admin-interface

Admin Interface

Django Unfold

Use Unfold instead of default Django admin for all ModelAdmin classes.

from unfold.admin import ModelAdmin, TabularInline

@admin.register(MyModel)
class MyModelAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    ...

Use Unfold inlines:

from unfold.admin import TabularInline, StackedInline

# NOT Django's admin.TabularInline

Site-Aware Models

All site-aware models MUST use SiteAwareModelAdmin:

from freedom_ls.site_aware_models.admin import SiteAwareModelAdmin

@admin.register(Topic)
class TopicAdmin(SiteAwareModelAdmin):
    list_display = ("title", "subtitle")
    # site field automatically excluded

What it does:

• Automatically excludes site field from forms
• Inherits from unfold.admin.ModelAdmin

Location: freedom_ls/site_aware_models/admin.py

Rule: Never display or allow editing of site field in admin

django-guardian (Object Permissions)

For models requiring object-level permissions:

from guardian.admin import GuardedModelAdmin

@admin.register(Cohort)
class CohortAdmin(GuardedModelAdmin):
    list_display = ["name"]
    search_fields = ["name"]
    exclude = ["site"]  # Required for site-aware models

Note: GuardedModelAdmin does NOT inherit from SiteAwareModelAdmin, so you must manually exclude = ["site"] for site-aware models.

Common Patterns

Basic Admin

@admin.register(Model)
class ModelAdmin(SiteAwareModelAdmin):
    list_display = ("field1", "field2")
    search_fields = ("field1", "field2__related")
    list_filter = ("category", "created_at")
    readonly_fields = ("slug", "created_at")
    exclude = ["site"]  # Only if not using SiteAwareModelAdmin

With Inlines

from unfold.admin import TabularInline

class ChildInline(TabularInline):
    model = Child
    extra = 0
    fields = ("field1", "field2")
    autocomplete_fields = ["foreign_key"]

@admin.register(Parent)
class ParentAdmin(SiteAwareModelAdmin):
    inlines = [ChildInline]

With Fieldsets

@admin.register(Model)
class ModelAdmin(SiteAwareModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = (
        (None, {"fields": ("title", "description")}),
        ("Metadata", {
            "fields": ("meta", "tags"),
            "classes": ("collapse",)
        }),
    )

Custom Display Methods

@admin.register(Student)
class StudentAdmin(SiteAwareModelAdmin):
    list_display = ["get_full_name", "get_email"]

    def get_full_name(self, obj):
        return f"{obj.user.first_name} {obj.user.last_name}".strip()

    get_full_name.short_description = "Full Name"
    get_full_name.admin_order_field = "user__first_name"

Key Rules

1. Always use SiteAwareModelAdmin for site-aware models
2. Never expose site field in admin interface
3. Use Unfold inlines not Django's admin inlines
4. Use autocomplete_fields for ForeignKey/M2M to avoid loading all options
5. Use readonly_fields for auto-generated fields (slug, timestamps)
6. Use fieldsets to organize complex forms