diff --git a/frontend/setup_django_environment.py b/frontend/setup_django_environment.py
index 28d3630..7db92dc 100644
--- a/frontend/setup_django_environment.py
+++ b/frontend/setup_django_environment.py
@@ -3,3 +3,8 @@
 from autotest_lib.frontend import settings
 
 management.setup_environ(settings)
+
+def enable_autocommit():
+    from django.db import connection
+    connection.cursor() # ensure a connection is open
+    connection.connection.autocommit(True)