# django-allauth — Comprehensive Authentication for Django

> A battle-tested Django library providing local account registration, social login with 80+ providers, multi-factor authentication, and account management out of the box.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# django-allauth — Comprehensive Authentication for Django

## Quick Use
```bash
pip install django-allauth
```
```python
# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    "allauth",
    "allauth.account",
    "allauth.socialaccount",
    "allauth.socialaccount.providers.google",
    "allauth.socialaccount.providers.github",
]
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = ["allauth.account.auth_backends.AuthenticationBackend"]
```

## Introduction
django-allauth is the most widely adopted authentication solution for Django projects. It handles the full lifecycle of user accounts including email verification, password reset, social login, and multi-factor authentication, eliminating the need to build these security-critical features from scratch.

## What django-allauth Does
- Manages local account registration with email verification and password policies
- Integrates 80+ social authentication providers (Google, GitHub, Apple, SAML, OpenID Connect)
- Supports multi-factor authentication via TOTP authenticator apps and recovery codes
- Handles account linking when users sign in with multiple providers
- Provides a headless API mode for single-page applications and mobile clients

## Architecture Overview
django-allauth plugs into Django's authentication framework as a custom backend. It uses an adapter pattern to customize behavior (e.g., auto-signup, email verification flow). Social providers are configured via Django admin or settings, and OAuth flows are handled through callback views. The headless mode exposes JSON endpoints for frontend frameworks.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via pip and add to INSTALLED_APPS with account and socialaccount modules
- Run migrations: python manage.py migrate
- Configure providers in Django admin under Social Applications (client ID, secret, callback URL)
- Set ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION, ACCOUNT_AUTHENTICATION_METHOD, and login redirect URLs
- Enable MFA by adding allauth.mfa to INSTALLED_APPS

## Key Features
- 80+ social providers including OAuth2, OpenID Connect, SAML, and enterprise SSO
- Headless mode provides JSON API for React, Vue, mobile apps without server-rendered templates
- Multi-factor authentication with TOTP and WebAuthn passkey support
- Account linking and disconnecting across multiple social identities
- Extensible adapter system for customizing signup, login, and account management logic

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Django built-in auth** — only provides password-based login; allauth adds social login, email verification, MFA
- **django-social-auth (social-auth-app-django)** — social login only; allauth combines local + social + MFA in one package
- **Auth.js (NextAuth)** — similar multi-provider auth for Node.js; allauth is the Django equivalent
- **django-rest-auth / dj-rest-auth** — REST API wrappers that often use allauth as backend for actual auth logic

## FAQ
**Q: Can I use django-allauth with Django REST Framework?**
A: Yes. Enable headless mode (HEADLESS_ONLY=True) for pure API usage, or pair with dj-rest-auth which wraps allauth endpoints.

**Q: How do I add a new social provider?**
A: Install allauth, add the provider to INSTALLED_APPS, then create a Social Application in Django admin with your OAuth client credentials.

**Q: Does it support passwordless login?**
A: Yes. Configure ACCOUNT_LOGIN_BY_CODE_ENABLED for email-based one-time codes, or use WebAuthn passkeys via the MFA module.

**Q: Is django-allauth suitable for multi-tenant applications?**
A: Yes. Use Django sites framework or custom adapters to scope providers and settings per tenant.

## Sources
- https://github.com/pennersr/django-allauth
- https://docs.allauth.org

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Author: AI Open Source