Saving Users

Saving Users

The form is rendered on GET. Now let us handle the POST request — validate the submitted data and save the new user to the database.

Updated Signup View

# accounts/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm

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

The Flow

GET /accounts/signup/
    → Create empty form → render template

POST /accounts/signup/
    → Create form with POST data
    → Valid? → Save user → redirect to articles
    → Invalid? → Re-render form with errors

How Validation Works

form = UserCreationForm(request.POST)
if form.is_valid():
    # Passwords match, username unique, meets requirements
    form.save()  # Creates the User in the database

is_valid() checks that passwords match, the username is not taken, the password meets strength requirements. If validation fails, form.errors contains the error messages, and re-rendering the template displays them.

Displaying Errors

<form method="POST">
    {% csrf_token %}
    {{ form.as_p }}
    <!-- Errors are shown automatically when the form re-renders -->
    <button type="submit">Create Account</button>
</form>

Key Takeaways

• Check request.method to distinguish between GET (display) and POST (submit)
• UserCreationForm(request.POST) binds submitted data to the form
• form.is_valid() validates all fields; form.save() creates the user
• On validation failure, re-render the form — errors display automatically