why is dj-database-url throwing me an error of : a bytes-like object is required, not 'str' and how do i get around this?

Question

so i am a student attempting to create a django based app...my app is finished and im wanting to launch it on heroku. The error message comes when i run: python3 manage.py makemigrations

I am using dj-database-url for the db url and have the env stored as :

DATABASES = {'default': dj_database_url.parse(os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL'))}

The versions of everything I am using are:

chardet==3.0.4
dj-database-url==0.5.0
Django==2.2.7
heroku==0.1.4
idna==2.8
psycopg2==2.8.4
python-dateutil==1.5
pytz==2019.3
requests==2.22.0
sqlparse==0.3.0
stripe==2.40.0
urllib3==1.25.7

and the traceback error message I am receiving is :

  File "manage.py", line 21, in <module>
    main()
  File "manage.py", line 17, in main
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\django\core\management\__init__.py", line 381, in execute_from_command_line
    utility.execute()
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\django\core\management\__init__.py", line 325, in execute
    settings.INSTALLED_APPS
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\django\conf\__init__.py", line 79, in __getattr__
    self._setup(name)
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\django\conf\__init__.py", line 66, in _setup
    self._wrapped = Settings(settings_module)
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\django\conf\__init__.py", line 157, in __init__
    mod = importlib.import_module(self.SETTINGS_MODULE)
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python37-32\lib\importlib\__init__.py", line 127, in import_module
    return _bootstrap._gcd_import(name[level:], package, level)
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1006, in _gcd_import
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 983, in _find_and_load
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 967, in _find_and_load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 677, in _load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap_external>", line 728, in exec_module
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 219, in _call_with_frames_removed
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\artwork\settings.py", line 89, in <module>
    DATABASES = {'default': dj_database_url.parse(os.environ.get('DATABASE_URL'))}
  File "C:\Users\Jakey Poo\PycharmProjects\artwork\venv\lib\site-packages\dj_database_url.py", line 80, in parse
    if '?' in path and not url.query:
TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'

The code my app is getting stuck on in dj-database-url is :

    path = url.path[1:]
    if '?' in path and not url.query:
        path, query = path.split('?', 2)
    else:
        path, query = path, url.query
    query = urlparse.parse_qs(query)

I have never used dj-database-url before and im still relatively new to django and python.

What I have tried:

1. I have checked that all my software versions are up to date and compatable
2. I have tried messing with my db url, giving it quotes, removing quotes etc.
3. I have tried changing the syntax in my settings.py from { to [ as suggested by another post.
4. I have tried printing path to see what it returns, but it returns nothing ( I could be putting the print statement in the wrong place, though)

If anyone is needing anymore information please just ask, I think i have covered everything i can already, though.

Answer 1

I'm not sure exactly where the problem lies in dj_database_url but reading through their github issues I think it's a problem with some characters contained in the DATABASE_URL environment variable.

In your settings.py try using this instead of dj_database_url.parse():

... other config settings ...
DATABASE_URL = os.getenv('DATABASE_URL')
DATABASES = {
    'default': dj_database_url.config(),
}

config() should automatically use the DATABASE_URL setting by default, so simply setting it from your environment variable first and then calling config() after should bypass whatever problem the parse() method in handling the url.