Best way to add convenience methods to a Django Auth User model?

Question

I want to add a convenience/model method to the django.contrib.auth.models.User model. What is the best practice for doing this since, last time I checked, extending the User model was considered bad practice.

I have a separate custom UserProfile model. Should I be using that for all User-related convenience methods?

Answer 1

Yes. No need to mess with the foundations when your user model has a .get_profile() function attached to it.

Answer 2

I prefer to use the same UserProfile across various projects I develop and extend User for any project-specific needs. So, common functionality goes to UserProfile, and project-specific functionality goes to custom User. I have not had any adverse effects of having a subclassed User model yet, I wonder if there still exist any with Django 1.0+.

Answer 3

It depends what you are trying to add to the model. If you want to add more information about the user, then it is generally recommended that you use the UserProfile method: http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/auth/#storing-additional-information-about-users

However, if you just want to add custom methods or managers to the User model, I would say that it's more logical to use a proxy model, like so:

from django.contrib.auth.models import User

class UserMethods(User):
  def custom_method(self):
    pass
  class Meta:
    proxy=True

A proxy model will operate on the same database table as the original model, so is ideal for creating custom methods without physically extending the model. Just replace any references to User in your views to UserMethods. (And of course you can use this in the admin tool by unregistering the User model and registering your proxy model in its stead.)

Any instances of the original User model that are created will be instantly accessible via the UserMethods model, and vice-versa. More here: http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/db/models/#proxy-models

(NB. Proxy models require Django 1.1 and above)