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basic django authentication flow using mongodb backend

#django #web #python

day 2 of my 20 days of django: exploring mongodb as the backend

some time back, i explored using mongodb with django:

Trying Out MongoDB database Backend for Django
chrisachinga profile

Trying Out MongoDB database Backend for Django

#django #mongodb #database
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3 min read

so for day 2, i decided to revisit it—but this time, with a simple authentication flow. my goal was to test if the mongodb backend now plays nicely with third-party libraries like django-allauth.

setup & default user flow

mongodb has solid documentation, but i prefer following the official github readme:

GitHub logo mongodb / django-mongodb-backend

Django MongoDB Backend

Django MongoDB Backend

Django MongoDB Backend is a Django database backend that uses PyMongo to connect to MongoDB.

Documentation

Documentation written in the style of MongoDB's documentation is available at https://www.mongodb.com/docs/languages/python/django-mongodb/current/.

Documentation written in the style of Django's documentation is available at https://django-mongodb-backend.readthedocs.io/en/latest/.

Quick Start

Install

Use the version of django-mongodb-backend that corresponds to your version of Django. For example, to get the latest compatible release for Django 6.0.x:

pip install django-mongodb-backend==6.0.*
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Create a project

From your shell, run the following command to create a new Django project called example using our project template. Make sure the end of the template URL corresponds to your version of Django (e.g. 6.0.x.zip for any Django 6.0.x version).

django-admin startproject example --template https://github.com/mongodb-labs/django-mongodb-project/archive/refs/heads/6.0.x.zip
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You can check what version of Django you're using with:

django-admin --version
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Connect to the database

Navigate to your example/settings.py file and replace the DATABASES setting using…

View on GitHub

the setup process involves bootstrapping a project from their provided templates:

# install the backend
pip install --pre django-mongodb-backend==5.2.*

# start a new project from the mongodb template
django-admin startproject example --template https://github.com/mongodb-labs/django-mongodb-project/archive/refs/heads/5.2.x.zip

# start an app from their sample app template
python manage.py startapp sample_mflix --template https://github.com/mongodb-labs/django-mongodb-app/archive/refs/heads/5.1.x.zip
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update your database settings like this:

databases = {
    "default": django_mongodb_backend.parse_uri(
        config("mongo_uri"), db_name="mongousers"
    ),
}
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code is available here:

https://github.com/achingachris/mongo-users

thoughts on the setup

authentication works out of the box, even with custom user models.

the only issue i had was not running mongo locally—so performance took a hit. but honestly, seeing my django data as mongodb documents? that was deeply satisfying.

mongodb compass screenshot

i'm using jazzmin for the admin interface. adds some nice polish.

trying django-allauth with mongodb

unfortunately, still no support.

error screenshot

from the docs:

"we plan to test compatibility with the following third-party libraries by the ga release:

django-filter, django rest framework, django-allauth, wagtail, django debug toolbar."

source

code for the test branch:

https://github.com/achingachris/mongo-users/tree/django-allauth-mongo

final thoughts

i have high hopes for the mongodb django backend. once third-party libraries are supported, it’ll unlock serious potential for real-world projects.

until then, we wait.

see you on the next one

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