django-modelsheet

Spreadsheet editing for explicitly registered Django Admin models: cell/range editing, local undo/redo, Decimal formulas, server-side filters, and previewed bulk changes.

0.3.0a2 is an alpha, available on PyPI. The repository includes a working demo, compiled assets, tests, and a compatibility CI matrix.

Documentation website → — installation, examples, formulas, bulk operations and extension APIs in English, Simplified Chinese and Belarusian.

Quickstart

Install the current alpha (or pip install . from this repository):

pip install django-modelsheet==0.3.0a2

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS += ["modelsheet"]
MODELSHEET = {"models": ["shop.Product"], "page_size": 200}

# SQLite only: required for safe writes; PostgreSQL/MySQL use row locks.
DATABASES["default"].setdefault("OPTIONS", {})["transaction_mode"] = "IMMEDIATE"

# admin.py
from django.contrib import admin
from modelsheet.admin import ModelSheetAdmin
from .models import Product

@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelSheetAdmin):
    list_display = ("name", "price", "stock")
    search_fields = ("name",)
    sheet_fields = ("name", "price", "stock")
    sheet_editable = ("price", "stock")
    sheet_computed_fields = {"inventory_value": "=[price]*[stock]"}

python manage.py migrate
python manage.py collectstatic --noinput
python manage.py modelsheet_roles  # optional: creates groups, assigns no users

Assign a group through Django Admin and mark the account as staff. Superusers can use configured sheets immediately. Open Spreadsheet from the model list, or visit /admin/shop/product/sheet/. No frontend build, CDN or extra URL include is required in the consuming project. Admin's existing sessions and CSRF protection apply.

Using the sheet

• Double-click to edit; use the formula bar for a value or expression.
• Changes stay local until Save. Ctrl/Cmd+Z, Ctrl/Cmd+Y and Ctrl/Cmd+S operate on this buffer.
• Select a range, copy/paste TSV from Excel, or press Ctrl/Cmd+D to fill down.
• Readonly cells are skipped during paste with a notification. A save is atomic across all changed rows.
• Use Sort for ordered sort fields, or Alt+click a column header (Alt+Shift+click adds a field). Ordinary header clicks select columns. Search and filters run on the server.
• Bulk change selects either highlighted page rows or every matching row, including other pages. Build a preview, inspect its exact count/values, then confirm it. Editing inputs requires a new preview.
• Ordinary Admin is available only when its list can represent the same filter, ordering and page.

Numbers use a decimal point and dates use ISO 8601. Empty pasted cells become NULL for nullable fields, otherwise empty text for text fields or a validation error. Prefix text beginning with = with an apostrophe, for example '=SUM(A1:A2).

Configuration

MODELSHEET = {
    "models": ["shop.Product"],
    "page_size": 200,
    "max_page_size": 500,
    "max_save_rows": 500,
    "count_mode": "exact",  # exact | none (no approximate COUNT promise)
    "bulk_background_threshold": 5000,
    "max_bulk_rows": 100000,
    "chunk_size": 200,
    "snapshot_ttl_seconds": 1800,
    "preview_ttl_seconds": 1800,
    "history_retention_days": 365,
    "max_operations_per_minute": 30,
    "max_request_bytes": 1000000,
    "formula": {"max_length": 500, "max_depth": 10, "max_steps": 10000, "timeout_ms": 250},
    "background_adapter": None,
}

Run python manage.py modelsheet_cleanup periodically through your scheduler. It removes expired snapshots and terminal/unused-preview operations beyond retention. Do not reuse old idempotency keys after their operation has been purged.

Permissions

Access requires is_active, is_staff, modelsheet.open, the model's standard view permission, and ModelAdmin.has_view_permission(). Editing additionally requires the standard change permission and has_change_permission().

Package permission codenames include app/model identifiers:

modelsheet.view_field_shop_product_price
modelsheet.edit_field_shop_product_price
modelsheet.bulk_shop_product
modelsheet.history_shop_product

get_queryset(request) bounds every read/write. Object-level Admin hooks and the configured policy apply in addition. Hidden fields cannot be used in filters, sorting, formulas or history. Field permissions never grant model-level editing.

Group templates are opt-in and additive: Viewer, Editor, Operator, Auditor and Admin. They grant access to the configured sheet fields; review these grants before assigning users, especially sensitive columns. They do not grant superuser status.

Development and demo

python -m pip install -e '.[test]'
cd frontend
npm ci
npm run build
npm test
cd ..
python manage.py migrate
python manage.py seed_demo --create-user
python manage.py runserver

The explicit --create-user option creates a local-only admin / admin account. The demo settings are not production settings. Open http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/shop/product/sheet/.

python -m pytest
python -m ruff check .
python -m build --no-isolation
cd frontend
npx playwright install chromium
npm run test:e2e

Target matrix: Django 5.2 / Python 3.11–3.14; Django 6.0 and 6.1 / Python 3.12–3.14; PostgreSQL, MySQL/InnoDB, SQLite. CI exercises valid combinations and the same transactional contract across databases. Consult CI results before treating a combination as verified; local results are recorded in docs/validation.md.

Boundaries

Safe mode calls full_clean() and the instance's save() by default, including normal model signals. Custom ModelAdmin.save_model(), custom Admin forms, save_related() and external effects need an explicit adapter. Snapshot fingerprints cover concrete model fields, not all intermediate history or related-table contents.

Sheets use the default database. User models require no extra fields or inheritance. Existing scalar fields are editable; FK fields can be displayed/filtered but FK/M2M editors, server undo, file import/export, fast-save, cursor pagination and persistent formulas are deferred. Large operations require your own background adapter.

See formulas, extension API, background processing, HTTP API, and release procedure. Bundled dependency notices are in modelsheet/static/modelsheet/THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.txt.