django-admin

name	django-admin
description	Django admin customization patterns for Nudge. Use when modifying the admin panel, adding models to admin, or changing admin branding/styling. Triggers when the user asks about Django admin, admin panel, or model registration. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"cibrandocampo"}

Django Admin — Nudge

Branding

The admin is branded to match Nudge's zinc-neutral + yellow-accent palette via a custom template: backend/templates/admin/base_site.html

This template:

• Extends admin/base.html (NOT admin/base_site.html — that would loop)
• Overrides Django's CSS variables for both light and dark mode
• Sets the "Nudge" logo linking to / (the app, not /admin/)
• Forces white text on dark headers in all theme modes
• Repaints the "save" (default) submit button with the brand yellow (#fcd34d) so the primary CTA matches the app

Color palette

Mirrors frontend/src/index.css — source of truth lives there. If it changes, update this template too.

Token	Light	Dark
Primary (text / bg dark)	#18181b	#fafafa
Primary hover	#27272a	#e4e4e7
Accent (brand)	#fcd34d	#fcd34d
Body bg	#fafafa	#0a0a0b
Surface	#ffffff	#18181b
Border	#e4e4e7	#27272a
Link	#09090b	#fafafa
Link hover	#27272a	#fcd34d

Django CSS variables to override

The key to theming Django admin is overriding its own CSS custom properties: --header-bg, --module-bg, --link-fg, --button-bg, --breadcrumbs-bg, etc. Do this for :root, html[data-theme="light"], html[data-theme="dark"], and @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) with :root:not([data-theme="light"]).

Admin access from the PWA

The frontend has an "Admin" button (staff users only) in the Header component. It works by creating a hidden form that POSTs the JWT token to /api/auth/admin-access/. The backend view (apps.users.views.admin_access):

• Is @csrf_exempt (no CSRF token available from the SPA)
• Validates the JWT, checks is_staff
• Creates a Django session via django_login()
• Redirects to /admin/

i18n

Django admin is multilingual out of the box. We enabled it by:

• Adding django.middleware.locale.LocaleMiddleware to MIDDLEWARE (after SessionMiddleware, before CommonMiddleware)
• Setting LANGUAGES = [("en", "English"), ("es", "Español"), ("gl", "Galego")]

The admin auto-detects language from the browser's Accept-Language header.

Registering models

Pattern used in apps/users/admin.py:

@admin.register(User)
class UserAdmin(BaseUserAdmin):
    fieldsets = BaseUserAdmin.fieldsets + (
        ("Nudge settings", {"fields": ("timezone", "daily_notification_time", "language")}),
    )
    list_display = ["username", "email", "timezone", "is_staff", "is_active"]
    list_filter = ["is_staff", "is_active", "timezone"]
    search_fields = ["username", "email"]

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Source: cibrandocampo/nudge — distributed by TomeVault.