Validate configuration changes

Before modifying default configuration settings, thoroughly understand and test their implications. Django’s default configurations often include important safeguards that prevent subtle bugs.

For example, the ENQUEUE_ON_COMMIT setting in task backends defaults to True for good reason:

@task
def my_task():
    Thing.objects.get(id=thing_id)  # Could fail if transaction hasn't committed yet

with transaction.atomic():
    thing = Thing.objects.create()
    my_task.enqueue(thing_id=thing.id)
    # With ENQUEUE_ON_COMMIT=False, task might run before transaction commits

Similarly, the QUEUES restriction in task backends prevents typos that could cause tasks to be enqueued but never executed.

When working with time-sensitive data, be particularly careful with timezone configurations as they can lead to unexpected query results when using functions like Trunc across different environments.

Always test configuration changes across all target environments before deployment, as some issues only manifest in specific contexts or at scale.