tasks import send_welcome_email
+
+   # Enqueue to default queue
+   send_welcome_email.delay(user.id)
+
+   # Enqueue to specific queue
+   queue = django_rq.get_queue("high")
+   queue.enqueue(send_welcome_email, user.id)
+
+   # Schedule task for later
+   from datetime import timedelta
+   queue.enqueue_in(timedelta(minutes=10), send_welcome_email, user.id)
+
+Testing Tasks
+-------------
+
+For testing, use synchronous mode to avoid async complications:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # tests/test_tasks.py
+   import django_rq
+   from myapp.tasks import send_welcome_email
+
+   def test_send_welcome_email(user):
+       """Test that welcome email task works."""
+       # Get synchronous queue
+       queue = django_rq.get_queue("default", is_async=False)
+       
+       # Enqueue and execute immediately
+       job = queue.enqueue(send_welcome_email, user.id)
+       
+       # Verify job completed
+       assert job.is_finished
+       assert job.result is None
+
+Monitoring with RQ Dashboard
+-----------------------------
+
+Access the RQ Dashboard at http://localhost:9181 (or your host:9181 in production).
+
+The dashboard shows:
+
+- Active queues and worker count
+- Jobs by state (queued, started, finished, failed)
+- Worker status and statistics
+- Failed job inspection with tracebacks
+
+Management Commands
+-------------------
+
+Django-RQ provides Django management commands:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   # Start worker manually (not needed with docker-compose)
+   python manage.py rqworker default high low
+
+   # Start scheduler manually
+   python manage.py rqscheduler
+
+   # Get worker statistics
+   python manage.py rqstats
+
+   # Clear all queues
+   python manage.py rqenqueue --clear all
+
+Docker Development
+------------------
+
+With Docker, all RQ services start automatically:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up
+
+Access:
+
+- **Application**: http://localhost:8000
+- **RQ Dashboard**: http://localhost:9181
+
+Services will auto-reload on code changes using ``watchfiles``.
+
+Production Deployment
+---------------------
+
+Docker Production
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+RQ services are included in ``docker-compose.production.yml``:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up
+
+Ensure you set the environment variable:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+
+Heroku
+~~~~~~
+
+The ``Procfile`` includes RQ worker and scheduler:
+
+.. code-block:: text
+
+   worker: python manage.py rqworker default high low
+   scheduler: python manage.py rqscheduler
+
+Scale workers as needed:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   heroku ps:scale worker=2
+
+Best Practices
+--------------
+
+1. **Keep tasks focused**: Each task should do one thing well
+2. **Use timeouts**: Set appropriate timeouts for long-running tasks
+3. **Handle failures gracefully**: Tasks may fail and retry
+4. **Log appropriately**: Use Python logging for debugging
+5. **Test synchronously**: Use ``is_async=False`` in tests
+6. **Choose queues wisely**: Use ``high`` for critical tasks, ``low`` for background cleanup
+
+Example: Image Processing Task
+-------------------------------
+
+Here's a complete example of an image processing task:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   # myapp/tasks.py
+   import logging
+   import django_rq
+   from PIL import Image
+   from django.core.files.storage import default_storage
+
+   logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+   @django_rq.job('high', timeout=300)
+   def generate_thumbnail(photo_id):
+       """Generate thumbnail for uploaded photo."""
+       from .models import Photo
+       
+       try:
+           photo = Photo.objects.get(id=photo_id)
+           
+           # Open original image
+           img_path = photo.original.path
+           img = Image.open(img_path)
+           
+           # Generate thumbnail
+           img.thumbnail((200, 200))
+           
+           # Save thumbnail
+           thumb_path = f"thumbnails/{photo_id}.jpg"
+           with default_storage.open(thumb_path, 'wb') as f:
+               img.save(f, 'JPEG', quality=85)
+           
+           # Update model
+           photo.thumbnail = thumb_path
+           photo.save()
+           
+           logger.info(f"Generated thumbnail for photo {photo_id}")
+           
+       except Photo.DoesNotExist:
+           logger.error(f"Photo {photo_id} not found")
+           raise
+       except Exception as e:
+           logger.exception(f"Failed to generate thumbnail: {e}")
+           raise
+
+   # views.py
+   from django.views.generic import CreateView
+   from .models import Photo
+   from .tasks import generate_thumbnail
+
+   class PhotoUploadView(CreateView):
+       model = Photo
+       fields = ['title', 'original']
+       
+       def form_valid(self, form):
+           response = super().form_valid(form)
+           # Enqueue thumbnail generation in background
+           generate_thumbnail.delay(self.object.id)
+           return response
+
+Troubleshooting
+---------------
+
+Workers Not Processing Jobs
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Check that workers are running:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml ps
+
+Verify Valkey connection:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml exec django python manage.py shell
+   >>> import django_rq
+   >>> queue = django_rq.get_queue()
+   >>> print(queue.connection)
+
+Jobs Failing Silently
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Check failed job queue in RQ Dashboard or via shell:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+   import django_rq
+   from rq.registry import FailedJobRegistry
+
+   queue = django_rq.get_queue()
+   registry = FailedJobRegistry(queue=queue)
+   
+   for job_id in registry.get_job_ids():
+       job = queue.fetch_job(job_id)
+       print(f"Job {job_id}: {job.exc_info}")
+
+Dashboard Not Loading
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Ensure port 9181 is exposed and dashboard service is running:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml logs rqdashboard
+
+Further Reading
+---------------
+
+- `Django-RQ Documentation <https://github.com/rq/django-rq>`_
+- `RQ Documentation <https://python-rq.org/>`_
+- `Valkey Documentation <https://valkey.io/>`_
+- :doc:`/4-guides/using-celery` - Alternative task queue guide
diff --git a/hooks/post_gen_project.py b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
index e35c974865..9e48d26dc8 100644
--- a/hooks/post_gen_project.py
+++ b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
@@ -398,6 +398,20 @@ def remove_celery_compose_dirs():
     shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "production", "django", "celery"))
 
 
+def remove_rq_files():
+    file_paths = [
+        Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tasks.py"),
+        Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tests", "test_tasks.py"),
+    ]
+    for file_path in file_paths:
+        file_path.unlink()
+
+
+def remove_rq_compose_dirs():
+    shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "local", "django", "rq"))
+    shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "production", "django", "rq"))
+
+
 def remove_node_dockerfile():
     shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "local", "node"))
 
@@ -488,6 +502,11 @@ def main():  # noqa: C901, PLR0912, PLR0915
         if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
             remove_celery_compose_dirs()
 
+    if "{{ cookiecutter.use_rq }}".lower() == "n":
+        remove_rq_files()
+        if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
+            remove_rq_compose_dirs()
+
     if "{{ cookiecutter.ci_tool }}" != "Travis":
         remove_dottravisyml_file()
 
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
index ef581a1c09..9c6cfbaa39 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
@@ -15,3 +15,9 @@ REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
 CELERY_FLOWER_USER=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_USER!!!
 CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {%- endif %}
+
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+# Valkey
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+{%- endif %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
index 07ffd7112f..d6585238a0 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
@@ -63,11 +63,11 @@ WEB_CONCURRENCY=4
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 SENTRY_DSN=
 {% endif %}
-
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
 # Redis
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
-{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
+
 # Celery
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -75,3 +75,11 @@ REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
 CELERY_FLOWER_USER=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_USER!!!
 CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {% endif %}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+# Valkey
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+
+# Django-RQ
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+{% endif %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
index 6424e048d3..cd7c10cfb8 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
@@ -8,3 +8,7 @@ web: gunicorn config.wsgi:application
 worker: REMAP_SIGTERM=SIGQUIT celery -A config.celery_app worker --loglevel=info
 beat: REMAP_SIGTERM=SIGQUIT celery -A config.celery_app beat --loglevel=info
 {%- endif %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+worker: python manage.py rqworker default high low
+scheduler: python manage.py rqscheduler
+{%- endif %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
index 4eb6a7b324..f9128ac5ff 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -68,4 +68,18 @@ RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-flower
 RUN chmod +x /start-flower
 {% endif %}
 
+{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/worker/start /start-rqworker
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqworker
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
+
+COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start /start-rqscheduler
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqscheduler
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqscheduler
+
+COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start /start-rqdashboard
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqdashboard
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqdashboard
+{% endif %}
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint"]
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a5e15873d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+
+exec rq-dashboard --bind 0.0.0.0:9181 --redis-url "${VALKEY_URL}"
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..df54b98742
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+
+exec watchfiles --filter python django.__main__.main --args 'rqscheduler'
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a4b2da38cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+
+exec watchfiles --filter python django.__main__.main --args 'rqworker default high low'
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
index d191aa273d..161f180506 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
@@ -106,6 +106,22 @@ RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-flower
 RUN chmod +x /start-flower
 {%- endif %}
 
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/worker/start /start-rqworker
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqworker
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
+
+
+COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start /start-rqscheduler
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqscheduler
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqscheduler
+
+
+COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start /start-rqdashboard
+RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqdashboard
+RUN chmod +x /start-rqdashboard
+{%- endif %}
+
 # Copy the application from the builder
 COPY --from=python-build-stage --chown=django:django ${APP_HOME} ${APP_HOME}
 
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21c1678be5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o pipefail
+set -o nounset
+
+exec rq-dashboard --bind 0.0.0.0:9181 --redis-url "${VALKEY_URL}"
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a9b94080f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o pipefail
+set -o nounset
+
+exec python manage.py rqscheduler
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/worker/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/worker/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..75753a2b80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/worker/start
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o pipefail
+set -o nounset
+
+exec python manage.py rqworker default high low
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
index ba0a7ce463..d4052b5655 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
@@ -92,6 +92,9 @@
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
     "django_celery_beat",
 {%- endif %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+    "django_rq",
+{%- endif %}
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_drf == "y" %}
     "rest_framework",
     "rest_framework.authtoken",
@@ -285,8 +288,13 @@
     "root": {"level": "INFO", "handlers": ["console"]},
 }
 
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 REDIS_URL = env("REDIS_URL", default="redis://{% if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}redis{%else%}localhost{% endif %}:6379/0")
 REDIS_SSL = REDIS_URL.startswith("rediss://")
+{%- endif %}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+VALKEY_URL = env("VALKEY_URL", default="valkey://{% if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}valkey{%else%}localhost{% endif %}:6379/0")
+{%- endif %}
 
 {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 # Celery
@@ -330,6 +338,26 @@
 # https://docs.celeryq.dev/en/stable/userguide/configuration.html#worker-hijack-root-logger
 CELERY_WORKER_HIJACK_ROOT_LOGGER = False
 
+{%- endif %}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+# Django-RQ
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# https://github.com/rq/django-rq
+RQ_QUEUES = {
+    "default": {
+        "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+        "DEFAULT_TIMEOUT": 360,
+    },
+    "high": {
+        "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+        "DEFAULT_TIMEOUT": 500,
+    },
+    "low": {
+        "URL": VALKEY_URL,
+    },
+}
+# https://github.com/rq/django-rq#support-for-django-redis-and-django-redis-cache
+RQ_SHOW_ADMIN_LINK = True
 {%- endif %}
 # django-allauth
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
index c713b2e941..894971fa6f 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ volumes:
   {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_postgres_data: {}
   {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_postgres_data_backups: {}
   {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_redis_data: {}{% endif %}
+  {% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_valkey_data: {}{% endif %}
 
 services:
-  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
+  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: ./compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -15,6 +16,9 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - redis
       {%- endif %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      - valkey
+      {%- endif %}
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_mailpit == 'y' %}
       - mailpit
       {%- endif %}
@@ -61,6 +65,9 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_redis_data:/data
 
+  {%- endif %}
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
+
   celeryworker:
     <<: *django
     image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_celeryworker
@@ -95,6 +102,49 @@ services:
       - '5555:5555'
     command: /start-flower
 
+  {%- endif %}
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+
+  valkey:
+    image: docker.io/valkey/valkey:8.0
+    container_name: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_valkey
+    volumes:
+      - {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_valkey_data:/data
+
+  rqworker:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqworker
+    container_name: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqworker
+    depends_on:
+      - valkey
+      - postgres
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_mailpit == 'y' %}
+      - mailpit
+      {%- endif %}
+    ports: []
+    command: /start-rqworker
+
+  rqscheduler:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqscheduler
+    container_name: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqscheduler
+    depends_on:
+      - valkey
+      - postgres
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_mailpit == 'y' %}
+      - mailpit
+      {%- endif %}
+    ports: []
+    command: /start-rqscheduler
+
+  rqdashboard:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqdashboard
+    container_name: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqdashboard
+    ports:
+      - '9181:9181'
+    command: /start-rqdashboard
+
   {%- endif %}
   {%- if cookiecutter.frontend_pipeline in ['Gulp', 'Webpack'] %}
 
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
index f458d08046..5fad9f89e6 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
@@ -8,10 +8,13 @@ volumes:
   {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
   production_redis_data: {}
   {% endif %}
+  {% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+  production_valkey_data: {}
+  {% endif %}
 
 
 services:
-  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
+  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: ./compose/production/django/Dockerfile
@@ -35,7 +38,12 @@ services:
     {%- endif %}
     depends_on:
       - postgres
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - redis
+      {%- endif %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      - valkey
+      {%- endif %}
     env_file:
       - ./.envs/.production/.django
       - ./.envs/.production/.postgres
@@ -71,15 +79,18 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - '0.0.0.0:5555:5555'
       {%- endif %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      - '0.0.0.0:9181:9181'
+      {%- endif %}
+
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
 
   redis:
     image: docker.io/redis:7.2
-    {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
     volumes:
       - production_redis_data:/data
-    {% endif %}
-
 
+  {%- endif %}
   {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
 
   celeryworker:
@@ -97,6 +108,28 @@ services:
     image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_flower
     command: /start-flower
   {%- endif %}
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+
+  valkey:
+    image: docker.io/valkey/valkey:8.0
+    volumes:
+      - production_valkey_data:/data
+
+  rqworker:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_rqworker
+    command: /start-rqworker
+
+  rqscheduler:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_rqscheduler
+    command: /start-rqscheduler
+
+  rqdashboard:
+    <<: *django
+    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_rqdashboard
+    command: /start-rqdashboard
+  {%- endif %}
   {%- if cookiecutter.cloud_provider == 'AWS' %}
 
   awscli:
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
index 8e37dbe2de..f1688670d3 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
@@ -22,6 +22,13 @@ django-celery-beat==2.8.1  # https://github.com/celery/django-celery-beat
 flower==2.0.1  # https://github.com/mher/flower
 {%- endif %}
 {%- endif %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+django-rq==2.10.2  # https://github.com/rq/django-rq
+rq==1.16.2  # https://github.com/rq/rq
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}
+rq-dashboard==0.6.1  # https://github.com/Parallels/rq-dashboard
+{%- endif %}
+{%- endif %}
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_async == 'y' %}
 uvicorn[standard]==0.38.0  # https://github.com/Kludex/uvicorn
 uvicorn-worker==0.4.0  # https://github.com/Kludex/uvicorn-worker
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
index ca51cd7401..61cd041188 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 from celery import shared_task
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+import django_rq
+{%- endif %}
 
 from .models import User
 
 
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 @shared_task()
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+@django_rq.job
+{%- endif %}
 def get_users_count():
-    """A pointless Celery task to demonstrate usage."""
+    """A pointless {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task to demonstrate usage."""
     return User.objects.count()
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
index d3f6101399..47f65a3c2a 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import pytest
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 from celery.result import EagerResult
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+import django_rq
+{%- endif %}
 
 from {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}.users.tasks import get_users_count
 from {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}.users.tests.factories import UserFactory
@@ -8,10 +12,16 @@
 
 
 def test_user_count(settings):
-    """A basic test to execute the get_users_count Celery task."""
+    """A basic test to execute the get_users_count {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task."""
     batch_size = 3
     UserFactory.create_batch(batch_size)
+{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
     settings.CELERY_TASK_ALWAYS_EAGER = True
     task_result = get_users_count.delay()
     assert isinstance(task_result, EagerResult)
     assert task_result.result == batch_size
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+    queue = django_rq.get_queue("default", is_async=False)
+    job = queue.enqueue(get_users_count)
+    assert job.result == batch_size
+{%- endif %}

From aaa7ea4a16653036debaf1696b9e05d82ceaef49 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "pre-commit-ci[bot]"
 <66853113+pre-commit-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 16:41:46 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/8] [pre-commit.ci] auto fixes from pre-commit.com hooks

for more information, see https://pre-commit.ci
---
 docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst | 26 +++++++++++++-------------
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
index 9b5ad46263..fd20e70309 100644
--- a/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
+++ b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ Django-RQ uses the following environment variable:
 
    # For Docker environments
    VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
-   
+
    # For local development (non-Docker)
    VALKEY_URL=valkey://localhost:6379/0
 
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ Use the ``@job`` decorator to create background tasks:
        """Send a welcome email to a new user."""
        from .models import User
        from django.core.mail import send_mail
-       
+
        user = User.objects.get(id=user_id)
        send_mail(
            "Welcome!",
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@ For testing, use synchronous mode to avoid async complications:
        """Test that welcome email task works."""
        # Get synchronous queue
        queue = django_rq.get_queue("default", is_async=False)
-       
+
        # Enqueue and execute immediately
        job = queue.enqueue(send_welcome_email, user.id)
-       
+
        # Verify job completed
        assert job.is_finished
        assert job.result is None
@@ -266,28 +266,28 @@ Here's a complete example of an image processing task:
    def generate_thumbnail(photo_id):
        """Generate thumbnail for uploaded photo."""
        from .models import Photo
-       
+
        try:
            photo = Photo.objects.get(id=photo_id)
-           
+
            # Open original image
            img_path = photo.original.path
            img = Image.open(img_path)
-           
+
            # Generate thumbnail
            img.thumbnail((200, 200))
-           
+
            # Save thumbnail
            thumb_path = f"thumbnails/{photo_id}.jpg"
            with default_storage.open(thumb_path, 'wb') as f:
                img.save(f, 'JPEG', quality=85)
-           
+
            # Update model
            photo.thumbnail = thumb_path
            photo.save()
-           
+
            logger.info(f"Generated thumbnail for photo {photo_id}")
-           
+
        except Photo.DoesNotExist:
            logger.error(f"Photo {photo_id} not found")
            raise
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ Here's a complete example of an image processing task:
    class PhotoUploadView(CreateView):
        model = Photo
        fields = ['title', 'original']
-       
+
        def form_valid(self, form):
            response = super().form_valid(form)
            # Enqueue thumbnail generation in background
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ Check failed job queue in RQ Dashboard or via shell:
 
    queue = django_rq.get_queue()
    registry = FailedJobRegistry(queue=queue)
-   
+
    for job_id in registry.get_job_ids():
        job = queue.fetch_job(job_id)
        print(f"Job {job_id}: {job.exc_info}")

From 53fdbc9b171f47443168a302bb82caace496086b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 18:47:29 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 3/8] Rename use_rq configuration to use_django_rq

---
 cookiecutter.json                                      |  2 +-
 docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst  |  2 +-
 docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst |  2 +-
 docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst           |  4 ++--
 docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst                      |  2 +-
 hooks/post_gen_project.py                              |  2 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django     |  2 +-
 .../.envs/.production/.django                          |  2 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile                 |  2 +-
 .../compose/local/django/Dockerfile                    |  2 +-
 .../compose/production/django/Dockerfile               |  2 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py  |  6 +++---
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml |  8 ++++----
 .../docker-compose.production.yml                      | 10 +++++-----
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt    |  2 +-
 .../{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py       |  6 +++---
 .../users/tests/test_tasks.py                          |  6 +++---
 17 files changed, 31 insertions(+), 31 deletions(-)

diff --git a/cookiecutter.json b/cookiecutter.json
index c09e33b718..4fd7a070a0 100644
--- a/cookiecutter.json
+++ b/cookiecutter.json
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
   "use_drf": "n",
   "frontend_pipeline": ["None", "Django Compressor", "Gulp", "Webpack"],
   "use_celery": "n",
-  "use_rq": "n",
+  "use_django_rq": "n",
   "use_mailpit": "n",
   "use_sentry": "n",
   "use_whitenoise": "n",
diff --git a/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst b/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
index 1ac5acfb4e..a458ca1452 100644
--- a/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
+++ b/docs/1-getting-started/project-generation-options.rst
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ Both Gulp and Webpack support Bootstrap recompilation with real-time variables a
 use_celery:
     Indicates whether the project should be configured to use Celery_.
 
-use_rq:
+use_django_rq:
     Indicates whether the project should be configured to use Django-RQ_ with Valkey_ as an alternative task queue to Celery. Django-RQ provides a simpler, more lightweight approach to background task processing.
 
 use_mailpit:
diff --git a/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst b/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
index d869c58388..869c875e59 100644
--- a/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
+++ b/docs/2-local-development/developing-locally-docker.rst
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ By default, it's enabled both in local and production environments (``docker-com
 Django-RQ (Optional Task Queue)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-If you selected ``use_rq`` during project initialization, you can use Django-RQ with Valkey for background task processing.
+If you selected ``use_django_rq`` during project initialization, you can use Django-RQ with Valkey for background task processing.
 
 **Services included:**
 
diff --git a/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst b/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
index b16170386b..b10801c86c 100644
--- a/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
+++ b/docs/3-deployment/deployment-with-docker.rst
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Before you begin, check out the ``docker-compose.production.yml`` file in the ro
 * ``django``: your application running behind ``Gunicorn``;
 * ``postgres``: PostgreSQL database with the application's relational data;
 * ``redis``: Redis instance for caching (and Celery if enabled);
-* ``valkey``: Valkey instance for Django-RQ task queue (if ``use_rq`` is enabled);
+* ``valkey``: Valkey instance for Django-RQ task queue (if ``use_django_rq`` is enabled);
 * ``traefik``: Traefik reverse proxy with HTTPS on by default.
 
 Provided you have opted for Celery (via setting ``use_celery`` to ``y``) there are three more services:
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ The ``flower`` service is served by Traefik over HTTPS, through the port ``5555`
 
 .. _`Flower`: https://github.com/mher/flower
 
-If you have opted for Django-RQ (via setting ``use_rq`` to ``y``) there are three additional services:
+If you have opted for Django-RQ (via setting ``use_django_rq`` to ``y``) there are three additional services:
 
 * ``rqworker`` running an RQ worker process;
 * ``rqscheduler`` running an RQ scheduler process;
diff --git a/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
index fd20e70309..e7286801a0 100644
--- a/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
+++ b/docs/4-guides/using-django-rq.rst
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ When to Use Django-RQ vs Celery
 Architecture
 ------------
 
-When ``use_rq`` is enabled, your project includes:
+When ``use_django_rq`` is enabled, your project includes:
 
 **Services:**
 
diff --git a/hooks/post_gen_project.py b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
index 9e48d26dc8..8ed1d4cfca 100644
--- a/hooks/post_gen_project.py
+++ b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
@@ -502,7 +502,7 @@ def main():  # noqa: C901, PLR0912, PLR0915
         if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
             remove_celery_compose_dirs()
 
-    if "{{ cookiecutter.use_rq }}".lower() == "n":
+    if "{{ cookiecutter.use_django_rq }}".lower() == "n":
         remove_rq_files()
         if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
             remove_rq_compose_dirs()
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
index 9c6cfbaa39..eba680bcc5 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ CELERY_FLOWER_USER=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_USER!!!
 CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {%- endif %}
 
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 # Valkey
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
index d6585238a0..5defe00f2d 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
 CELERY_FLOWER_USER=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_USER!!!
 CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {% endif %}
-{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 # Valkey
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
index cd7c10cfb8..0b3ae67e73 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/Procfile
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ web: gunicorn config.wsgi:application
 worker: REMAP_SIGTERM=SIGQUIT celery -A config.celery_app worker --loglevel=info
 beat: REMAP_SIGTERM=SIGQUIT celery -A config.celery_app beat --loglevel=info
 {%- endif %}
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == "y" %}
 worker: python manage.py rqworker default high low
 scheduler: python manage.py rqscheduler
 {%- endif %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
index f9128ac5ff..352b2ac647 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-flower
 RUN chmod +x /start-flower
 {% endif %}
 
-{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == "y" %}
 COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/worker/start /start-rqworker
 RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqworker
 RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
index 161f180506..12f6bf01b8 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-flower
 RUN chmod +x /start-flower
 {%- endif %}
 
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == "y" %}
 COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/worker/start /start-rqworker
 RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqworker
 RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
index d4052b5655..efcb48adbe 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/config/settings/base.py
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
     "django_celery_beat",
 {%- endif %}
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
     "django_rq",
 {%- endif %}
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_drf == "y" %}
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@
 REDIS_URL = env("REDIS_URL", default="redis://{% if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}redis{%else%}localhost{% endif %}:6379/0")
 REDIS_SSL = REDIS_URL.startswith("rediss://")
 {%- endif %}
-{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
 VALKEY_URL = env("VALKEY_URL", default="valkey://{% if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}valkey{%else%}localhost{% endif %}:6379/0")
 {%- endif %}
 
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@
 CELERY_WORKER_HIJACK_ROOT_LOGGER = False
 
 {%- endif %}
-{% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
 # Django-RQ
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # https://github.com/rq/django-rq
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
index 894971fa6f..fb800ad7f6 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ volumes:
   {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_postgres_data: {}
   {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_postgres_data_backups: {}
   {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_redis_data: {}{% endif %}
-  {% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_valkey_data: {}{% endif %}
+  {% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_valkey_data: {}{% endif %}
 
 services:
-  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
+  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: ./compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - redis
       {%- endif %}
-      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
       - valkey
       {%- endif %}
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_mailpit == 'y' %}
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ services:
     command: /start-flower
 
   {%- endif %}
-  {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 
   valkey:
     image: docker.io/valkey/valkey:8.0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
index 5fad9f89e6..13f5267ec0 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@ volumes:
   {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
   production_redis_data: {}
   {% endif %}
-  {% if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+  {% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
   production_valkey_data: {}
   {% endif %}
 
 
 services:
-  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
+  django:{% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' or cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %} &django{% endif %}
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: ./compose/production/django/Dockerfile
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - redis
       {%- endif %}
-      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
       - valkey
       {%- endif %}
     env_file:
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - '0.0.0.0:5555:5555'
       {%- endif %}
-      {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+      {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
       - '0.0.0.0:9181:9181'
       {%- endif %}
 
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ services:
     image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_flower
     command: /start-flower
   {%- endif %}
-  {%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}
+  {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 
   valkey:
     image: docker.io/valkey/valkey:8.0
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
index f1688670d3..8a0f4215af 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ django-celery-beat==2.8.1  # https://github.com/celery/django-celery-beat
 flower==2.0.1  # https://github.com/mher/flower
 {%- endif %}
 {%- endif %}
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_rq == "y" %}
+{%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == "y" %}
 django-rq==2.10.2  # https://github.com/rq/django-rq
 rq==1.16.2  # https://github.com/rq/rq
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
index 61cd041188..e94608ac75 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tasks.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 from celery import shared_task
-{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
 import django_rq
 {%- endif %}
 
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@
 
 {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 @shared_task()
-{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
 @django_rq.job
 {%- endif %}
 def get_users_count():
-    """A pointless {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task to demonstrate usage."""
+    """A pointless {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task to demonstrate usage."""
     return User.objects.count()
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
index 47f65a3c2a..e6aa31de5d 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import pytest
 {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
 from celery.result import EagerResult
-{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
 import django_rq
 {%- endif %}
 
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 
 def test_user_count(settings):
-    """A basic test to execute the get_users_count {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task."""
+    """A basic test to execute the get_users_count {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}Celery{% elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}RQ{% endif %} task."""
     batch_size = 3
     UserFactory.create_batch(batch_size)
 {% if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' -%}
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def test_user_count(settings):
     task_result = get_users_count.delay()
     assert isinstance(task_result, EagerResult)
     assert task_result.result == batch_size
-{%- elif cookiecutter.use_rq == 'y' -%}
+{%- elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
     queue = django_rq.get_queue("default", is_async=False)
     job = queue.enqueue(get_users_count)
     assert job.result == batch_size

From 7ab724d96adb7af949992f852b09190b8a143a03 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 20:13:54 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 4/8] Enhance post-generation script to conditionally remove
 task queue files based on Celery and Django-RQ usage

---
 hooks/post_gen_project.py | 18 ++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/hooks/post_gen_project.py b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
index 8ed1d4cfca..4bcae27c05 100644
--- a/hooks/post_gen_project.py
+++ b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
@@ -84,6 +84,11 @@ def remove_heroku_files():
         if file_name == "requirements.txt" and "{{ cookiecutter.ci_tool }}".lower() == "travis":
             # Don't remove the file if we are using Travis CI but not using Heroku
             continue
+        # Keep Procfile if Celery or RQ is being used
+        if file_name == "Procfile" and (
+            "{{ cookiecutter.use_celery }}".lower() == "y" or "{{ cookiecutter.use_django_rq }}".lower() == "y"
+        ):
+            continue
         Path(file_name).unlink()
     shutil.rmtree("bin")
 
@@ -220,8 +225,6 @@ def remove_repo_from_pre_commit_config(repo_to_remove: str):
 def remove_celery_files():
     file_paths = [
         Path("config", "celery_app.py"),
-        Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tasks.py"),
-        Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tests", "test_tasks.py"),
     ]
     for file_path in file_paths:
         file_path.unlink()
@@ -399,6 +402,13 @@ def remove_celery_compose_dirs():
 
 
 def remove_rq_files():
+    file_paths = []
+    for file_path in file_paths:
+        file_path.unlink()
+
+
+def remove_task_queue_files():
+    """Remove task queue files when neither Celery nor RQ is used."""
     file_paths = [
         Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tasks.py"),
         Path("{{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}", "users", "tests", "test_tasks.py"),
@@ -507,6 +517,10 @@ def main():  # noqa: C901, PLR0912, PLR0915
         if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
             remove_rq_compose_dirs()
 
+    # Remove task queue files only if neither Celery nor RQ is used
+    if "{{ cookiecutter.use_celery }}".lower() == "n" and "{{ cookiecutter.use_django_rq }}".lower() == "n":
+        remove_task_queue_files()
+
     if "{{ cookiecutter.ci_tool }}" != "Travis":
         remove_dottravisyml_file()
 

From eae5c3d46d82d8ce8423134a7b09023e7e55c75e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 21:15:09 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 5/8] Update RQ scheduler and worker scripts to use 'python
 manage.py' for execution

---
 .../compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start                     | 2 +-
 .../compose/local/django/rq/worker/start                        | 2 +-
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
index df54b98742..dc3add9eab 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 
-exec watchfiles --filter python django.__main__.main --args 'rqscheduler'
+exec watchfiles 'python manage.py rqscheduler' --filter python
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
index a4b2da38cb..92ca67839a 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/worker/start
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 set -o errexit
 set -o nounset
 
-exec watchfiles --filter python django.__main__.main --args 'rqworker default high low'
+exec watchfiles 'python manage.py rqworker default high low' --filter python

From 653215c9a685fa6102424d512b584604037522b5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 21:24:14 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 6/8] Update VALKEY_URL to use Redis protocol and add
 rq-scheduler and Flask dependencies for compatibility

---
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django      | 2 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django | 2 +-
 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt     | 2 ++
 3 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
index eba680bcc5..a0adb2e129 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.local/.django
@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@ CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 # Valkey
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+VALKEY_URL=redis://valkey:6379/0
 {%- endif %}
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
index 5defe00f2d..bea67f89c7 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/.envs/.production/.django
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD=!!!SET CELERY_FLOWER_PASSWORD!!!
 {% if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
 # Valkey
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-VALKEY_URL=valkey://valkey:6379/0
+VALKEY_URL=redis://valkey:6379/0
 
 # Django-RQ
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
index 8a0f4215af..ece6d0b43b 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
@@ -25,8 +25,10 @@ flower==2.0.1  # https://github.com/mher/flower
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == "y" %}
 django-rq==2.10.2  # https://github.com/rq/django-rq
 rq==1.16.2  # https://github.com/rq/rq
+rq-scheduler==0.13.1  # https://github.com/rq/rq-scheduler
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}
 rq-dashboard==0.6.1  # https://github.com/Parallels/rq-dashboard
+Flask<3.0  # Pin Flask for rq-dashboard compatibility (Flask 3.x breaks rq-dashboard)
 {%- endif %}
 {%- endif %}
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_async == 'y' %}

From 29e22bafc7c7f94ca311f44f86f3e7b313baf620 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 21:42:09 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 7/8] Remove rqdashboard scripts and update configuration for
 django-rq integration

---
 hooks/post_gen_project.py                          | 14 ++++++++++++++
 .../compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start        |  6 ------
 .../compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start   |  7 -------
 .../docker-compose.local.yml                       |  8 --------
 .../docker-compose.production.yml                  |  8 --------
 .../requirements/base.txt                          |  4 ----
 .../users/tests/test_tasks.py                      |  2 +-
 7 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
 delete mode 100644 {{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start

diff --git a/hooks/post_gen_project.py b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
index 4bcae27c05..fa4ed4ca2c 100644
--- a/hooks/post_gen_project.py
+++ b/hooks/post_gen_project.py
@@ -422,6 +422,16 @@ def remove_rq_compose_dirs():
     shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "production", "django", "rq"))
 
 
+def remove_rqdashboard_script():
+    """Remove rqdashboard startup script directory when using django-rq."""
+    dashboard_path = Path("compose", "local", "django", "rq", "dashboard")
+    if dashboard_path.exists():
+        shutil.rmtree(dashboard_path)
+    dashboard_path = Path("compose", "production", "django", "rq", "dashboard")
+    if dashboard_path.exists():
+        shutil.rmtree(dashboard_path)
+
+
 def remove_node_dockerfile():
     shutil.rmtree(Path("compose", "local", "node"))
 
@@ -516,6 +526,10 @@ def main():  # noqa: C901, PLR0912, PLR0915
         remove_rq_files()
         if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
             remove_rq_compose_dirs()
+    elif "{{ cookiecutter.use_django_rq }}".lower() == "y":
+        # Remove standalone rqdashboard in favor of built-in admin dashboard
+        if "{{ cookiecutter.use_docker }}".lower() == "y":
+            remove_rqdashboard_script()
 
     # Remove task queue files only if neither Celery nor RQ is used
     if "{{ cookiecutter.use_celery }}".lower() == "n" and "{{ cookiecutter.use_django_rq }}".lower() == "n":
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
deleted file mode 100644
index a5e15873d1..0000000000
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o nounset
-
-exec rq-dashboard --bind 0.0.0.0:9181 --redis-url "${VALKEY_URL}"
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start
deleted file mode 100644
index 21c1678be5..0000000000
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-set -o errexit
-set -o pipefail
-set -o nounset
-
-exec rq-dashboard --bind 0.0.0.0:9181 --redis-url "${VALKEY_URL}"
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
index fb800ad7f6..1fbc34fbdd 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.local.yml
@@ -137,14 +137,6 @@ services:
     ports: []
     command: /start-rqscheduler
 
-  rqdashboard:
-    <<: *django
-    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqdashboard
-    container_name: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_local_rqdashboard
-    ports:
-      - '9181:9181'
-    command: /start-rqdashboard
-
   {%- endif %}
   {%- if cookiecutter.frontend_pipeline in ['Gulp', 'Webpack'] %}
 
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
index 13f5267ec0..337a5fc4ac 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/docker-compose.production.yml
@@ -79,9 +79,6 @@ services:
       {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
       - '0.0.0.0:5555:5555'
       {%- endif %}
-      {%- if cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' %}
-      - '0.0.0.0:9181:9181'
-      {%- endif %}
 
   {%- if cookiecutter.use_celery == 'y' %}
 
@@ -124,11 +121,6 @@ services:
     <<: *django
     image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_rqscheduler
     command: /start-rqscheduler
-
-  rqdashboard:
-    <<: *django
-    image: {{ cookiecutter.project_slug }}_production_rqdashboard
-    command: /start-rqdashboard
   {%- endif %}
   {%- if cookiecutter.cloud_provider == 'AWS' %}
 
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
index ece6d0b43b..532c091aaf 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/requirements/base.txt
@@ -26,10 +26,6 @@ flower==2.0.1  # https://github.com/mher/flower
 django-rq==2.10.2  # https://github.com/rq/django-rq
 rq==1.16.2  # https://github.com/rq/rq
 rq-scheduler==0.13.1  # https://github.com/rq/rq-scheduler
-{%- if cookiecutter.use_docker == 'y' %}
-rq-dashboard==0.6.1  # https://github.com/Parallels/rq-dashboard
-Flask<3.0  # Pin Flask for rq-dashboard compatibility (Flask 3.x breaks rq-dashboard)
-{%- endif %}
 {%- endif %}
 {%- if cookiecutter.use_async == 'y' %}
 uvicorn[standard]==0.38.0  # https://github.com/Kludex/uvicorn
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
index e6aa31de5d..cdb6dbbc09 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/users/tests/test_tasks.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def test_user_count(settings):
     task_result = get_users_count.delay()
     assert isinstance(task_result, EagerResult)
     assert task_result.result == batch_size
-{%- elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
+{% elif cookiecutter.use_django_rq == 'y' -%}
     queue = django_rq.get_queue("default", is_async=False)
     job = queue.enqueue(get_users_count)
     assert job.result == batch_size

From 3c83429825c95fe875dac0969950903a98d3c20b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kevin Mills <millsks@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2025 21:59:28 -0600
Subject: [PATCH 8/8] Remove rqdashboard startup scripts from Dockerfiles for
 cleaner integration with django-rq

---
 .../compose/local/django/Dockerfile                          | 4 ----
 .../compose/production/django/Dockerfile                     | 5 -----
 2 files changed, 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
index 352b2ac647..2395fefa94 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/local/django/Dockerfile
@@ -76,10 +76,6 @@ RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
 COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/scheduler/start /start-rqscheduler
 RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqscheduler
 RUN chmod +x /start-rqscheduler
-
-COPY ./compose/local/django/rq/dashboard/start /start-rqdashboard
-RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqdashboard
-RUN chmod +x /start-rqdashboard
 {% endif %}
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/entrypoint"]
diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
index 12f6bf01b8..ec62726d58 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.project_slug}}/compose/production/django/Dockerfile
@@ -115,11 +115,6 @@ RUN chmod +x /start-rqworker
 COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/scheduler/start /start-rqscheduler
 RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqscheduler
 RUN chmod +x /start-rqscheduler
-
-
-COPY --chown=django:django ./compose/production/django/rq/dashboard/start /start-rqdashboard
-RUN sed -i 's/\r$//g' /start-rqdashboard
-RUN chmod +x /start-rqdashboard
 {%- endif %}
 
 # Copy the application from the builder