Since 0.3.0 django-html5-appcache has a small web interface to check the cache status and update the manifest file.
The appcache_icon templatag show the cache status icon and hooks it to an ajax call that trigger the manifest update.
Add the following lines to any template you want the cache status badge to appear:
{% load appcache_tags %}
...
...
{% appcache_link %}
Both the view that shows the cache status and the view to update the manifest are subject to specific permissions:
You need to explicitly add these permissions to any user who manages the appcache.
Both the views and the templatetag checks this permissions, so you can actually write your own code to call the views and your code will still be safe.