How to Create Authentication APIs (Login & Register API) in Django with Django Rest Framework

Django Rest Framework (DRF) is a powerful and flexible toolkit for building Web APIs in Django applications. When developing modern web applications, implementing secure authentication is a crucial aspect. In this article, we will walk through the process of creating a simple Authentication API in Django using Django Rest Framework, covering both login and registration functionalities.

 

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed:

1. Python and Django: Install the latest version of Python and Django on your system. You can install Django using the following command:

pip install django

2. Django Rest Framework: Install Django Rest Framework using the following command: 

pip install djangorestframework

 

Step 1: Create a Django Project and App

Start by creating a new Django project and a Django app within the project. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

django-admin startproject authentication_project
cd authentication_project
python manage.py startapp authentication_app 

 

Step 2: Configure Django Settings

Add the newly created app and Django Rest Framework to the INSTALLED_APPS in the settings.py file:

# authentication_project/settings.py

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    'rest_framework',
    'authentication_app',
]

 

Step 3: Create User Model

In the models.py file of the authentication_app, create a custom User model that extends the AbstractBaseUser and PermissionsMixin provided by Django:

# authentication_app/models.py

from django.contrib.auth.models import AbstractBaseUser, BaseUserManager, PermissionsMixin
from django.db import models

class CustomUserManager(BaseUserManager):
    def create_user(self, email, password=None, **extra_fields):
        if not email:
            raise ValueError('The Email field must be set')
        email = self.normalize_email(email)
        user = self.model(email=email, **extra_fields)
        user.set_password(password)
        user.save(using=self._db)
        return user

    def create_superuser(self, email, password=None, **extra_fields):
        extra_fields.setdefault('is_staff', True)
        extra_fields.setdefault('is_superuser', True)

        return self.create_user(email, password, **extra_fields)

class CustomUser(AbstractBaseUser, PermissionsMixin):
    email = models.EmailField(unique=True)
    first_name = models.CharField(max_length=30)
    last_name = models.CharField(max_length=30)
    is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    is_staff = models.BooleanField(default=False)

    objects = CustomUserManager()

    USERNAME_FIELD = 'email'
    REQUIRED_FIELDS = ['first_name', 'last_name']

    def __str__(self):
        return self.email

 

Step 4: Run Migrations

Run the initial migrations to create the database tables for the custom User model:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

 

Step 5: Create Serializer for User Model

In the serializers.py file of the authentication_app, create a serializer for the custom User model:

# authentication_app/serializers.py

from rest_framework import serializers
from .models import CustomUser

class CustomUserSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = CustomUser
        fields = ('id', 'email', 'first_name', 'last_name', 'is_active', 'is_staff')

 

Step 6: Create Views for Registration and Login

In the views.py file of the authentication_app, create views for user registration and login:

# authentication_app/views.py

from rest_framework import generics, permissions
from rest_framework.response import Response
from rest_framework.authtoken.views import ObtainAuthToken
from rest_framework.authtoken.models import Token
from .models import CustomUser
from .serializers import CustomUserSerializer

class RegisterUserView(generics.CreateAPIView):
    queryset = CustomUser.objects.all()
    serializer_class = CustomUserSerializer
    permission_classes = (permissions.AllowAny,)

class CustomObtainAuthToken(ObtainAuthToken):
    def post(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        response = super().post(request, *args, **kwargs)
        token = Token.objects.get(key=response.data['token'])
        user = CustomUser.objects.get(id=token.user_id)
        serializer = CustomUserSerializer(user)
        return Response({'token': token.key, 'user': serializer.data})

 

Step 7: Configure URLs

In the urls.py file of the authentication_app, define the URLs for registration and login views:

# authentication_app/urls.py

from django.urls import path
from .views import RegisterUserView, CustomObtainAuthToken

urlpatterns = [
    path('register/', RegisterUserView.as_view(), name='register'),
    path('login/', CustomObtainAuthToken.as_view(), name='login'),
]

 Include these URLs in the main urls.py file of your project:

# authentication_project/urls.py

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('api/', include('authentication_app.urls')),
]

 

Step 8: Run the Development Server

Start the development server by running the following command:

python manage.py runserver

 

Visit http://localhost:8000/admin to access the Django admin panel and create a new user. Then, use the provided API endpoints for registration and login:

• Registration: POST http://localhost:8000/api/register/
• Login: POST http://localhost:8000/api/login/

These endpoints will return a token that you can use for subsequent authenticated requests.