Customizing Django Admin Authentication with Token-Based Access

Your approach to integrating token-based authentication with the Django admin panel is on the right track, but there are some important considerations to make it fully interactive.

Understanding the Challenge

The Django admin interface is designed as a browser-based application that relies on session-based authentication. When testing with Postman, you're only seeing the HTML content because Postman doesn't process JavaScript or maintain the session state like a browser would.

Solution Approach

To achieve what you want, you need to:

1. Create a bridge between your token authentication and Django's session authentication
2. Ensure the browser maintains the session after the initial authentication

Here's how to improve your implementation:

PYTHONCopied
class CustomAuthView(views.View):
    def user_has_permission(self, request):
        # Your existing token validation logic here
        # ...
        return user_obj  # Return the authenticated user if valid

    def get(self, request):
        if user_obj := self.user_has_permission(request):
            # Authenticate the user in Django's session system
            login(request, user_obj)
            
            # Set a session cookie that will be sent back to the browser
            response = redirect('/admin/')
            
            # Make sure the session is persisted
            request.session.save()
            
            return response
        return HttpResponseForbidden("You do not have permission to access this page")

Important Considerations

1. Browser Access: This approach will only work when accessed through a browser, not through API clients like Postman.

2. Frontend Integration: Your Vue frontend would need to:

   • Make the request to your custom endpoint
   • Follow redirects (most browsers do this automatically)
   • Store and send cookies for subsequent requests

3. Security: Remember that the Django admin is designed for internal use:

   "The admin's recommended use is limited to an organization's internal management tool. It's not intended for building your entire front end around."

4. Alternative Approach: Instead of trying to access the admin panel through an API, consider:

   • Creating a dedicated page in your Vue app that has a button/link
   • When clicked, it redirects the user to your custom auth endpoint with the token in a header or query parameter
   • The browser will then handle the redirect to the admin panel and maintain the session

This way, you're using the Django admin as intended - as a browser-based interface - while still leveraging your token authentication system.