wagtail/docs/advanced_topics/images/custom_image_model.rst

.. _custom_image_model:

Custom image models
===================

The ``Image`` model can be customised, allowing additional fields to be added
to images.

To do this, you need to add two models to your project:

 - The image model itself that inherits from
   ``wagtail.wagtailimages.models.AbstractImage``. This is where you would add
   your additional fields
 - The renditions model that inherits from
   ``wagtail.wagtailimages.models.AbstractRendition``. This is used to store
   renditions for the new model.

Here's an example:

.. code-block:: python

    # models.py
    from django.db import models
    from django.db.models.signals import post_delete
    from django.dispatch import receiver
    
    from wagtail.wagtailimages.models import Image, AbstractImage, AbstractRendition


    class CustomImage(AbstractImage):
        # Add any extra fields to image here

        # eg. To add a caption field:
        # caption = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True)

        admin_form_fields = Image.admin_form_fields + (
            # Then add the field names here to make them appear in the form:
            # 'caption',
        )


    class CustomRendition(AbstractRendition):
        image = models.ForeignKey(CustomImage, related_name='renditions')

        class Meta:
            unique_together = (
                ('image', 'filter', 'focal_point_key'),
            )


    # Delete the source image file when an image is deleted
    @receiver(post_delete, sender=CustomImage)
    def image_delete(sender, instance, **kwargs):
        instance.file.delete(False)


    # Delete the rendition image file when a rendition is deleted
    @receiver(post_delete, sender=CustomRendition)
    def rendition_delete(sender, instance, **kwargs):
        instance.file.delete(False)

.. note::

    Fields defined on a custom image model must either be set as non-required
    (``blank=True``), or specify a default value - this is because uploading
    the image and entering custom data happen as two separate actions, and
    Wagtail needs to be able to create an image record immediately on upload.

.. note::

    If you are using image feature detection, follow these instructions to
    enable it on your custom image model: :ref:`feature_detection_custom_image_model`

Then set the ``WAGTAILIMAGES_IMAGE_MODEL`` setting to point to it:

.. code-block:: python

    WAGTAILIMAGES_IMAGE_MODEL = 'images.CustomImage'


.. topic:: Migrating from the builtin image model

    When changing an existing site to use a custom image model. No images will
    be copied to the new model automatically. Copying old images to the new
    model would need to be done manually with a
    `data migration <https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.8/topics/migrations/#data-migrations>`_.

    Any templates that reference the builtin image model will still continue to
    work as before but would need to be updated in order to see any new images.