Django REST Framework: default fields in browseable API form

Question

I have a model: ``` class XCall(models.Model): created_on = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True) send_on = models.DateTimeField(default=datetime.now) recipient = models.ForeignKey(User) text = models.CharField(max_length=4096) backup_calls = models.IntegerField(blank=True, null=True) ``` And a serializer for that model: ``` class CallSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer): url = serializers.HyperlinkedIdentityField( view_name='call-detail', ) # some validation and custom field definitions ... class Meta: model = XCall fields = ('url', 'id', 'text', 'recipient', 'send_on', 'backup_calls', 'status') lookup_field= 'pk' ``` And here's the list view: ``` class CallList(generics.ListCreateAPIView): serializer_class = CallSerializer permission_classes = (permissions.IsAuthenticatedOrReadOnly, IsOwnerOrSuperuser,) def pre_save(self, obj): auth_user = self.request.user obj.auth_user = auth_user def get_queryset(self): """ This view should return a list of all the calls for the c…

Accepted Answer

You actually want to set an `initial` value, not a default value. See the docs. Your code should be:

```
from django.utils import timezone

class CallSerializer(serializers.HyperlinkedModelSerializer):
    send_on = serializers.DateTimeField(initial=timezone.now())
    ...
```

A default value is the value provided to an attribute if no value is set for the field. The distinction between `initial` and `default` arguments mirrors the difference between Django's `initial` argument for form fields and Django's `default` argument for model fields.

Django REST Framework: default fields in browseable API form

Solution

Problem