Episode 21 of 32

Login Form

Create the login form and template — use Django AuthenticationForm to render username and password fields for user login.

Login Form

Django provides AuthenticationForm for login — it handles username and password fields with built-in validation.

The Login View (GET)

# accounts/views.py
from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm, AuthenticationForm

def login_view(request):
    form = AuthenticationForm()
    return render(request, 'accounts/login.html', {
        'form': form
    })

The Login Template

<!-- templates/accounts/login.html -->
{% extends 'base_layout.html' %}

{% block content %}
    <h2>Log In</h2>
    <form method="POST">
        {% csrf_token %}
        {{ form.as_p }}
        <button type="submit">Log In</button>
    </form>
    <p>Don't have an account? <a href="{% url 'accounts:signup' %}">Sign up</a></p>
{% endblock %}

AuthenticationForm vs UserCreationForm

Form	Fields	Purpose
`UserCreationForm`	Username, Password, Confirm Password	Registration
`AuthenticationForm`	Username, Password	Login

Key Takeaways

AuthenticationForm provides username and password fields for login
The template structure is identical to signup — form, csrf_token, submit button
Link the signup page from login and vice versa for good UX
The actual login logic (authenticating the user) comes in the next episode