Custom User Model with Email as Username
A snippet showing how to configure Django to use email as the primary login field.
# models.py
from django.contrib.auth.models import AbstractBaseUser, BaseUserManager, PermissionsMixin
from django.db import models
from django.utils import timezone
class CustomUserManager(BaseUserManager):
def create_user(self, email, password=None, **extra_fields):
if not email:
raise ValueError('Email must be provided')
email = self.normalize_email(email)
user = self.model(email=email, **extra_fields)
user.set_password(password)
user.save(using=self._db)
return user
def create_superuser(self, email, password=None, **extra_fields):
extra_fields.setdefault('is_staff', True)
extra_fields.setdefault('is_superuser', True)
return self.create_user(email, password, **extra_fields)
class CustomUser(AbstractBaseUser, PermissionsMixin):
email = models.EmailField(unique=True)
is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)
is_staff = models.BooleanField(default=False)
date_joined = models.DateTimeField(default=timezone.now)
objects = CustomUserManager()
USERNAME_FIELD = 'email'
REQUIRED_FIELDS = []
def __str__(self):
return self.email
# settings.py
AUTH_USER_MODEL = 'your_app.CustomUser'
# admin.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.contrib.auth.admin import UserAdmin
from .models import CustomUser
class CustomUserAdmin(UserAdmin):
model = CustomUser
list_display = ['email', 'is_staff', 'is_active']
ordering = ['email']
fieldsets = (
(None, {'fields': ('email', 'password')}),
('Permissions', {'fields': ('is_staff', 'is_active', 'is_superuser')}),
)
add_fieldsets = (
(None, {
'classes': ('wide',),
'fields': ('email', 'password1', 'password2', 'is_staff', 'is_active')}
),
)
search_fields = ('email',)
admin.site.register(CustomUser, CustomUserAdmin)
Explanation:
-
We create a custom user model by extending
AbstractBaseUserandPermissionsMixin. - The manager handles creation of regular and super users using email instead of username.
-
Set
USERNAME_FIELD = 'email'to make email the primary identifier. -
Register the model in
settings.pywithAUTH_USER_MODEL. - Custom admin configuration ensures proper form handling for your new user model.
- Category Authentication & Authorization
- Total Views 852
- Last Modified 29 October, 2025
- Tags #custom user #authentication #models #auth
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