What is class Meta in Django?#

The Meta class in Django models controls database behavior, ordering, constraints, permissions, and administrative representation without defining fields.

In a Django model:

class Book(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)

    class Meta:
        ...

Meta is a configuration class

It does NOT create fields

It controls how the model behaves (DB, admin, ordering, constraints, permissions)

Think of it as:: Settings for the model

Core Meta Options (Most Used)#

1️⃣ db_table#

What it does

Controls the actual database table name

Example

class Book(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)

    class Meta:
        db_table = "library_books"

PostgreSQL result

SELECT * FROM library_books;

Without this, Django uses:

appname_book

2️⃣ ordering#

Default ordering for queries

class Book(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    published_year = models.IntegerField()

    class Meta:
        ordering = ["-published_year", "title"]

Effect

Book.objects.all()

➡️ Automatically sorted

means descending

3️⃣ verbose_name#

Human-readable name (Admin UI)

class Book(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)

    class Meta:
        verbose_name = "Book Item"

Admin shows Book Item instead of Book

4️⃣ verbose_name_plural#

Plural name in admin

class Meta:
    verbose_name_plural = "Book Items"

Avoids Django’s default weird plurals

5️⃣ abstract#

Makes a model non-database

class TimeStampedModel(models.Model):
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    class Meta:
        abstract = True

Meaning

✔ No table created

✔ Used only for inheritance

Very common in enterprise apps

6️⃣ managed#

Does Django manage this table?

class LegacyUser(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)

    class Meta:
        managed = False
        db_table = "legacy_users"

Use case

✔ Existing database

✔ Django should not create/migrate it

7️⃣ unique_together (legacy but still used)#

class Enrollment(models.Model):
    student = models.ForeignKey(Student, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    course = models.ForeignKey(Course, on_delete=models.CASCADE)

    class Meta:
        unique_together = ("student", "course")

PostgreSQL

UNIQUE (student_id, course_id)

Prefer UniqueConstraint (see below)

8️⃣ indexes#

Database indexes (performance)

class Order(models.Model):
    order_no = models.CharField(max_length=50)

    class Meta:
        indexes = [
            models.Index(fields=["order_no"]),
        ]

PostgreSQL

CREATE INDEX ON orders (order_no);

Modern Constraint-Based Meta Options#

9️⃣ constraints#

Advanced database rules

Unique constraint

class User(models.Model):
    email = models.EmailField()

    class Meta:
        constraints = [
            models.UniqueConstraint(
                fields=["email"],
                name="unique_user_email"
            )
        ]

Check constraint

models.CheckConstraint(
    check=models.Q(age__gte=18),
    name="age_must_be_18_plus"
)

These become real PostgreSQL constraints

🔟 permissions#

Custom permissions

class Report(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)

    class Meta:
        permissions = [
            ("can_publish", "Can publish report"),
            ("can_archive", "Can archive report"),
        ]

Used by:

Django Admin
RBAC systems
Enterprise apps

1️⃣1️⃣ default_permissions#

Control auto-created permissions

class Meta:
    default_permissions = ()

Prevents Django from creating:

add, change, delete, view

1️⃣2️⃣ get_latest_by#

Used with .latest()

class Article(models.Model):
    published_at = models.DateTimeField()

    class Meta:
        get_latest_by = "published_at"

Usage:

Article.objects.latest()

Rare but Useful Meta Options

Option	Purpose
ordering	Default sorting
proxy	Proxy models
select_on_save	Legacy DB behavior
base_manager_name	Custom manager
default_manager_name	Advanced ORM control

Complete Example (Enterprise-style)

class Order(models.Model):
    order_no = models.CharField(max_length=50)
    total = models.DecimalField(max_digits=10, decimal_places=2)

    class Meta:
        db_table = "orders"
        ordering = ["-id"]
        verbose_name = "Order"
        verbose_name_plural = "Orders"
        indexes = [
            models.Index(fields=["order_no"]),
        ]
        constraints = [
            models.UniqueConstraint(
                fields=["order_no"],
                name="unique_order_no"
            )
        ]

Mental Model

Fields define data

Meta defines rules, behavior, and structure

What is class Meta in Django?

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