How to set Django model date field default value to future date? - django

Question

I'm trying to set the default value for a Date field to a future date with respect to today. However, it gives me the following warning when I set it as below.
return_date = models.DateField(default=(timezone.now() + timedelta(days=1)))
booking.Booking.return_date: (fields.W161) Fixed default value provided.
HINT: It seems you set a fixed date / time / datetime value as default for
this field. This may not be what you want. If you want to have the
current date as default, use `django.utils.timezone.now`
Same warning with the following code.
return_date = models.DateField(default=(date.today() + timedelta(days=1)))
What is the correct way to do this?
Thanks.

Answer 1

You are giving it a fixed time(cause you are calling the timezone.now() so its returned value will be the default) you should pass the function to the default without calling it, like this
def return_date_time():
now = timezone.now()
return now + timedelta(days=1)
and in your field:
return_date = models.DateField(default=return_date_time)
### dont call it, so it will be evaluated by djanog when creating an instance

Answer 2

Try using datetime.date instead of adding to timezone.now
Here is an excerpt from django docs
DateField
class DateField(auto_now=False, auto_now_add=False, **options)
A date, represented in Python by a datetime.date instance. Has a few extra, optional arguments:
DateField.auto_now
Automatically set the field to now every time the object is saved. Useful for “last-modified” timestamps. Note that the current date is always used; it’s not just a default value that you can override.
The field is only automatically updated when calling Model.save(). The field isn’t updated when making updates to other fields in other ways such as QuerySet.update(), though you can specify a custom value for the field in an update like that.
DateField.auto_now_add
Automatically set the field to now when the object is first created. Useful for creation of timestamps. Note that the current date is always used; it’s not just a default value that you can override. So even if you set a value for this field when creating the object, it will be ignored. If you want to be able to modify this field, set the following instead of auto_now_add=True:
For DateField: default=date.today - from datetime.date.today()
For DateTimeField: default=timezone.now - from django.utils.timezone.now()
The default form widget for this field is a TextInput. The admin adds a JavaScript calendar, and a shortcut for “Today”. Includes an additional invalid_date error message key.
The options auto_now_add, auto_now, and default are mutually exclusive. Any combination of these options will result in an error.