Fix database configuration - reliable SQLite default with PostgreSQL option

**Fixed Runtime Connection Issues:**
- Remove connection testing during settings.py loading
- Default to SQLite for reliable local development
- Eliminate "Connection refused" errors on startup

**Smart Configuration Approach:**
- Default: SQLite (works out of the box)
- Railway: PostgreSQL (via DATABASE_URL environment variable)
- Local PostgreSQL: Optional via USE_POSTGRESQL=True or DATABASE_URL

**User Experience:**
- `python manage.py runserver` always works locally
- No PostgreSQL setup required for development
- Optional PostgreSQL for production parity testing
- Clear .env documentation with multiple options

**Configuration Options:**
1. Default SQLite: No configuration needed
2. Explicit DATABASE_URL: Full control over database
3. USE_POSTGRESQL=True: Simple PostgreSQL activation
4. Railway: Automatic PostgreSQL via environment

**Fixes:**
- Eliminates connection refused errors during startup
- Prevents PostgreSQL dependency for basic development
- Maintains Railway production compatibility
- Provides clear upgrade path to PostgreSQL when needed

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

netcop_hub/settings.py

@@ -110,23 +110,20 @@ elif config('RAILWAY_ENVIRONMENT', default=''):
         }
     }
 else:
-    # Local development: Try PostgreSQL first, fallback to SQLite
+    # Local development: Default to SQLite for reliability
-    try:
+    # Users can override with DATABASE_URL if they want PostgreSQL
-        import psycopg2
+    DATABASES = {
-        # Test if PostgreSQL is actually available
+        'default': {
-        try:
+            'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
-            # Quick connection test
+            'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
-            test_conn = psycopg2.connect(
+        }
-                host='localhost',
+    }
-                database='netcop_hub',
-                user='netcop_user',
-                password='netcop_pass',
-                port='5432',
-                connect_timeout=3
-            )
-            test_conn.close()
     
-            # PostgreSQL works - use it
+    # Optional: Check if user wants PostgreSQL (via environment or file)
+    postgres_preference = config('USE_POSTGRESQL', default='False').lower()
+    if postgres_preference in ['true', '1', 'yes']:
+        try:
+            import psycopg2
             DATABASES = {
                 'default': {
                     'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
@@ -137,22 +134,9 @@ else:
                     'PORT': '5432',
                 }
             }
-        except (psycopg2.OperationalError, psycopg2.Error):
+        except ImportError:
-            # PostgreSQL not available - fallback to SQLite
+            # psycopg2 not available - stick with SQLite
-            DATABASES = {
+            pass
-                'default': {
-                    'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
-                    'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
-                }
-            }
-    except ImportError:
-        # psycopg2 not available - use SQLite
-        DATABASES = {
-            'default': {
-                'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
-                'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
-            }
-        }
 
 
 # Password validation