Django Authentication: Build Login, Logout, and Signup from Scratch

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🔒 Django Authentication System from Scratch (Login, Logout, Signup)

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Introduction

User authentication is a fundamental part of any modern web application. Whether you're building a blog, e-commerce store, or social network, you need a secure way for users to log in and manage their accounts.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a simple but functional authentication system in Django — including user registration (signup), login, and logout.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure:

• You have Python 3.x and Django installed
  Install Django (if not yet installed):

  pip install django
  

• You have a basic Django project and app already created.
  If not, run:

  django-admin startproject authproject
  cd authproject
  python manage.py startapp accounts
  

Then, add 'accounts' to your INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py.

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Step 1: Set Up URLs

In authproject/urls.py

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

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

In accounts/urls.py

Create this file inside your accounts app:

from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('signup/', views.signup_view, name='signup'),
    path('login/', views.login_view, name='login'),
    path('logout/', views.logout_view, name='logout'),
]

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Step 2: Create Views

In accounts/views.py:

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm, AuthenticationForm
from django.contrib.auth import login, logout

def signup_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = UserCreationForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            user = form.save()
            login(request, user)
            return redirect('/')
    else:
        form = UserCreationForm()
    return render(request, 'accounts/signup.html', {'form': form})

def login_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = AuthenticationForm(data=request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            user = form.get_user()
            login(request, user)
            return redirect('/')
    else:
        form = AuthenticationForm()
    return render(request, 'accounts/login.html', {'form': form})

def logout_view(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        logout(request)
        return redirect('/')

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Step 3: Create Templates

Create a templates/accounts/ folder inside your app and add the following:

signup.html

<h2>Sign Up</h2>
<form method="POST">
  {% csrf_token %}
  {{ form.as_p }}
  <button type="submit">Sign Up</button>
</form>

login.html

<h2>Login</h2>
<form method="POST">
  {% csrf_token %}
  {{ form.as_p }}
  <button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>

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Step 4: Add Logout Button

In your base template or homepage, add a logout form:

{% if user.is_authenticated %}
  <form method="POST" action="{% url 'logout' %}">
    {% csrf_token %}
    <button type="submit">Logout</button>
  </form>
{% endif %}

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Step 5: Protect Pages with Login

You can protect views by adding the login-required decorator:

from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required

@login_required
def dashboard(request):
    return render(request, 'dashboard.html')

Also, set the login redirect URL in settings.py:

LOGIN_URL = '/accounts/login/'

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Conclusion

You now have a fully functional authentication system in Django — built from scratch! Users can sign up, log in, and log out. You’ve learned how to:

• Use Django’s built-in authentication forms

• Secure routes with decorators

• Render and protect user data

✅ You can now build on this foundation by adding user profiles, password resets, and more.

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