django-guest-user2

Allow visitors to interact with your site like a temporary user ("guest") without requiring registration.

Anonymous visitors who request a decorated page get a real temporary user object assigned and are logged in automatically. They can use the site like a normal user until they decide to convert to a real user account to save their data.

Inspired by and as an alternative for django-lazysignup and rewritten for modern Django and Python versions.

📋 Note: This repository (django-guest-user2) is a maintained fork of julianwachholz/django-guest-user, which appears to be unmaintained. This fork includes bug fixes, dependency updates, expanded Django/Python version support, and ongoing maintenance. The "2" suffix distinguishes this maintained version from the original.

✨ Features

• 🚀 Zero-friction onboarding: Visitors can start using your app immediately
• 🔄 Seamless conversion: Easy upgrade from guest to registered user
• 🧹 Automatic cleanup: Built-in management commands for guest user cleanup
• 🛡️ Production ready: Comprehensive test suite across Python/Django versions
• 📚 Well documented: Complete documentation and examples
• 🎯 Modern codebase: Built for current Django and Python versions

🔧 Requirements

• Python: 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12
• Django: 3.2, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2

Tested across 27 different combinations to ensure compatibility and reliability.

📦 Installation

Install from PyPI:

pip install django-guest-user

Note: The PyPI package name remains django-guest-user for compatibility, but the maintained source is now at rsp2k/django-guest-user2.

⚡ Quick Start

1. Add to your Django project:

   # settings.py
   INSTALLED_APPS = [
       # ... your other apps
       'guest_user',
   ]
   
   AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
       'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend',
       'guest_user.backends.GuestBackend',
   ]

2. Include URLs:

   # urls.py
   from django.urls import path, include
   
   urlpatterns = [
       # ... your other URLs
       path('guest/', include('guest_user.urls')),
   ]

3. Run migrations:

   python manage.py migrate

4. Decorate your views:

   from django.shortcuts import render
   from guest_user.decorators import allow_guest_user
   
   @allow_guest_user
   def my_view(request):
       # request.user is now always authenticated
       # (either a real user or a temporary guest)
       assert request.user.is_authenticated
       return render(request, "my_view.html")

That's it! Your visitors can now interact with your app without registration.

🎮 Usage Example

from django.shortcuts import render
from guest_user.decorators import allow_guest_user
from guest_user.functions import is_guest_user

@allow_guest_user
def shopping_cart(request):
    if is_guest_user(request.user):
        # Show conversion prompt for guest users
        show_signup_prompt = True
    else:
        show_signup_prompt = False
    
    return render(request, 'cart.html', {
        'show_signup_prompt': show_signup_prompt,
    })

📚 Documentation

Find the complete documentation on Read the Docs, including:

• Installation guide: Detailed setup instructions
• Configuration options: Customize guest user behavior
• Template tags: Helper functions for your templates
• Management commands: Cleanup and maintenance tools
• Advanced usage: Custom name generators, swappable models, and more

🧪 Testing & Quality

This project maintains high code quality standards:

• ✅ Comprehensive testing: 27 Python/Django version combinations
• ✅ Code formatting: Enforced with Black
• ✅ Linting: Flake8 with strict rules
• ✅ Type hints: Full type annotation coverage
• ✅ Documentation: Complete API documentation and examples

🤝 Contributing

All contributions are welcome! Here's how to get started:

1. Fork the repository
2. Set up development environment:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/django-guest-user2.git
   cd django-guest-user2
   pip install poetry
   poetry install

3. Run tests:

   poetry run pytest
   # Or test all environments:
   poetry run tox

4. Follow code standards:

   poetry run black .
   poetry run flake8

Please read our contributing guidelines for more details.

🔄 Migration from django-lazysignup

If you're migrating from django-lazysignup, check our migration guide for step-by-step instructions.

📈 Development Status

This project is under active development with regular updates and improvements.

Fork History

This repository (django-guest-user2) is a maintained fork of the original julianwachholz/django-guest-user project, which appears to be abandoned (last updated in early 2023). This fork provides:

• ✨ Bug fixes and improvements
• 🔄 Dependency updates (including Django 5.x support)
• 🧪 Expanded testing across more Python/Django combinations
• 📚 Updated documentation
• 🛠️ Ongoing maintenance and issue resolution

The core functionality is stable and production-ready, built upon the solid foundation of both django-lazysignup and the original django-guest-user.

Recent improvements in this fork:

• ✨ Enhanced request parameter support in name generators
• 🔧 Improved dependency management and testing
• 📚 Updated documentation for Django 5.x
• 🛡️ Expanded test matrix for better compatibility
• 🐛 Fixed missing dependency issues

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Original django-lazysignup project by Dan Fairs
• Original django-guest-user project by Julian Wachholz
• All the contributors who have helped improve this package