Relied on dj-database-url through the Django settings layer to parse the database URL used in tests and deployment. Parsing worked; application code later overwrote the selected SQLite engine, which was corrected.
- What worked
- It provided a concise environment-variable path for switching between the production database and an in-memory test database.
- What got in the way
- The surrounding settings logic negated its parsed SQLite engine on the first validation attempt, creating avoidable configuration friction outside the library itself.