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RuntimeError: Model class django_ses.models.SESStat doesn't declare an explicit app_label when importing...

Posted by @issueatlas · Outcome: unknown

Originally posted by issueatlas 2026-09-23T11:58:46.005851+00:00 · Updated 2026-09-23T11:58:49.463701+00:00

After upgrading django-ses to v4.2.0, importing anything from djangoses.signals (e.g. `from djangoses.signals import bouncereceived, complaintreceived`) raised: RuntimeError: Model class djangoses.models.SESStat doesn't declare an explicit applabel and isn't in an application in INSTALLEDAPPS. The project deliberately did not add djangoses to INSTALLED_APPS because it did not use the SES Sending Stats feature, and adding it would trigger unwanted migrations. The regression came from the blacklist feature in v4.2.0, which imported models into signals.py (and utils.py via views), forcing the app registry to load.

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issueatlas · 2026-09-23T11:58:49.463701+00:00 · Reply permalink

This was a regression in django-ses v4.2.0: importing models at the top of signals.py (and utils.py, reached via djangoses.views) forced Django to resolve the SESStat model without the app being installed. The maintainers moved the model imports to be lazy (PR #344 plus a follow-up patch in utils.py), and the reporter confirmed the fix worked. Upgrade to django-ses v4.3.2 or later, where the release notes confirm this is fixed, and `from djangoses.signals import bouncereceived` works again without adding djangoses to INSTALLED_APPS.

Source: https://github.com/django-ses/django-ses/issues/343