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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/rahul-baberwal/django-var-cms/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

All django-var-cms settings are optional Django settings prefixed with VAR_CMS_. They are read once during VarCMSSite initialization at Django startup. You can also set attributes directly on the var_cms_site singleton to override any of these values at import time (see Programmatic Overrides below).

​
Complete Settings Example

The block below shows every available VAR_CMS_* setting alongside the required Django settings for static files, media handling, and authentication routing. 
# settings.py

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ... standard Django apps
    "var_cms",
    "myapp",
]

# ── Static files ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STATIC_URL = "/static/"
STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / "static"]
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "staticfiles"

# ── Media handling ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
MEDIA_URL = "/media/"
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "media"

# ── Authentication routing ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
LOGIN_URL = "/var-cms/login/"
LOGIN_REDIRECT_URL = "/var-cms/"

# ── Branding & Identity ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
VAR_CMS_SITE_HEADER = "VAR CMS"
VAR_CMS_SITE_SUB = "CONTROL PANEL"
VAR_CMS_SITE_URL = "/"
VAR_CMS_LOGO_URL = "/static/var_cms/var.png"
VAR_CMS_LOGO_SVG = None            # raw SVG string, or None to use image logo
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLOR = "142, 72%, 45%"  # HSL: "H, S%, L%"

# ── Authentication ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
VAR_CMS_ENABLE_OTP = False
VAR_CMS_USERNAME_FIELD = None      # defaults to User.USERNAME_FIELD

# ── Dashboard ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
VAR_CMS_HIDDEN_DASHBOARD_CARDS = []   # e.g. ["logentry", "demo.category"]
VAR_CMS_SHOWN_DASHBOARD_CARDS = []    # when non-empty, ONLY these models appear
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TITLE = "Command Hub"
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TEXT = (
    "Welcome back, {username}. Your central command is active. "
    "Seamlessly manage database models, publish rich dynamic content, "
    "crop media assets, and orchestrate translation systems in real time."
)

# ── Developer Profile ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_NAME = "Rahul Baberwal"
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_WEBSITE = "https://rahulbaberwal.com"
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_GITHUB = "https://github.com/rahul-baberwal"
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_LINKEDIN = "https://linkedin.com/in/rahul-baberwal"
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_EMAIL = "im@rahulbaberwal.com"
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_IMAGE = "https://github.com/rahul-baberwal.png"

​
Branding & Identity

​
VAR_CMS_SITE_HEADER
str
default:"VAR CMS"
The brand title displayed in the sidebar header. Shown prominently at the top of the navigation panel.
VAR_CMS_SITE_HEADER = "My Company CMS"
​
VAR_CMS_SITE_SUB
str
default:"CONTROL PANEL"
The subtitle rendered directly below the site header in the sidebar. Typically a short descriptor such as "ADMIN PANEL" or "CONTROL PANEL".
VAR_CMS_SITE_SUB = "ADMIN PANEL"
​
VAR_CMS_SITE_URL
str
default:"/"
The URL used for the View Site link in the sidebar. Set this to the public-facing root of your project so staff can navigate from the CMS to the live site.
VAR_CMS_SITE_URL = "https://example.com"
​
VAR_CMS_LOGO_URL
str
default:"/static/var_cms/var.png"
The URL of the logo image rendered in the sidebar header. Accepts any relative or absolute URL. Ignored when VAR_CMS_LOGO_SVG is also set.
VAR_CMS_LOGO_URL = "/static/myapp/logo.png"
​
VAR_CMS_LOGO_SVG
Optional[str]
default:"None"
A raw SVG string used as a vector logo in the sidebar. When provided, this takes precedence over VAR_CMS_LOGO_URL. Set to None to fall back to the raster image logo.
VAR_CMS_LOGO_SVG = '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" ...>...</svg>'
​
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLOR
Optional[str]
default:"None"
An HSL color string in "H, S%, L%" format applied as the theme accent color across buttons, highlights, and active states throughout the Control Panel.The lightness component (L%) is automatically clamped between 45% and 85% to ensure readability in both light and dark contexts. The value is stored internally as a formatted "H, S%, L%" string after clamping.
# Emerald green
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLOR = "142, 72%, 45%"

# Royal blue
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLOR = "220, 80%, 55%"

# Crimson red
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLOR = "0, 75%, 50%"
Pass the three HSL components as a comma-separated string — do not wrap them in hsl(). The template layer constructs the full CSS value from this string.

​
Authentication

​
VAR_CMS_ENABLE_OTP
bool
default:"False"
When set to True, a successful username/password login redirects users to a 6-digit OTP verification screen before granting access to the dashboard. The OTP is sent to the user’s registered email address via Django’s send_mail.
VAR_CMS_ENABLE_OTP = True
If your SMTP settings are not configured, the OTP is printed directly to the terminal as [VAR CMS OTP]: ###### so developers are never locked out during local development.
​
VAR_CMS_USERNAME_FIELD
Optional[str]
default:"None"
The name of the field on the User model used as the username identifier. When None (default), django-var-cms falls back to User.USERNAME_FIELD from the active authentication backend — usually "username" for Django’s built-in User model.Set this explicitly when using a custom user model whose login field differs from USERNAME_FIELD.
# Custom user model that authenticates by email
VAR_CMS_USERNAME_FIELD = "email"

​
Dashboard

​
VAR_CMS_HIDDEN_DASHBOARD_CARDS
List[str]
default:"[]"
A list of model identifiers whose dashboard cards should be hidden. Each entry may be either:
  • A bare model_name string (e.g. "logentry")
  • A "app_label.model_name" string (e.g. "demo.category")
VAR_CMS_HIDDEN_DASHBOARD_CARDS = ["logentry", "demo.category"]
VAR_CMS_SHOWN_DASHBOARD_CARDS takes precedence. If a model appears in both lists, it is hidden.
​
VAR_CMS_SHOWN_DASHBOARD_CARDS
List[str]
default:"[]"
When non-empty, only the listed models are shown as dashboard cards. All other registered models are hidden from the dashboard regardless of their dashboard_card attribute.Entries follow the same format as VAR_CMS_HIDDEN_DASHBOARD_CARDS — bare model_name or "app_label.model_name".
# Show only invoices and customers on the dashboard
VAR_CMS_SHOWN_DASHBOARD_CARDS = ["invoice", "customer"]
​
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TITLE
str
default:"Command Hub"
The heading text displayed at the top of the dashboard page.
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TITLE = "Welcome to My CMS"
​
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TEXT
str
The body paragraph rendered below the dashboard title. Supports two format placeholders that are interpolated at render time:
PlaceholderReplaced with
{username}The current user’s username string
{user}Alias for {username}
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TEXT = (
    "Hello, {username}! Manage your content and settings below."
)

​
Developer Profile

These settings populate the Help & Support (/var-cms/about/) section of the Control Panel. They identify the developer or agency that built and maintains the CMS instance.
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_NAME
str
default:"Rahul Baberwal"
The full name of the developer or agency shown in the Help section.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_NAME = "Acme Dev Studio"
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_WEBSITE
str
default:"https://rahulbaberwal.com"
The developer’s personal or company website URL.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_WEBSITE = "https://acmedev.studio"
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_GITHUB
str
default:"https://github.com/rahul-baberwal"
URL of the developer’s GitHub profile or the project repository.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_GITHUB = "https://github.com/acme-dev"
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_LINKEDIN
str
default:"https://linkedin.com/in/rahul-baberwal"
URL of the developer’s LinkedIn profile.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_LINKEDIN = "https://linkedin.com/in/jane-doe"
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_EMAIL
str
default:"im@rahulbaberwal.com"
Contact email address for the developer or support team.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_EMAIL = "support@acmedev.studio"
​
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_IMAGE
str
default:"https://github.com/rahul-baberwal.png"
URL of the developer’s avatar image displayed alongside the profile in the Help section. Any publicly accessible image URL is valid.
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_IMAGE = "https://acmedev.studio/team/jane.jpg"

​
Programmatic Overrides

You can set attributes directly on the var_cms_site singleton inside any var_cms_admin.py file. Because var_cms_admin.py files are auto-discovered after Django’s settings module is loaded, attribute assignments here always take precedence over settings.py values. 
# myapp/var_cms_admin.py
from var_cms.registry import var_cms_site

var_cms_site.site_header = "My Company CMS"
var_cms_site.accent_color = "220, 80%, 55%"  # Blue
var_cms_site.enable_otp = True
settings.py values are read once when VarCMSSite() is instantiated at Django startup. Attributes set directly on var_cms_site in var_cms_admin.py are applied afterwards and therefore take precedence over any VAR_CMS_* setting.
The following table maps each VAR_CMS_* setting to its corresponding var_cms_site attribute:
settings.py keyvar_cms_site attribute
VAR_CMS_SITE_HEADERvar_cms_site.site_header
VAR_CMS_SITE_SUBvar_cms_site.site_sub
VAR_CMS_SITE_URLvar_cms_site.site_url
VAR_CMS_LOGO_URLvar_cms_site.logo_url
VAR_CMS_LOGO_SVGvar_cms_site.logo_svg
VAR_CMS_ACCENT_COLORvar_cms_site.accent_color
VAR_CMS_ENABLE_OTPvar_cms_site.enable_otp
VAR_CMS_USERNAME_FIELDvar_cms_site.username_field
VAR_CMS_HIDDEN_DASHBOARD_CARDSvar_cms_site.hidden_dashboard_cards
VAR_CMS_SHOWN_DASHBOARD_CARDSvar_cms_site.shown_dashboard_cards
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TITLEvar_cms_site.dashboard_title
VAR_CMS_DASHBOARD_TEXTvar_cms_site.dashboard_text
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_NAMEvar_cms_site.developer_name
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_WEBSITEvar_cms_site.developer_website
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_GITHUBvar_cms_site.developer_github
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_LINKEDINvar_cms_site.developer_linkedin
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_EMAILvar_cms_site.developer_email
VAR_CMS_DEVELOPER_IMAGEvar_cms_site.developer_image

​
Required Django Settings

The following standard Django settings are not VAR_CMS_* prefixed, but must be configured correctly for django-var-cms to function fully.
​
LOGIN_URL
str
The URL Django redirects unauthenticated users to when they attempt to access a @login_required view. Set this to the django-var-cms login page so users land on the custom glassmorphic login screen rather than Django’s default.
LOGIN_URL = "/var-cms/login/"
​
LOGIN_REDIRECT_URL
str
The URL Django redirects users to after a successful login when no next parameter is present. Set to the django-var-cms dashboard root.
LOGIN_REDIRECT_URL = "/var-cms/"
​
MEDIA_URL
str
The URL prefix used to serve user-uploaded files (images, files, cropped assets). Must end with a slash.
MEDIA_URL = "/media/"
​
MEDIA_ROOT
str
The absolute filesystem path to the directory where uploaded files are stored. Django’s image crop and media conversion features write output files here.
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "media"
In production, configure your web server (nginx, Apache, or a CDN) to serve files from MEDIA_ROOT at the MEDIA_URL prefix. During local development, add static() to your urls.py:
from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static

urlpatterns = [
    ...
] + static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)
​
STATIC_URL
str
The URL prefix used to serve static files (CSS, JavaScript, images bundled with the package). Must end with a slash.
STATIC_URL = "/static/"
​
STATICFILES_DIRS
list
A list of filesystem directories Django searches for additional static files beyond each app’s own static/ subdirectory. Include your project-level static/ folder here so custom logo assets and overrides are picked up.
STATICFILES_DIRS = [BASE_DIR / "static"]
​
STATIC_ROOT
str
The absolute filesystem path where python manage.py collectstatic assembles all static files for production deployment. Must differ from any path listed in STATICFILES_DIRS.
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "staticfiles"

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