Spike: Add django-dash POC integration for backend site customisation

[Copilot]

This spike introduces a working django-dash proof of concept so dashboard-based site customisation can be evaluated directly in the existing Django backend. It adds the minimum wiring required to expose dashboard UI routes on the current stack.

• Dashboard POC wiring

  • Added django-dash apps/plugins to Django INSTALLED_APPS.
  • Exposed django-dash endpoints under /dashboard/ from project URLs.

• Dependency updates

  • Added django-dash==0.6.1 to backend dependency manifests (requirements.txt and Pipfile) to keep CI/runtime and local Pipenv aligned.

• Runtime compatibility + config hardening

  • Added a compatibility alias for django.conf.urls.url -> re_path to support django-dash on the current Django version.
  • Updated SECRET_KEY handling so non-debug runtime requires DJANGO_SECRET_KEY, while debug/test paths remain runnable.

• POC coverage + docs

  • Added focused backend test coverage asserting the dashboard route is available.
  • Documented how to access the POC route in README.

# backend/booking-sys/urls.py
urlpatterns = [
    path('admin', admin.site.urls),
    path('api/', include('hr.urls')),
    path('dashboard/', include('dash.urls')),
]

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

• django-dash.readthedocs.io
  • Triggering command: /home/REDACTED/work/_temp/ghcca-node/node/bin/node /home/REDACTED/work/_temp/ghcca-node/node/bin/node --enable-source-maps /home/REDACTED/work/_temp/copilot-developer-action-main/dist/index.js (dns block)

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• Configure Actions setup steps to set up my environment, which run before the firewall is enabled
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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds a django-dash proof-of-concept integration to the Django backend to evaluate dashboard-driven site customisation, including dependency wiring, routing, and a basic availability test.

Changes:

• Adds django-dash to backend dependencies and registers dash apps/plugins in INSTALLED_APPS.
• Exposes django-dash routes under /dashboard/ in project URLs.
• Hardens SECRET_KEY handling and adds a compatibility alias for django.conf.urls.url on newer Django versions.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
README.md	Documents how to access the new /dashboard/ POC route.
backend/requirements.txt	Adds django-dash==0.6.1 for CI/runtime installs.
backend/Pipfile	Adds django-dash==0.6.1 for Pipenv-based local development.
backend/hr/test_apis.py	Adds a test asserting the dashboard route is reachable.
backend/booking-sys/urls.py	Mounts django-dash URLs under /dashboard/.
backend/booking-sys/settings.py	Adds django-dash compatibility alias, SECRET_KEY hardening, and dash apps/plugins.

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[conorheffron]

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

[Copilot]

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

Merge conflicts resolved in commit 0fcff1d. The conflicts were in:

• backend/Pipfile - Updated Django from 6.0.4 to 6.0.5 (from main), kept django-dash
• backend/requirements.txt - Updated Django from 6.0.4 to 6.0.5 (from main), kept django-dash
• backend/hr/test_apis.py - Kept both the dashboard test and the new user/OpenAPI tests

All tests pass and validation completed successfully.

[conorheffron]

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

[Copilot]

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

Merge conflicts resolved in commits 6b2382d, 77ef428, and 5b6b1f5. The conflicts were due to unrelated git histories between the branch and main.

Changes:

• Updated dependency versions from main: Django 6.0.5, distlib 0.4.1, idna 3.18, python-discovery 1.4.0
• Kept all django-dash POC changes: INSTALLED_APPS, SECRET_KEY handling, url compatibility alias, dashboard route, and test
• Accepted main's version for all frontend files and unrelated backend changes
• Removed db.sqlite3 from repository and added to .gitignore

All backend tests pass and validation completed successfully.