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Class Signature

class TabbedModelAdmin
TabbedModelAdmin is a mixin class that extends Django’s ModelAdmin to provide a tabbed interface. It manages navigation between tabs and handles URL routing for nested views.
Use this as a mixin with Django’s admin.ModelAdmin. The order matters: TabbedModelAdmin should come before admin.ModelAdmin in the inheritance list.

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Class Attributes

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tabs_path
str
default:"'tabs'"
The URL path segment used for tab navigation. This appears in URLs like /admin/app/model/1/tabs/details/.
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admin_tabs
List[type]
default:"[]"
List of tab classes (either AdminTab or AdminChangeListTab subclasses) that define the available tabs for this admin interface.

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Methods

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get_admin_tabs()

def get_admin_tabs(self, request, object_id) -> List[AdminTab]
Hook to dynamically return the enabled tabs based on request or object state. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the object being viewed
Returns: List[type] - List of tab classes Example: 
def get_admin_tabs(self, request, object_id):
    tabs = [DetailsTab]
    if request.user.has_perm('app.view_advanced'):
        tabs.append(AdvancedTab)
    return tabs

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get_initial_tab()

def get_initial_tab(self, request, object_id) -> AdminTab
Hook to return the initial tab to load after adding a new object or when accessing the change view. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the object being viewed
Returns: AdminTab - An instantiated tab object Default behavior: Returns an instance of the first tab in admin_tabs. Example: 
def get_initial_tab(self, request, object_id):
    # Always start with the summary tab
    return SummaryTab(self.model, self.admin_site)

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get_admin_tab()

def get_admin_tab(self, request, object_id, step: str)
Retrieve a specific tab instance by its slug. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the parent object
  • step (str) - The tab slug (URL-safe identifier)
Returns: Instance of the requested tab class Raises: Http404 if the tab slug is not found
This method automatically sets parent_object and parent_model attributes on the tab instance.

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change_view()

def change_view(self, request, object_id, form_url="", extra_context=None)
Overrides Django’s default change_view to redirect to the initial tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the object being viewed
  • form_url (str) - Optional form URL
  • extra_context (dict | None) - Optional additional context
Returns: HttpResponseRedirect - Redirect to the initial tab’s URL

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get_context()

def get_context(self, request, instance, step)
Builds the context dictionary for tab templates. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • instance - The model instance being viewed
  • step (str) - The current tab slug
Returns: dict - Context dictionary with the following keys:
  • instance_meta_opts - Model meta options
  • admin_tabs - List of all tab instances
  • current_tab - The current tab slug
  • anchor - The model instance (for navigation)

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response_add()

def response_add(self, request, obj, *args, **kwargs)
Overrides the response after adding a new object to redirect to the tabbed interface. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • obj - The newly created object
  • *args - Additional positional arguments
  • **kwargs - Additional keyword arguments
Returns: HttpResponse - Redirect to the change view (which redirects to initial tab)

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response_post_save_change()

def response_post_save_change(self, request, obj)
Overrides the response after saving changes to stay on the current tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • obj - The modified object
Returns: HttpResponseRedirect - Redirect to the current URL (refreshes the page)

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get_urls()

def get_urls(self)
Extends Django’s URL patterns with tab-specific routes. Returns: List[URLPattern] - Combined list of tab URLs and base admin URLs URL Patterns Created:
PatternNameViewDescription
<object_id>/tabs/<step>/<nested_object_id>/change/{app}_{model}_tab_changenested_change_viewChange a nested object
<object_id>/tabs/<step>/add/{app}_{model}_tab_addnested_add_viewAdd a nested object
<object_id>/tabs/<step>/<nested_object_id>/delete/{app}_{model}_tab_deletenested_delete_viewDelete a nested object
<object_id>/tabs/<step>/{app}_{model}_steptab_change_viewView a specific tab
The tabs segment can be customized using the tabs_path attribute.

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tab_change_view()

def tab_change_view(self, request, object_id, step)
Handles requests to view a specific tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the parent object
  • step (str) - The tab slug
Returns: HttpResponse - The rendered tab view

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nested_change_view()

def nested_change_view(self, request, object_id, step, nested_object_id=None)
Handles requests to change a nested object within a changelist tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the parent object
  • step (str) - The tab slug
  • nested_object_id (str | None) - The ID of the nested object
Returns: HttpResponse - The rendered change form
This view automatically hides the delete button by setting show_delete to False in the context.

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nested_add_view()

def nested_add_view(self, request, object_id, step)
Handles requests to add a new nested object within a changelist tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the parent object
  • step (str) - The tab slug
Returns: HttpResponse - The rendered add form

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nested_delete_view()

def nested_delete_view(self, request, object_id, step, nested_object_id=None)
Handles requests to delete a nested object within a changelist tab. Parameters:
  • request - The Django HttpRequest object
  • object_id (str) - The ID of the parent object
  • step (str) - The tab slug
  • nested_object_id (str | None) - The ID of the nested object to delete
Returns: HttpResponse - The rendered delete confirmation or redirect

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Usage Example

from django.contrib import admin
from django_admin_tabs.admin import (
    AdminTab,
    AdminChangeListTab,
    TabbedModelAdmin,
)
from .models import Product, Review

class DetailsTab(AdminTab):
    admin_tab_name = "Details"
    fields = ['name', 'description', 'price']

class ReviewsTab(AdminChangeListTab, admin.ModelAdmin):
    model = Review
    admin_tab_name = "Reviews"
    fk_field = "product"
    list_display = ['author', 'rating', 'comment']

class ProductAdmin(TabbedModelAdmin, admin.ModelAdmin):
    admin_tabs = [DetailsTab, ReviewsTab]
    tabs_path = "sections"  # Custom URL segment
    
    def get_admin_tabs(self, request, object_id):
        # Conditionally show tabs based on permissions
        tabs = [DetailsTab]
        if request.user.has_perm('app.view_review'):
            tabs.append(ReviewsTab)
        return tabs

admin.site.register(Product, ProductAdmin)

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URL Structure

For a Product model with ID 42 and a “reviews” tab: 
/admin/app/product/42/                          → Redirects to initial tab
/admin/app/product/42/tabs/details/             → Details tab
/admin/app/product/42/tabs/reviews/             → Reviews changelist tab
/admin/app/product/42/tabs/reviews/add/         → Add new review
/admin/app/product/42/tabs/reviews/5/change/    → Edit review #5
/admin/app/product/42/tabs/reviews/5/delete/    → Delete review #5
Always place TabbedModelAdmin before admin.ModelAdmin in the inheritance chain to ensure proper method resolution order.

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