Django arq Dashboard
Run arq inside a Django app and you have working background jobs. Run arq with z4j and you also have a dashboard, persistent history, the task controls this adapter can execute safely, scheduler integration, RBAC with invitations, and a tamper-evident audit log. z4j is one container or one Python process; the agent is one pip extra in your existing Django venv.
Django + arq works the same way every other Django + queue combo works under z4j: pip install the framework adapter with the engine extra, set the four Z4J_* environment variables, and add the engine adapter's worker hook (see the engine docs) before restarting your worker. z4j stays where you put it (homelab, on-prem, or cloud); the agent always reaches out.
install
Install z4j alongside Django + arq
1. Install the brain
pip install z4j && z4j serveFirst boot prints a setup URL to stderr. Open it, create the first admin, and mint a token + HMAC secret for this agent.
2. Add the agent to your Django venv
pip install z4j-django[arq]3. Wire it into Django
# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS += ["z4j_django"]
Z4J = {
"brain_url": env("Z4J_BRAIN_URL"),
"token": env("Z4J_TOKEN"),
"hmac_secret": env("Z4J_HMAC_SECRET"),
"project_id": env("Z4J_PROJECT_ID"),
"agent_name": env("Z4J_AGENT_NAME", default=None),
}
# z4j-django discovers only Celery in the web process; the arq
# worker process needs its own hook (see below).Task lifecycle events come from the arq worker process, which needs the z4j-arq worker hook. See the arq docs.
What you get
- Persistent arq task history in Postgres or SQLite
- Adapter-advertised controls: submit_task, cancel_task (Job.abort)
- Scheduler integration via arq cron; available controls depend on that scheduler adapter
- RBAC with invitations and password reset
- HMAC-chained tamper-evident audit log
- Notifications: email, Slack, Telegram, webhook
z4j-django and z4j-arq are Apache 2.0. Importing them into your Django app does not affect your application's licensing. z4j is AGPL-3.0-or-later, isolated in its own process.
arq actions exposed
What the dashboard can actually do
Native actions
-
submit_task -
cancel_task (Job.abort)
Event capture
attach_to_worker_settings() chains onto on_job_start / on_job_end; it must be attached for lifecycle capture.
Reconciliation
arq.jobs.Job.status() + result_info(): clean deferred/queued/in_progress/complete mapping.
other Django stacks
Django with a different engine
Django Celery Dashboard
The industry standard, covered end-to-end.
Django RQ Dashboard
Lightweight Redis queue, fully instrumented.
Django Dramatiq Dashboard
Middleware-driven Dramatiq observability.
Django Huey Dashboard
Lightweight Redis/SQLite queue, first-class.
Django taskiq Dashboard
Broker-agnostic async task framework.
arq on other frameworks
Same engine, different framework
Start using Django arq Dashboard
Self-hosted, open source, no SaaS, no telemetry. z4j runs anywhere Python or Docker runs.