Django Model Field Types

Practical list of Django model field types, written exactly in the “Field → Examples → Use → Meaning”

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📝 Text & String Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
CharField	name = models.CharField(max_length=100)	Short text	Stores small strings (requires max_length)
TextField	description = models.TextField()	Long text	Stores large text (no length limit)
SlugField	slug = models.SlugField(unique=True)	URL-friendly text	Lowercase, hyphenated strings (e.g. my-post-title)
EmailField	email = models.EmailField(unique=True)	Email address	CharField with email validation
URLField	website = models.URLField()	Website links	CharField with URL validation

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🔢 Numeric Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
IntegerField	age = models.IntegerField()	Whole numbers	Standard integer values
BigIntegerField	views = models.BigIntegerField()	Large integers	Very large numbers (64-bit)
SmallIntegerField	rating = models.SmallIntegerField()	Small numbers	Limited-range integers
PositiveIntegerField	quantity = models.PositiveIntegerField()	Non-negative numbers	Only zero or positive integers
PositiveSmallIntegerField	stock = models.PositiveSmallIntegerField()	Small positive numbers	Small range, non-negative
FloatField	score = models.FloatField()	Decimal numbers (approximate)	Floating-point values
DecimalField	price = models.DecimalField(max_digits=8, decimal_places=2)	Exact decimal numbers	Precise values (money, currency)

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Boolean & Logical

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
BooleanField	is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True)	True / False	Stores boolean values

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📅 Date & Time Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
DateField	birth_date = models.DateField()	Date only	Stores YYYY-MM-DD
TimeField	opening_time = models.TimeField()	Time only	Stores HH:MM:SS
DateTimeField	created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)	Date and time	Timestamp with date + time
DurationField	session_length = models.DurationField()	Time duration	Stores timedelta values

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📂 File & Media Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
FileField	document = models.FileField(upload_to="docs/")	File upload	Stores file path
ImageField	photo = models.ImageField(upload_to="images/")	Image upload	FileField with image validation

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🔗 Relationship Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
ForeignKey	author = models.ForeignKey(Author, on_delete=models.CASCADE)	One-to-Many relationship	Links one object to another
OneToOneField	profile = models.OneToOneField(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)	One-to-One relationship	Exactly one related object
ManyToManyField	tags = models.ManyToManyField(Tag)	Many-to-Many relationship	Uses an intermediate join table

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🆔 ID & Auto Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
AutoField	id = models.AutoField(primary_key=True)	Auto-increment ID	Default primary key
BigAutoField	id = models.BigAutoField(primary_key=True)	Large auto ID	64-bit auto-increment ID
UUIDField	uuid = models.UUIDField(default=uuid.uuid4, editable=False)	Unique identifiers	Stores UUID values

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Special & Advanced Fields

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
BinaryField	raw_data = models.BinaryField()	Binary data	Stores raw binary bytes
JSONField	metadata = models.JSONField()	JSON data	Stores structured JSON (PostgreSQL best)

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🌍 Location & Network

Field	Examples	Use	Meaning
IPAddressField	ip_address = models.IPAddressField()	IP addresses	Stores IPv4/IPv6
GenericIPAddressField	ip = models.GenericIPAddressField()	Network addresses	Flexible IP storage

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Field Options (Used With Fields)

Field Options	Use	Meaning
null=True	Database null	Allows NULL in DB
blank=True	Form validation	Field can be empty in forms
default=value	Default value	Used if no value provided
unique=True	Uniqueness	No duplicate values allowed
choices=CHOICES	Fixed options	Restricts values to choices
primary_key=True	Primary key	Uniquely identifies row
db_index=True	Indexing	Faster lookups

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Most-Used Field Options (One-Line Examples)

username = models.CharField(max_length=50, unique=True)

bio = models.TextField(blank=True, null=True)

status = models.CharField(max_length=10, choices=STATUS_CHOICES)

email = models.EmailField(db_index=True)

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Common Real-World Examples

class Product(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    description = models.TextField()
    price = models.DecimalField(max_digits=8, decimal_places=2)
    in_stock = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

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Memory Trick (Interview Gold)

Category	Examples
Text	CharField, TextField
Numbers	IntegerField, DecimalField
Dates	DateField, DateTimeField
Relations	ForeignKey, ManyToMany
Files	FileField, ImageField
Advanced	JSONField, UUIDField