===========
Model forms
===========

.. module:: django.forms.models
    :synopsis: ModelForm API reference for inner ``Meta`` class and factory
        functions

.. currentmodule:: django.forms

``ModelForm`` API reference. For introductory material about using a
``ModelForm``, see the :doc:`/topics/forms/modelforms` topic guide.

Model form ``Meta`` API
=======================

.. class:: ModelFormOptions

The ``_meta`` API is used to build forms that reflect a Django model. It is
accessible through the ``_meta`` attribute of each model form, and is an
``django.forms.models.ModelFormOptions`` instance.

The structure of the generated form can be customized by defining metadata
options as attributes of an inner ``Meta`` class. For example::

    from django.forms import ModelForm
    from myapp.models import Book


    class BookForm(ModelForm):
        class Meta:
            model = Book
            fields = ["title", "author"]
            help_texts = {
                "title": "The title of the book",
                "author": "The author of the book",
            }
            # ... other attributes

Required attributes are :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.model`, and either
:attr:`~ModelFormOptions.fields` or :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude`. All
other ``Meta`` attributes are optional.

Optional attributes, other than :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.localized_fields` and
:attr:`~ModelFormOptions.formfield_callback`, expect a dictionary that maps a
model field name to a value. Any field that is not defined in the dictionary
falls back to the field's default value.

.. admonition:: Invalid field names

    Invalid or excluded field names in an optional dictionary attribute have no
    effect, since fields that are not included are not accessed.

.. admonition:: Invalid Meta class attributes

    You may define any attribute on a ``Meta`` class. Typos or incorrect
    attribute names do not raise an error.

``error_messages``
------------------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.error_messages

    A dictionary that maps a model field name to a dictionary of error message
    keys (``null``, ``blank``, ``invalid``, ``unique``, etc.) mapped to custom
    error messages.

    When a field is not specified, Django will fall back on the error messages
    defined in that model field's :attr:`django.db.models.Field.error_messages`
    and then finally on the default error messages for that field type.

``exclude``
-----------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.exclude

    A tuple or list of :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.model` field names to be
    excluded from the form.

    Either :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.fields` or
    :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude` must be set. If neither are set, an
    :class:`~django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured` exception will be
    raised. If :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude` is set and
    :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.fields` is unset, all model fields, except for
    those specified in :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude`, are included in the
    form.

``field_classes``
-----------------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.field_classes

    A dictionary that maps a model field name to a :class:`~django.forms.Field`
    class, which overrides the ``form_class`` used in the model field's
    :meth:`.Field.formfield` method.

    When a field is not specified, Django will fall back on the model field's
    :ref:`default field class <model-form-field-types>`.

``fields``
----------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.fields

    A tuple or list of :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.model` field names to be
    included in the form. The value ``'__all__'`` can be used to specify that
    all fields should be included.

    If any field is specified in :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude`, this will
    not be included in the form despite being specified in
    :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.fields`.

    Either :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.fields` or
    :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.exclude` must be set. If neither are set, an
    :class:`~django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured` exception will be
    raised.

``formfield_callback``
----------------------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.formfield_callback

    A function or callable that takes a model field and returns a
    :class:`django.forms.Field` object.

``help_texts``
--------------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.help_texts

    A dictionary that maps a model field name to a help text string.

    When a field is not specified, Django will fall back on that model field's
    :attr:`~django.db.models.Field.help_text`.

``labels``
----------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.labels

    A dictionary that maps a model field names to a label string.

    When a field is not specified, Django will fall back on that model field's
    :attr:`~django.db.models.Field.verbose_name` and then the field's attribute
    name.

``localized_fields``
--------------------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.localized_fields

    A tuple or list of :attr:`~ModelFormOptions.model` field names to be
    localized. The value ``'__all__'`` can be used to specify that all fields
    should be localized.

    By default, form fields are not localized, see
    :ref:`enabling localization of fields
    <modelforms-enabling-localization-of-fields>` for more details.

``model``
---------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.model

    Required. The :class:`django.db.models.Model` to be used for the
    :class:`~django.forms.ModelForm`.

``widgets``
-----------

.. attribute:: ModelFormOptions.widgets

    A dictionary that maps a model field name to a
    :class:`django.forms.Widget`.

    When a field is not specified, Django will fall back on the default widget
    for that particular type of :class:`django.db.models.Field`.

Model form factory functions
============================

.. currentmodule:: django.forms.models

``modelform_factory``
---------------------

.. function:: modelform_factory(model, form=ModelForm, fields=None, exclude=None, formfield_callback=None, widgets=None, localized_fields=None, labels=None, help_texts=None, error_messages=None, field_classes=None)

    Returns a :class:`~django.forms.ModelForm` class for the given ``model``.
    You can optionally pass a ``form`` argument to use as a starting point for
    constructing the ``ModelForm``.

    ``fields`` is an optional list of field names. If provided, only the named
    fields will be included in the returned fields.

    ``exclude`` is an optional list of field names. If provided, the named
    fields will be excluded from the returned fields, even if they are listed
    in the ``fields`` argument.

    ``formfield_callback`` is a callable that takes a model field and returns
    a form field.

    ``widgets`` is a dictionary of model field names mapped to a widget.

    ``localized_fields`` is a list of names of fields which should be localized.

    ``labels`` is a dictionary of model field names mapped to a label.

    ``help_texts`` is a dictionary of model field names mapped to a help text.

    ``error_messages`` is a dictionary of model field names mapped to a
    dictionary of error messages.

    ``field_classes`` is a dictionary of model field names mapped to a form
    field class.

    See :ref:`modelforms-factory` for example usage.

    You must provide the list of fields explicitly, either via keyword arguments
    ``fields`` or ``exclude``, or the corresponding attributes on the form's
    inner ``Meta`` class. See :ref:`modelforms-selecting-fields` for more
    information. Omitting any definition of the fields to use will result in
    an :exc:`~django.core.exceptions.ImproperlyConfigured` exception.

``modelformset_factory``
------------------------

.. function:: modelformset_factory(model, form=ModelForm, formfield_callback=None, formset=BaseModelFormSet, extra=1, can_delete=False, can_order=False, max_num=None, fields=None, exclude=None, widgets=None, validate_max=False, localized_fields=None, labels=None, help_texts=None, error_messages=None, min_num=None, validate_min=False, field_classes=None, absolute_max=None, can_delete_extra=True, renderer=None, edit_only=False)

    Returns a ``FormSet`` class for the given ``model`` class.

    Arguments ``model``, ``form``, ``fields``, ``exclude``,
    ``formfield_callback``, ``widgets``, ``localized_fields``, ``labels``,
    ``help_texts``, ``error_messages``, and ``field_classes`` are all passed
    through to :func:`~django.forms.models.modelform_factory`.

    Arguments ``formset``, ``extra``, ``can_delete``, ``can_order``,
    ``max_num``, ``validate_max``, ``min_num``, ``validate_min``,
    ``absolute_max``, ``can_delete_extra``, and ``renderer`` are passed
    through to :func:`~django.forms.formsets.formset_factory`. See
    :doc:`formsets </topics/forms/formsets>` for details.

    The ``edit_only`` argument allows :ref:`preventing new objects creation
    <model-formsets-edit-only>`.

    See :ref:`model-formsets` for example usage.

``inlineformset_factory``
-------------------------

.. function:: inlineformset_factory(parent_model, model, form=ModelForm, formset=BaseInlineFormSet, fk_name=None, fields=None, exclude=None, extra=3, can_order=False, can_delete=True, max_num=None, formfield_callback=None, widgets=None, validate_max=False, localized_fields=None, labels=None, help_texts=None, error_messages=None, min_num=None, validate_min=False, field_classes=None, absolute_max=None, can_delete_extra=True, renderer=None, edit_only=False)

    Returns an ``InlineFormSet`` using :func:`modelformset_factory` with
    defaults of ``formset=``:class:`~django.forms.models.BaseInlineFormSet`,
    ``can_delete=True``, and ``extra=3``.

    If your model has more than one :class:`~django.db.models.ForeignKey` to
    the ``parent_model``, you must specify a ``fk_name``.

    See :ref:`inline-formsets` for example usage.
