DJANGO CUSTOM USER MODEL
Tags: django, backend, beginners, webdev
Published: 2023-04-24 19:18:48



Django Auth is a built-in authentication framework in Django that provides a secure way to handle user authentication, permissions, and access control. It allows you to easily create user authentication and authorization systems for your web application, without having to build everything from scratch.

Django Auth provides a wide range of features such as user registration, login, logout, password management, and user permissions. It also includes support for various authentication methods such as username and password, email and password, OAuth, and more.

To use Django Auth, you need to add the authentication middleware to your project's settings, and also include the `django.contrib.auth` application in your project's installed apps. After that, you can start using the authentication system by creating users, managing their permissions, and authenticating them.

Django Auth also comes with a set of built-in views and templates that you can use to create user-facing authentication and registration pages for your web application. You can customize these views and templates to fit your specific needs, or you can create your own custom views and templates.

## But why would one choose a custom user model?
There are several reasons why you might want to use a custom user model in Django:

1. Additional fields: The built-in Django User model comes with a fixed set of fields such as username, email, password, etc. If you need to store additional user data or modify the existing fields, you can create a custom user model with the fields that you need.
2. Unique identifier: By default, the Django User model uses the username field as the unique identifier. However, if you want to use a different field such as email, you can create a custom user model with the unique identifier set to the field of your choice.

3. Integration with other systems: If your application needs to integrate with external authentication systems such as LDAP or OAuth, you may need to create a custom user model to support the required fields and authentication methods.

4. Domain-specific requirements: If your application has specific requirements that are not met by the built-in User model, such as different password hashing algorithms or custom authentication methods, a custom user model can help you implement these requirements.

5. Future-proofing: Creating a custom user model from the start can help future-proof your application against changes to the built-in User model or changes to your application's requirements.
## how to create a custom user model
Here's an example of how you can create a custom user model in Django:

1.Create a new Django app: In your project directory, create a new app that will contain your custom user model. You can do this using the python manage.py startapp command.

2. Extend the AbstractBaseUser class: In your new app, create a new model that extends the AbstractBaseUser class from the Django contrib.auth.models module. This model will be used as your custom user model.

3. Define fields: In your custom user model, define the fields that you need. At a minimum, you will need to define a unique identifier field (such as email or username) and a password field.

4. Define a UserManager: Create a custom manager class for your user model by extending the BaseUserManager class. This will allow you to customize the way user accounts are created and managed.

5. Override required methods: Override the get_full_name and get_short_name methods to define how to retrieve the user's name.

6. Set AUTH_USER_MODEL: In your project's settings, set AUTH_USER_MODEL to the path of your custom user model. This tells Django to use your custom user model instead of the built-in User model.

In summary, a custom user model in Django is a powerful tool that can help you meet your specific application requirements, provide flexibility, and future-proof your application. By creating a custom user model, you can extend the built-in User model or replace it entirely with your own model, allowing you to add additional fields, define a unique identifier, and customize authentication and authorization methods.

When creating a custom user model, it's important to carefully consider your application requirements and the potential trade-offs. You may need to implement additional features such as authentication and authorization methods or custom managers. Additionally, migrating to a custom user model can be a complex process, so it's essential to plan and test thoroughly before making the switch.