How to Override and Extend Django Admin Templates with AppDirectories Template Loader?

Overriding and Extending Django Admin Templates Simultaneously

Overriding Django's admin templates is a common need for customizing the administration interface. However, you may face a dilemma when you want to both override and extend a template, while also leveraging the AppDirectories template loader.

Overriding vs. Extending

In Django, overriding a template involves completely replacing the existing template file, while extending allows you to add content to specific blocks within the template.

Challenges with AppDirectories Template Loader

The AppDirectories template loader presents a challenge when overriding and extending admin templates. When using this loader, Django expects the extended template to reside in the same directory as the original template. This can become problematic if the admin templates are located in a different application.

Existing Solutions

Custom Template Loader:

The recommended solution is to use a custom template loader that supports extending templates across app directories. One such loader is available on DjangoSnippets.org.

Customizing Django's Template Loader:

Another option is to customize Django's AppDirectories template loader to allow extending templates from specific apps. This involves creating a custom template loader class that inherits from the AppDirectories loader and modifying its behavior.

Django's Future Plans

As of this writing, Django does not natively support extending templates across app directories. However, there is an open issue on GitHub proposing this feature. If implemented, it would simplify the process of overriding and extending Django admin templates significantly.

Example Usage with Custom Loader:

Using the custom template loader mentioned above, you can implement the following in your template:

{% extends "admin:admin/index.html" %}

{% block sidebar %}
    {{block.super}}
    <div>
        <h1>Extra links</h1>
        <a href="/admin/extra/">My extra link</a>
    </div>
{% endblock %}

This code extends the admin index template with additional sidebar content, effectively overriding and extending the original template.

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