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Fieldset tabs allow you to organize form fields into a tabbed interface, making complex forms more manageable and improving the user experience.

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Overview

Fieldset tabs enable you to group related fields into tabs within your ModelAdmin’s change form. This is particularly useful for models with many fields or complex data structures.
Fieldset tabs showing organized form fields

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Basic Setup

Create fieldset tabs by adding the tab class to your fieldsets:
admin.py
from django.contrib import admin
from unfold.admin import ModelAdmin
from .models import Product

@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'description']
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['price', 'cost', 'tax_rate', 'discount']
        }),
        ('Inventory', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['stock_quantity', 'reorder_level', 'warehouse_location']
        }),
        ('Specifications', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['weight', 'dimensions', 'color', 'material']
        }),
    ]
The tab class in the classes list converts a fieldset into a tab. Each fieldset with the tab class becomes a separate tab in the interface.

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Tab Requirements

For a fieldset to be recognized as a tab, it must meet these requirements:
  1. Include 'tab' in the classes list
  2. Have a name (the first element of the fieldset tuple)
  3. The name must be a non-empty string
admin.py
# ✓ Valid tab
('Tab Name', {
    'classes': ['tab'],
    'fields': ['field1', 'field2']
})

# ✗ Invalid - missing 'tab' class
('Tab Name', {
    'classes': [],
    'fields': ['field1', 'field2']
})

# ✗ Invalid - no name
(None, {
    'classes': ['tab'],
    'fields': ['field1', 'field2']
})

​
Active Tab Detection

The system automatically determines which tab should be active:
  1. If there are validation errors, the first tab with errors is activated
  2. Otherwise, the first tab is activated by default
admin.py
from unfold.admin import ModelAdmin

@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku']
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['price', 'cost']  # If validation fails here,
        }),                              # this tab will be active
    ]
The active tab is determined using the tabs_active template tag, which checks for field errors in each fieldset.

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Error Indication

Tabs with validation errors are automatically highlighted with a badge showing the error count:
admin.py
from django.core.exceptions import ValidationError
from unfold.admin import ModelAdmin

@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'description']
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['price', 'cost', 'tax_rate']
        }),
    ]
    
    def clean(self):
        # Validation errors will highlight the relevant tab
        if self.price < self.cost:
            raise ValidationError({
                'price': 'Price must be higher than cost'
            })
Error badges are automatically added. The system counts errors in each tab using the tabs_errors_count template tag.

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Combining Tabs with Other Fieldset Options

Fieldset tabs support all standard Django fieldset options:
admin.py
@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku'],
            'description': 'Enter the basic product details'
        }),
        ('Advanced Settings', {
            'classes': ['tab', 'collapse'],  # Tab is collapsible
            'fields': ['internal_notes', 'admin_only_field']
        }),
    ]
You can combine the tab class with other classes like collapse, wide, or custom CSS classes.

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Readonly Fields in Tabs

Readonly fields work seamlessly within fieldset tabs:
admin.py
from django.utils.html import format_html
from unfold.admin import ModelAdmin

@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    readonly_fields = ['created_at', 'updated_at', 'profit_margin']
    
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'description']
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['price', 'cost', 'profit_margin']  # Includes readonly field
        }),
        ('Metadata', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['created_at', 'updated_at']  # All readonly
        }),
    ]
    
    @admin.display(description='Profit Margin')
    def profit_margin(self, obj):
        if obj.price and obj.cost:
            margin = ((obj.price - obj.cost) / obj.price) * 100
            return format_html('<strong>{:.2f}%</strong>', margin)
        return '-'

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Inline Fields Within Tabs

You can include inline-style fields within tabs:
admin.py
@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    fieldsets = [
        ('Dimensions', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': [
                ('width', 'height', 'depth'),  # Multiple fields on same line
                ('weight', 'unit')
            ]
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': [
                ('price', 'currency'),
                ('discount_percentage', 'discount_end_date')
            ]
        }),
    ]

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Best Practices

Choose clear, concise names that describe the content of each tab.
# Good names
'Basic Information'
'Pricing & Discounts'
'Inventory Management'

# Avoid vague names
'Tab 1'
'Other'
'Misc'
Place the most frequently used or important fields in the first tab.
fieldsets = [
    ('Essential Details', {  # First tab - most important
        'classes': ['tab'],
        'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'price', 'stock']
    }),
    ('Additional Information', {  # Later tabs - less critical
        'classes': ['tab'],
        'fields': ['supplier', 'notes']
    }),
]
Keep the number of tabs reasonable (ideally 3-7) to avoid overwhelming users.

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Add/Change Form Variations

You can use different fieldsets for add and change forms:
admin.py
@admin.register(Product)
class ProductAdmin(ModelAdmin):
    # Standard fieldsets for change form
    fieldsets = [
        ('Basic Information', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'description']
        }),
        ('Pricing', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['price', 'cost', 'tax_rate']
        }),
    ]
    
    # Simpler fieldsets for add form
    add_fieldsets = [
        ('New Product', {
            'classes': ['tab'],
            'fields': ['name', 'sku', 'price']
        }),
    ]
The add_fieldsets attribute is respected by Unfold’s ModelAdmin. Use it to provide a simplified form for creating new objects.

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Technical Details

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classes
list
Must include 'tab' for the fieldset to be rendered as a tab.
The fieldset tab system uses:
  • unfold.templatetags.unfold.tabs - Extracts tab fieldsets
  • unfold.templatetags.unfold.tabs_active - Determines active tab
  • unfold.templatetags.unfold.tabs_errors_count - Counts errors per tab

Inline Tabs

Organize multiple inlines in tabs

Model Tabs

Configure navigation tabs for models

Forms Overview

Learn about Unfold’s form system

Conditional Fields

Show/hide fields based on conditions

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