django-admin-suggest

Suggestions as one types, for the Django admin and django-unfold: the changelist's search box suggests the objects it finds, opens the one chosen, and offers to add what isn't found.

Install

uv add django-admin-suggest
# or
pip install django-admin-suggest

Add it to INSTALLED_APPS (so Django finds its template, and django.contrib.staticfiles its JS and CSS):

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    ...,
    "django_admin_suggest",
]

Search suggestions

The changelist's search box suggests the objects it finds as one types; choosing one, with the mouse or the keyboard (↑ ↓ Enter, Esc closes), opens its change page. Enter without choosing one searches as always.

from django.contrib import admin
from django_admin_suggest import SearchSuggestionsMixin


@admin.register(Image)
class ImageAdmin(SearchSuggestionsMixin, admin.ModelAdmin):
    search_fields = ("title", "album__title")
    search_suggestions = True
    search_suggestions_limit = 8  # optional (8)
    search_suggestions_min_length = 2  # optional (2)
    search_suggestions_add = True  # optional: nothing found, "+ Add “…”"

    def get_search_suggestion_label(self, request, obj):  # optional
        return f"{obj.title} · {obj.album}"

• The suggestions are what the changelist's search finds: its get_search_results() (search_fields, their ^, = and @ prefixes, and whatever overrides it), on get_queryset(request), in the changelist's order, each object once.
• What it costs: one query, of search_suggestions_limit objects at most, a fraction of a second after the typing stops (an older request is cancelled). Use list_select_related or get_queryset() if the label reads a relation.
• Only for those who may view or change the objects; each suggestion leads to its change page (read-only, for those who may only view it). get_search_suggestion_url() changes where (None: not suggested), and get_search_suggestions(request, term) which objects.
• With search_suggestions_add, when nothing is found the last option is "+ Add “what was typed”": the add page, with it in a field — True: the first of search_fields that is an editable field of the model ("^title" or "title__iexact" count as title; none: the add page empty), or the field's name (search_suggestions_add = "title"). Only for those who may add; get_search_suggestion_add_url(request, term) changes where it leads (None: not offered).
• It looks like the admin's autocomplete fields: Select2's dropdown, on the admin's own stylesheets (and Unfold's), light and dark. The search box stays a text box: no jQuery, nor Select2's script.
• An accessible combobox (ARIA), without inline scripts (it works under a strict Content Security Policy). Not in a popup (where choosing an object picks it for a field).

With search_suggestions_add, when nothing is found:

With other packages

The changelist keeps the template the admin would use: it's rendered with django_admin_suggest/change_list.html, which extends it (change_list_template, Unfold's, or another package's such as django-admin-tables) and only adds the script's configuration to extrahead.

Translations

Ships a Spanish (es) translation.

Supported versions

Django 4.2 – 6.1, Python 3.10+.

Development

See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, running the example project, and the test/lint/type-check commands.