Modify ObtainAuthToken to use the User model's USERNAME_FIELD and password for authentication instead of assuming username and password. #9674

partho-debnath · 2025-03-30T21:08:49Z

Summary

Django’s default user model uses username and password for authentication. However, when a custom user model is defined with USERNAME_FIELD = 'email', Django correctly uses email and password for authentication.

The issue was that Django REST Framework's obtain_auth_token endpoint (used for TokenAuthentication) still expected username and password, even when a custom user model used email instead of username.

Fix

This update modifies the ObtainAuthToken view to dynamically use USERNAME_FIELD instead of assuming username. Now, authentication works consistently, whether using the built-in User model or a custom one, with no inconsistencies.

Changes Made:

ObtainAuthToken now retrieves the USERNAME_FIELD from the user model.
It authenticates using USERNAME_FIELD and password, ensuring compatibility with both built-in and custom user models.

Impact

Users with a custom User model (e.g., USERNAME_FIELD = 'email') can now log in using email and password instead of username and password.
Users with the default User model or a custom User model where USERNAME_FIELD = 'username' can continue logging in using username and password as expected.

…password' instead of 'username' and 'password' for both the built-in and custom User models

partho-debnath · 2025-03-30T21:14:40Z

If any changes are required, please let me know.

browniebroke · 2025-03-31T14:46:16Z

I'm not sure this falls under our current maintenance policy:

At this point in its lifespan we consider Django REST framework to be feature-complete. We focus on pull requests that track the continued development of Django versions, and generally do not accept new features or code formatting changes.

One could argue that this improves compatibility with custom Django user models, but on the other hand USERNAME_FIELD has been in Django for so long that it's a bit late to add this now...

It's also simple to customise in user-land right now, and this is explained in our docs.

If we were to ever accept it, we would need some tests to cover the behaviour with a customised user model...

partho-debnath · 2025-03-31T16:50:22Z

Thank you for reviewing my pull request and for your feedback. I understand that Django REST Framework is considered feature-complete and that new features are usually only accepted if they align with Django’s ongoing development.

However, I see this change as more of a compatibility improvement rather than a new feature. While USERNAME_FIELD has been in Django for a long time, ObtainAuthToken still assumes a username by default. This creates an inconsistency for projects that take advantage of Django’s built-in flexibility for custom user models.

@browniebroke, Are you saying that it won't be possible to accept or merge this change?

auvipy

I think this might break existing projects or functionalities

stale · 2025-10-18T10:30:46Z

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR modifies the ObtainAuthToken view and AuthTokenSerializer to support custom Django user models that use a different USERNAME_FIELD (e.g., 'email' instead of 'username'). The changes enable dynamic authentication field detection based on the user model's USERNAME_FIELD attribute.

Dynamically retrieves the USERNAME_FIELD from the active user model instead of hardcoding 'username'
Updates the serializer to create appropriate fields (EmailField or CharField) based on the USERNAME_FIELD type
Modifies the API schema generation to reflect the correct field name in documentation

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 10 comments.

File	Description
rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py	Refactored to dynamically create authentication fields based on USERNAME_FIELD and pass credentials to authenticate()
rest_framework/authtoken/views.py	Updated schema definition to use USERNAME_FIELD for API documentation
docs/api-guide/authentication.md	Added documentation note about custom user model support

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Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:03Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

-    )
+    def __init__(self, instance=None, data=None, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(instance, data=data, **kwargs)
+        self.identifier_fiend_name = USER_MODEL.USERNAME_FIELD


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:03Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

+        if USER_MODEL.get_email_field_name() == self.identifier_fiend_name:
+            self.fields[self.identifier_fiend_name] = serializers.EmailField(


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:04Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

+                write_only=True
+            )
+        else:
+            self.fields[self.identifier_fiend_name] = serializers.CharField(


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:04Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

-                                username=username, password=password)
+        if identifier_value and password:
+            credentials = {
+                self.identifier_fiend_name: identifier_value,


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:04Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py


 from rest_framework import serializers

+USER_MODEL = get_user_model()


The USER_MODEL is evaluated at module import time, which means if the user model changes dynamically or if this module is imported before Django apps are ready, it could reference the wrong model. Consider moving this inside the init method where it's actually used, similar to how it's done in the views.py file.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:04Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

+    def __init__(self, instance=None, data=None, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(instance, data=data, **kwargs)
+        self.identifier_fiend_name = USER_MODEL.USERNAME_FIELD
+        if USER_MODEL.get_email_field_name() == self.identifier_fiend_name:
+            self.fields[self.identifier_fiend_name] = serializers.EmailField(
+                label=_(self.identifier_fiend_name.title()),
+                write_only=True
+            )
+        else:
+            self.fields[self.identifier_fiend_name] = serializers.CharField(
+                label=_(self.identifier_fiend_name.title()),
+                write_only=True
+            )
+        self.fields["password"] = serializers.CharField(
+            label=_("Password"),
+            style={'input_type': 'password'},
+            trim_whitespace=False,
+            write_only=True
+        )


The new behavior for supporting custom user models with different USERNAME_FIELD values (e.g., 'email') lacks test coverage. Consider adding tests that verify the serializer correctly handles custom user models where USERNAME_FIELD is set to a field other than 'username', such as 'email'.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:05Z

rest_framework/authtoken/views.py

+        USER_MODEL = get_user_model()
+        identifier_field_name = USER_MODEL.USERNAME_FIELD


The USER_MODEL and identifier_field_name are evaluated at class definition time inside the conditional block. This means they are computed once when the module is imported. If the user model is swapped or changed dynamically, this will not be reflected. Consider moving this logic to a method or property that evaluates at runtime.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:05Z

rest_framework/authtoken/views.py

        schema = ManualSchema(
            fields=[
                coreapi.Field(
-                    name="username",
+                    name=identifier_field_name,
                    required=True,
                    location='form',
                    schema=coreschema.String(
-                        title="Username",
-                        description="Valid username for authentication",
+                        title=identifier_field_name.title(),
+                        description=f"Valid {identifier_field_name} for authentication",
                    ),


The new dynamic schema generation based on USERNAME_FIELD lacks test coverage. Consider adding tests that verify the schema correctly reflects the USERNAME_FIELD from custom user models (e.g., when USERNAME_FIELD is 'email', the schema should show 'email' instead of 'username').

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:05Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py


    def validate(self, attrs):
-        username = attrs.get('username')
+        identifier_value = attrs.get(self.identifier_fiend_name)


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Copilot · 2025-12-14T15:09:05Z

rest_framework/authtoken/serializers.py

                raise serializers.ValidationError(msg, code='authorization')
        else:
-            msg = _('Must include "username" and "password".')
+            msg = _(f'Must include "{self.identifier_fiend_name}" and "password".')


Typo in variable name: 'identifier_fiend_name' should be 'identifier_field_name'. This typo appears throughout the class and will cause the code to break.

Update obtain_auth_token to authenticate using 'USERNAME_FIELD' and '…

9dc2682

…password' instead of 'username' and 'password' for both the built-in and custom User models

partho-debnath closed this Mar 31, 2025

partho-debnath reopened this Mar 31, 2025

auvipy requested changes Apr 8, 2025

View reviewed changes

stale bot added the stale label Oct 18, 2025

auvipy requested a review from Copilot December 14, 2025 15:04

auvipy removed the stale label Dec 14, 2025

Merge branch 'main' into fix/token-auth-username-or-email-login

eb02ff8

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of auvipy December 14, 2025 15:05 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Dec 14, 2025

View reviewed changes

		if USER_MODEL.get_email_field_name() == self.identifier_fiend_name:
		self.fields[self.identifier_fiend_name] = serializers.EmailField(


		from rest_framework import serializers

		USER_MODEL = get_user_model()

		USER_MODEL = get_user_model()
		identifier_field_name = USER_MODEL.USERNAME_FIELD

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Modify ObtainAuthToken to use the User model's USERNAME_FIELD and password for authentication instead of assuming username and password. #9674

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Modify ObtainAuthToken to use the User model's USERNAME_FIELD and password for authentication instead of assuming username and password. #9674

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partho-debnath commented Mar 30, 2025

Summary

Fix

Changes Made:

Impact

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partho-debnath commented Mar 30, 2025

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browniebroke commented Mar 31, 2025

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partho-debnath commented Mar 31, 2025 •

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