Django ModelFormSets

Last Updated : 24 May, 2025

Django ModelFormsets provide a powerful way to manage multiple model-based forms on a single page. They allow you to create, update, or delete multiple instances of a model at once, using a group of forms that correspond to the model's fields.

Think of ModelFormsets as a collection of forms linked to a Django mode, similar to a data grid where each form corresponds to a single model instance.

Example Model: GeeksModel

Let's start with a simple model named GeeksModel defined in models.py:

Python

from django.db import models

class GeeksModel(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    description = models.TextField()

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

title and description are the fields representing model data.
__str__ method helps display the model instances by their title.

Creating a ModelFormset

To create a formset for this model, use Django’s modelformset_factory function.

Python

from django.forms import modelformset_factory
from .models import GeeksModel

GeeksFormSet = modelformset_factory(GeeksModel, fields=['title', 'description'])

This creates a formset class that generates forms based on the GeeksModel.

Using ModelFormsets in Views

In views.py, you can create a view to render and process the formset:

Python

from django.shortcuts import render
from django.forms import modelformset_factory
from .models import GeeksModel

def modelformset_view(request):
    GeeksFormSet = modelformset_factory(GeeksModel, fields=['title', 'description'], extra=3)
    
    if request.method == 'POST':
        formset = GeeksFormSet(request.POST)
        if formset.is_valid():
            formset.save()  # Saves all valid forms to the database
    else:
        formset = GeeksFormSet()
        
    return render(request, 'home.html', {'formset': formset})

extra=3 argument means three empty forms will be displayed for adding new entries.
On POST, the formset is validated and saved automatically if valid.

Rendering ModelFormsets in Templates

In your template (home.html), render the formset like this:

html

<form method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
    {% csrf_token %}
    {{ formset.as_p }}
    <input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

The management_form is required to keep track of formset data and validate the forms correctly.
formset.as_p renders each form’s fields wrapped in <p> tags.

We can check if the form is working or not by running development server using command: