Admin UI Guide#

django-sysconfig ships with a built-in staff interface for browsing and editing all registered configuration. It's designed to feel like a natural extension of the Django admin.

Setup#

If you haven't wired up the admin UI yet, add these two lines to your urls.py:

# urls.py
from django.urls import include, path
from django.contrib import admin

urlpatterns = [
    path("admin/config/", include("django_sysconfig.urls")),  # ← before admin/
    path("admin/", admin.site.urls),
]

Important: The config path must come before path("admin/", ...). Django matches patterns in order, and the default admin would otherwise swallow the /admin/config/ URL.

Access control#

Both views require request.user.is_staff = True. Non-staff users who visit /admin/config/ are redirected to the login page, exactly like the Django admin.

There is no finer-grained permission system built in — any staff member can read and edit any configuration value. If you need field-level or app-level restrictions, you can extend the existing views and add more permissions to it (or open an issue to discuss your use case).

The app list view#

URL: /admin/config/

The app list view shows every Django app that has registered configuration (i.e., has a sysconfig.py with a @register_config(...) decorator). Apps are listed alphabetically by label.

From here, click any app to navigate to its detail view.

The app detail view#

URL: /admin/config/<app_label>/

This is where values are edited. The detail view renders all sections and fields for the selected app.

How the form works#

• Sections appear as collapsible groups, ordered by their sort_order.
• Each field is rendered with its label, its current value (or default), and its comment as help text below the input.
• The form shows all sections at once. Submitting saves the fields that are changed on the page.

Field rendering#

Each field type renders a different input:

Secret fields#

Secret fields (SecretFrontendModel) are always displayed as an empty password input, even if a value has been saved. The actual stored value is never sent to the browser.

To update a secret field: type the new value and save. To leave it unchanged: do not touch that input and save — the existing value is preserved. There will be a dot (beside the label) representing if a value is changed or not, so that no values are not changed accidentally.

Validation errors#

If any field fails validation, the form is re-rendered with error messages inline. No values are saved until all fields pass validation.

Navigating back to Django admin#

The detail view includes a breadcrumb back to both the app list and the Django admin index. The Back to Admin link in the top bar takes you to /admin/.

Tips for staff users#

• Changes take effect immediately. There's no "publish" or "activate" step. As soon as you hit Save, the new values are live (the cache is invalidated and the database is updated).
• Secret fields are write-only. If you need to inspect a stored value, use config get from the terminal.