django-admin-tools

django-admin-tools is a collection of extensions for the default Django administration interface, adding a customizable dashboard, a customizable menu bar, and tooling for easier admin theming.

What is django-admin-tools?

django-admin-tools is a Python package of extensions and tools layered on top of Django's built-in admin interface. It transforms the stock Django admin by supplying a full-featured, customizable dashboard and a customizable navigation menu bar, plus helpers that make theming the admin easier. The project, created by David Jean Louis, is hosted on GitHub and distributed through PyPI.

Key Features

• Customizable dashboard — an admin index dashboard and a separate app index dashboard whose modules can be dragged, collapsed, and closed.
• Customizable menu bar — a configurable navigation menu added to the Django admin.
• Admin theming helpers — tools intended to make restyling the Django admin simpler.
• Broad version support — compatible with Django 1.11 LTS through Django 6.1 and with Python 2.7 and 3.5 and later.
• Multiple install routes — pip install django-admin-tools, easy_install, python setup.py install, or placing the included admin_tools directory on your Python path.
• Transifex translations — a Transifex project exists for translating the package.
• Sphinx documentation — extensive docs built with Sphinx and published on Read the Docs, including a quickstart and installation guide.

Who is it for?

• Django developers who want a richer admin landing page than the default index and app lists.
• Teams customizing the Django admin UI who need menu navigation and theming without rewriting the admin from scratch.
• Maintainers on older or newer stacks — the stated compatibility range spans Django 1.11 LTS to 6.1, with version 0.8.1 recommended for older Python and Django combinations.

What can you do with django-admin-tools?

• Build a custom admin home: assemble dashboard modules you can drag, collapse, and close to surface the data your team checks first.
• Add navigation to the admin: install a menu bar so admin users can jump between sections instead of relying on the default app list.
• Theme the admin: use the included theming tools to restyle the login screen and admin pages.

How does django-admin-tools work?

Install the package via pip or setup.py, then follow the quickstart and installation guides in the online documentation to wire the dashboard and menu bar into a Django project. The package ships an admin_tools directory that is placed on the Python path.

FAQ

Which Django and Python versions does django-admin-tools support?

It is stated as compatible with Django 1.11 LTS through Django 6.1 and Python 2.7 and 3.5 or later. For older Python and Django versions, the documentation points to version 0.8.1 on PyPI.

How do you install django-admin-tools?

Run pip install django-admin-tools, or use easy_install django-admin-tools, or python setup.py install from the source directory. Alternatively, place the included admin_tools directory on your Python path.

Where is the documentation?

Extensive Sphinx-built documentation is published on Read the Docs, with a quickstart guide and a dedicated installation guide recommended as starting points. Discussion happens on the project's Google mailing list.