Settings for djangocms Versioning¶

All Django CMS Versioning settings are optional and have sensible defaults. Add them to your Django settings.py file as needed.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS¶

Defaults to False (constants.DELETE_NONE)

When False (default):

Version objects that are the source of another version are protected from deletion
This preserves version history and prevents data corruption
The latest version (not a source for any other) can still be deleted

When True:

Users with appropriate permissions can delete any version object
Set this only if you don’t need a full version history
Use with caution as it can break the version chain

If set to constants.DELETE_ANY ("any") users can delete version objects if they have the appropriate rights. Set this to "any" if you want users to be able to delete versioned objects and you do not need a full history of versions, e.g. for documentation purposes.

If set to constants.DELETE_NON_PUBLIC_ONLY ("non-public only") users can delete version objects which are not published and which are not a source for another version object. This allows users to delete draft, unpublished, or archived versions, but protects published versions from deletion. This is particularly useful if you want to allow users to clean up their version history, but still want to ensure that published content remains documented and is not deleted accidentally.

# settings.py DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS = True

Related: See the “Deletion protection” section in the 2.0.0 release notes release notes for more information.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS¶

Default: False

Type: boolean

Added in version 2.0: Before version 2.0, version locking was provided by a separate package.

Enables draft version locking.

When True:

When a draft version is created, it becomes locked to its author
Only the author can edit the draft
The lock is automatically removed when the draft is published
Users with delete_versionlock permission can manually unlock versions
Unlocking sends a notification email to the original author

When False (default):

Drafts are not locked
Any user with change permissions can edit any draft

Example:

# settings.py
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = True

Related: See Locking versions for complete information.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_USERNAME_FIELD¶

Default: "username"

Type: string

The name of the username field on your custom User model.

Use this if your custom User model has a different username field name.

Example:

# settings.py for custom user model with 'email' as username
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_USERNAME_FIELD = "email"

Related: Only needed if using a custom user model.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_DEFAULT_USER¶

Default: None

Type: integer (user pk) or None

The primary key of the default user to use when creating versions via management commands or migrations.

When set, the create_versions management command doesn’t require --userid or --username options.

Example:

# settings.py
# If you have a system user with pk=1
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_DEFAULT_USER = 1

Usage:

# With this setting, just run:
python manage.py create_versions

# Without it, you'd need:
python manage.py create_versions --userid 1

Related: See api/management_commands for more information.

Note: If this setting is configured, command-line options --userid and --username are ignored.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT¶

Default: "published"

Type: string

Added in version 2.0: Before version 2.0, the behavior was always "versions".

Determines where users are redirected after publishing or unpublishing content.

Allowed values:

"versions": Redirect to the version overview of the current object - Useful for advanced users who need to track multiple versions - Shows all versions with their states
"published": Redirect to the content object on the site - Uses the object’s .get_absolute_url() method - Falls back to preview URL if no absolute URL exists or if unpublishing
"preview": Redirect to the content object’s preview endpoint - Shows what the content looks like on the site - Useful for content creators who want to verify their changes

Example:

# settings.py
# Redirect to version overview after publish
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "versions"

# Redirect to published page
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "published"

# Redirect to preview
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "preview"

Recommendation: Choose based on your workflow:

Content creators: "published" or "preview" for immediate feedback
Advanced editors managing many versions: "versions" for overview

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI¶

Incorrect name in conf.py: DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE

Default: True

Type: boolean

Note: There’s a typo in conf.py where the setting is named DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE but should be DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI.

Controls the verbosity of the versioning UI in the admin.

When True (default):

Version creation dates are displayed in the “manage versions” view
Version admin links appear in the Django admin index page
Full verbose UI is shown

When False:

Minimal, simplified UI
Creation dates hidden in version view
No entries in admin index page
Version management still accessible through CMS toolbar

Example:

# settings.py
# Use simplified UI
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI = False

Use case: Simplified UI can be useful for organizations with many users where a less verbose interface reduces cognitive load.

EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY¶

Default: False

Type: boolean

Controls error handling for version lock notification emails.

When True:

Email send failures are silently ignored
Useful for development or testing environments
Version operations complete even if email fails

When False (default):

Email exceptions propagate to the caller
Failures are logged and visible

Example:

# settings.py
# For development where email might not be configured
EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY = True

Related: Only relevant when DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = True.

DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ENABLE_MENU_REGISTRATION¶

Default: Depends on django CMS version

True for django CMS <= 4.1.0
False for django CMS 5.x and later

Type: boolean

Controls whether djangocms-versioning registers itself in the CMS menu.

This is automatically managed based on your django CMS version and rarely needs to be configured manually.

Advanced use only: Don’t set this unless you have a specific reason to override the default behavior.

Settings Summary Table¶

All Djangocms-versioning Settings¶
Setting Name	Default	Purpose
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS`	`False`	Allow deletion of version objects
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS`	`False`	Lock draft versions to their author
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_USERNAME_FIELD`	`"username"`	Custom user model username field name
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_DEFAULT_USER`	`None`	Default user for management commands
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT`	`"published"`	Where to redirect after publish/unpublish
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI`	`True`	Show verbose admin UI
`EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY`	`False`	Handle email errors silently
`DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ENABLE_MENU_REGISTRATION`	Auto-detected	Register in CMS menu

Complete Configuration Example¶

# settings.py - djangocms-versioning configuration

# Security: Protect version history from accidental deletion
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS = False

# UX: Lock drafts to prevent conflicts
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = True

# Setup: Default user for migrations and commands
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_DEFAULT_USER = 1  # pk of system user

# UX: Redirect to the published page after changes
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "published"

# UI: Show full UI with dates and admin index
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI = True

# Email: Fail silently in development
if DEBUG:
    EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY = True
else:
    EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY = False

# Custom user model with email as username
if AUTH_USER_MODEL != "auth.User":
    DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_USERNAME_FIELD = "email"

Common Configuration Patterns¶

Production Setup¶

# Production: Maximum protection and tracking
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS = False
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = True
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_DEFAULT_USER = 1
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "published"
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI = True
EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY = False

Development Setup¶

# Development: More flexibility, simplified UI
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ALLOW_DELETING_VERSIONS = True
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = False
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI = False
EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS_FAIL_SILENTLY = True

Content Creator Focused¶

# Focus on ease of use for content creators
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_LOCK_VERSIONS = True  # Prevent edit conflicts
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_ON_PUBLISH_REDIRECT = "published"  # See result
DJANGOCMS_VERSIONING_VERBOSE_UI = False  # Simple interface