Django Audit Logging: Top Libraries for Tracking Model Changes with PostgreSQL

Why Audit Logging Matters

In Django applications, tracking model changes like create, update, and delete is essential for:

• Debugging regressions and user issues
• Security auditing for unauthorized changes
• Compliance with data retention and traceability policies
• Rollback support for destructive actions

Django doesn’t track this out of the box for most operations. Let’s break down the most popular and effective libraries that handle audit trails in PostgreSQL-backed Django apps.

 Django Admin History (Built-in)

Django provides a basic history tracking tool for the admin panel.

 What It Logs

• Who made the change (admin user)
• When it happened
• What model was affected (add/change/delete)

 Limitations

• Only tracks admin actions (not API or script changes)
• No field-level changes
• No rollback or diffing support

 When to Use

• Lightweight internal tools
• Manual admin panel changes
• No external dependencies required

django-simple-history

Stores a complete snapshot of your model every time it changes. Simply add HistoricalRecords() to your model.

 Pros

• Easy integration
• Field-level change tracking
• History UI in Django Admin
• Tracks users with middleware
• Supports rollback/compare

 Cons

• Can lead to large DB growth
• Doesn’t log file contents, only paths
• Bulk operations not tracked by default

from simple_history.models import HistoricalRecords

class Article(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    content = models.TextField()
    history = HistoricalRecords()

Status

Maintained by Jazzband. Latest: 3.9.0 (2025)

django-reversion

Think of this as Git for models. It stores full model states as versions and lets you roll back to any previous one.

 Pros

• True version control
• Rollback & recovery support
• Supports deletions
• Admin integration

 Cons

• Pickled data, not easily readable
• Doesn’t track bulk updates
• No file diffing

import reversion
@reversion.register()
class Page(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    body = models.TextField()

Status

Stable and mature. Latest: 5.1.0 (2024)

django-auditlog

Tracks changes as JSON diffs, offering a middle-ground between full history and minimal logging.

 Pros

• Minimal setup
• Field-level changes in JSON
• Tracks user and timestamp
• Lightweight

Cons

• No rollback or revert support
• Doesn’t log deletes in detail
• Doesn’t handle bulk operations well

  from auditlog.registry import auditlog
  
  class Invoice(models.Model):
      amount = models.DecimalField(max_digits=10, decimal_places=2)
  
  auditlog.register(Invoice)

Maintained by Jazzband. Latest: 3.0.0 (2024)

django-pghistory

A PostgreSQL-first audit tool using database-level triggers. It logs every INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE—even from raw SQL and bulk updates.

Pros

• Handles raw SQL and bulk changes
• Efficient (runs in the DB)
• Auto-generated event tables
• Doesn’t rely on Django signals

Cons

• PostgreSQL only
• Complex to debug
• Requires DB triggers and schema migrations

import pghistory
@pghistory.track()
class Customer(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    email = models.EmailField()

Actively maintained. Latest: 3.6.0 (2025)

model-utils — FieldTracker

This utility tracks field-level changes in memory, not in the database.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Detects changes before saving
• No DB writes
• Great for triggering side-effects

Cons

• No persistence
• Doesn’t track deletes
• Per-instance only

from model_utils import FieldTracker
class Task(models.Model):
    status = models.CharField(max_length=20)
    tracker = FieldTracker()

Jazzband project. Latest: 5.0.0 (2024)

Middleware-Based Logging

Middleware can log request-level metadata like URL, IP, method, and authenticated user.

Pros

• Easy to implement
• Captures access logs
• Great for security or monitoring

Cons

• Doesn’t track model changes
• Not structured for diffing
• No rollback or undo

Custom Signal Handlers

For full control, build your own audit logging using post_save, post_delete, and context-aware user tracking.

Pros

• Customizable structure
• Tailored for exact needs
• No external dependencies

Cons

• Manual setup
• Easy to forget signal bindings
• Doesn’t capture bulk updates

Comparison Table

What to take

1. For rollback/version control → django-reversion
2. For field-level auditing → django-simple-history or django-auditlog
3. For PostgreSQL-native, full-trace → django-pghistory
4. For lightweight or signal-driven logic → FieldTracker or custom signals