day 2 of my 20 days of django: exploring mongodb as the backend

some time back, i explored using mongodb with django:

chrisachinga

Trying Out MongoDB database Backend for Django

c a ・ Mar 7

#django #mongodb #database

so for day 2, i decided to revisit it—but this time, with a simple authentication flow. my goal was to test if the mongodb backend now plays nicely with third-party libraries like django-allauth.

setup & default user flow

mongodb has solid documentation, but i prefer following the official github readme:

GitHub logo mongodb / django-mongodb-backend

Django MongoDB Backend

Django MongoDB Backend

This backend is currently in development and is not advised for production workflows. Backwards incompatible changes may be made without notice. We welcome your feedback as we continue to explore and build. The best way to share this is via our MongoDB Community Forum.

Index

The documentation in the "docs" directory is online at https://django-mongodb-backend.readthedocs.io/en/latest/.

Install

Use the version of django-mongodb-backend that corresponds to your version of Django. For example, to get the latest compatible release for Django 5.2.x:

pip install --pre django-mongodb-backend==5.2.*
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(Until the package is out of beta, you must use pip's --pre option.)

Quickstart

Start project

From your shell, run the following command to create a new Django project called example using our custom template. Make sure the zipfile referenced at the end of the template link corresponds to your version…

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the setup process involves bootstrapping a project from their provided templates:

# install the backend
pip install --pre django-mongodb-backend==5.2.*

# start a new project from the mongodb template
django-admin startproject example --template https://github.com/mongodb-labs/django-mongodb-project/archive/refs/heads/5.2.x.zip

# start an app from their sample app template
python manage.py startapp sample_mflix --template https://github.com/mongodb-labs/django-mongodb-app/archive/refs/heads/5.1.x.zip

update your database settings like this:

databases = {
    "default": django_mongodb_backend.parse_uri(
        config("mongo_uri"), db_name="mongousers"
    ),
}

code is available here:

https://github.com/achingachris/mongo-users

thoughts on the setup

authentication works out of the box, even with custom user models.

the only issue i had was not running mongo locally—so performance took a hit. but honestly, seeing my django data as mongodb documents? that was deeply satisfying.

mongodb compass screenshot

i'm using jazzmin for the admin interface. adds some nice polish.

trying django-allauth with mongodb

unfortunately, still no support.

error screenshot

from the docs:

"we plan to test compatibility with the following third-party libraries by the ga release:

django-filter, django rest framework, django-allauth, wagtail, django debug toolbar."

source

code for the test branch:

https://github.com/achingachris/mongo-users/tree/django-allauth-mongo

final thoughts

i have high hopes for the mongodb django backend. once third-party libraries are supported, it’ll unlock serious potential for real-world projects.

until then, we wait.

see you on the next one