Customizing Django's Default User Authentication: Enhancing Flexibility and Functionality

Django, a popular Python web framework, comes with a default user authentication system. While this works well for many projects, sometimes you may need more flexibility and functionality. That's where customizing the User model comes in. By doing so, you can use email as the login field instead of username, add extra fields like phone number or profile picture, and implement custom user roles and permissions.

To customize the User model, follow these simple steps:

1. Create a custom model: Define your custom User model in your app's models.py file.

2. Define the custom model: Specify the fields you want to include, such as email, first name, last name, and more.

3. Use the custom model: In your settings.py file, set the AUTH_USER_MODEL setting to point to your custom model.

By following these steps, you can create a customized User model that meets the unique needs of your Django project. This flexibility is especially useful for projects that require advanced authentication and authorization capabilities.

Source: https://dev.to/vincenttommi/customizing-djangos-default-user-authentication-1k46