[python] Django DateField default options

I have a model which has a date time field:

date = models.DateField(_("Date"), default=datetime.now())

When I check the app in the built in django admin, the DateField also has the time appended to it, so that if you try to save it an error is returned. How do I make the default just the date? (datetime.today() isn't working either)

This question is related to python django django-models

The answer is


This is why you should always import the base datetime module: import datetime, rather than the datetime class within that module: from datetime import datetime.

The other mistake you have made is to actually call the function in the default, with the (). This means that all models will get the date at the time the class is first defined - so if your server stays up for days or weeks without restarting Apache, all elements will get same the initial date.

So the field should be:

import datetime
date = models.DateField(_("Date"), default=datetime.date.today)

I think a better way to solve this would be to use the datetime callable:

from datetime import datetime

date = models.DateField(default=datetime.now)

Note that no parenthesis were used. If you used parenthesis you would invoke the now() function just once (when the model is created). Instead, you pass the callable as an argument, thus being invoked everytime an instance of the model is created.

Credit to Django Musings. I've used it and works fine.


You could also use lambda. Useful if you're using django.utils.timezone.now

date = models.DateField(_("Date"), default=lambda: now().date())

date = models.DateTimeField(default=datetime.now, blank=True)

Your mistake is using the datetime module instead of the date module. You meant to do this:

from datetime import date
date = models.DateField(_("Date"), default=date.today)

If you only want to capture the current date the proper way to handle this is to use the auto_now_add parameter:

date = models.DateField(_("Date"), auto_now_add=True)

However, the modelfield docs clearly state that auto_now_add and auto_now will always use the current date and are not a default value that you can override.


This should do the trick:

models.DateTimeField(_("Date"), auto_now_add = True)

Examples related to python

programming a servo thru a barometer Is there a way to view two blocks of code from the same file simultaneously in Sublime Text? python variable NameError Why my regexp for hyphenated words doesn't work? Comparing a variable with a string python not working when redirecting from bash script is it possible to add colors to python output? Get Public URL for File - Google Cloud Storage - App Engine (Python) Real time face detection OpenCV, Python xlrd.biffh.XLRDError: Excel xlsx file; not supported Could not load dynamic library 'cudart64_101.dll' on tensorflow CPU-only installation

Examples related to django

How to fix error "ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1: python." when trying to install django-heroku using pip Pylint "unresolved import" error in Visual Studio Code Is it better to use path() or url() in urls.py for django 2.0? Unable to import path from django.urls Error loading MySQLdb Module 'Did you install mysqlclient or MySQL-python?' ImportError: Couldn't import Django Django - Reverse for '' not found. '' is not a valid view function or pattern name Class has no objects member Getting TypeError: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'on_delete' when trying to add parent table after child table with entries How to switch Python versions in Terminal?

Examples related to django-models

Getting TypeError: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'on_delete' when trying to add parent table after child table with entries "Post Image data using POSTMAN" What does on_delete do on Django models? Django values_list vs values What's the difference between select_related and prefetch_related in Django ORM? Django Model() vs Model.objects.create() 'NOT NULL constraint failed' after adding to models.py django - get() returned more than one topic How to convert Django Model object to dict with its fields and values? How do I make an auto increment integer field in Django?