Admin Interface

A web-based dashboard that lets you view, create, edit, and delete your data without writing code.

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What is an Admin Interface?

An admin interface (or admin panel) is a private website where you manage your application's data. Instead of writing database queries or building forms manually, Aksara generates a complete management interface automatically from your models.

from aksara.contrib.admin import site, ModelAdmin, include_admin
from myapp.models import Post

# Register a model with the admin site
@site.register(Post)
class PostAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ["title", "author", "is_published", "created_at"]
    search_fields = ["title", "content"]
    list_filter = ["is_published"]

# Mount the admin onto your app at /admin/
include_admin(app)

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Quick Start

1. Register Models

There is a ready-to-use global admin site, site. Registering a model tells the admin: "I want to manage this type of data." Once registered, the admin creates pages to list, add, edit, and delete records.

# admin.py
from aksara.contrib.admin import site, ModelAdmin
from myapp.models import Post, Author, Category

# Full control: customize how Post appears in admin
@site.register(Post)
class PostAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ["title", "author", "is_published"]

# Quick registration: use all defaults
site.register(Category)

2. Mount the Admin

include_admin() attaches the admin routes (and the required session/CSRF middleware and static files) to your application.

# main.py
from aksara import Aksara
from aksara.contrib.admin import include_admin
import myapp.admin  # noqa: F401 — registers models with `site`

app = Aksara(database_url="postgresql://localhost/myapp")
include_admin(app)              # Admin at /admin/
# include_admin(app, prefix="/manage")   # …or a custom prefix

Auto-mount in development

When debug=True (and the auth contrib is available), Aksara auto-mounts the admin at /admin/, so an explicit include_admin(app) is optional in development. Set enable_admin=True to mount it in production.

3. Access the Admin

Start your server and navigate to http://localhost:8000/admin/. You'll see a dashboard listing the apps and models you can manage. Admin access requires an authenticated staff user (is_staff=True).

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Key Features

Feature	What It Does
Auto-generated UI	List, add, edit, and delete pages generated from your models
Search	search_fields adds a search box across model fields
Filters	list_filter adds a sidebar to narrow records by field value
Ordering & pagination	ordering, sortable columns, and list_per_page
Bulk actions	Run an operation on selected rows (incl. built-in delete)
Permissions	Per-model and per-object access control
Custom columns	Computed/formatted columns from ModelAdmin methods
Structured widgets	JSON and array editors for complex fields

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Core Concepts

Models vs. ModelAdmin

• A Model defines your data structure (what fields exist, what types they are).
• A ModelAdmin controls how that model appears in the admin (which columns show, what's searchable, how forms are laid out).

class Post(Model):
    title = fields.String(max_length=200)
    content = fields.Text()
    is_published = fields.Boolean(default=False)

@site.register(Post)
class PostAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ["title", "is_published"]   # columns in the list
    search_fields = ["title", "content"]        # fields to search

List View vs. Detail View

• List View: a paginated table of records, with optional search, filters, sortable columns and bulk actions.
• Detail View: a form for creating or editing a single record, optionally grouped into fieldsets.

Admin vs. Studio

Aksara ships two browser UIs with different jobs:

UI	Path	Use it for
Admin	/admin/	Day-to-day data management by authenticated staff users: create records, edit content, run bulk actions, and review model data.
Studio	/studio/ui	Developer/operator inspection: models, routes, migrations, diagnostics, AI tools, and project health.

Use Admin when a user is managing application data. Use Studio when a developer or operator is inspecting how the application is built and running. They share the same app process, but their security settings are separate.

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Security Defaults

Admin access requires a staff user by default. Form POSTs use a same-site CSRF cookie and hidden form token, and login/action POSTs are rate-limited.

Do not disable CSRF in production

AKSARA_ADMIN_CSRF_ENABLED=false is intended only for controlled tests or local debugging. Leave CSRF enabled for deployed admin sites.

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Complete Example

# admin.py
from aksara.contrib.admin import site, ModelAdmin, action
from myapp.models import Post, Author, Category, Tag


@site.register(Post)
class PostAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    """Manage blog posts."""

    list_display = ["title", "author", "category", "is_published", "created_at"]
    list_display_links = ["title"]
    list_filter = ["is_published", "category"]
    search_fields = ["title", "content"]
    ordering = ["-created_at"]
    list_per_page = 25

    fieldsets = [
        (None, {"fields": ["title", "slug", "content"]}),
        ("Publication", {
            "fields": ["author", "category", "tags", "is_published"],
            "classes": ["collapse"],
        }),
    ]
    readonly_fields = ["created_at", "updated_at"]
    prepopulated_fields = {"slug": ("title",)}
    actions = ["publish_selected"]

    @action(description="Publish selected posts", permissions=["change"])
    async def publish_selected(self, request, queryset):
        count = await queryset.update(is_published=True)
        self.message_user(request, f"Published {count} posts.")


site.register(Author)
site.register(Category)
site.register(Tag)

# main.py
from aksara import Aksara
from aksara.contrib.admin import include_admin
import myapp.admin  # noqa: F401

app = Aksara(database_url="postgresql://localhost/myapp")
include_admin(app)

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Related Documentation

• AdminSite — Configure and mount admin sites
• ModelAdmin — Customize how each model appears
• Permissions — Control who can access what
• Actions — Define and guard bulk operations
• Widgets — Configure JSON and array form widgets
• Models — Define your data structure