---
id: django-clone
version: "5.5.0"
license: MIT/Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# django-clone — Create a clone of a django model instance.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 221.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

django-clone provides a mixin and model base class that lets you duplicate Django model instances with explicit control over which fields and relationships get copied. Instead of the naive `instance.pk = None; instance.save()` approach—which copies more state than intended—this package lets you specify exactly which fields, many-to-many relationships, and one-to-many relationships should be included in the clone. It automatically detects unique fields and appends a suffix to avoid constraint violations.

The package integrates with Django Admin, allowing cloning directly from list and change views. It supports multi-database operations, signals for pre- and post-clone hooks, and both explicit (include-only) and implicit (exclude-only) field selection. It has been actively maintained since its first release, supports Django 2.x through 4.x, and works with Python 3.6 and later.

Use it for:

- Duplicate a product listing in an e-commerce app while automatically handling unique SKU fields.
- Clone a survey or form template with all its questions and options, excluding responses.
- Create a copy of a project or task in a project management tool without duplicating timestamps or status fields.
- Bulk-clone model instances across multiple databases in a multi-tenant application.
- Add a 'Duplicate' action to Django Admin for quick instance copying with controlled field selection.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Duplicates Django model instances with fine-grained control over which fields and relationships are copied, automatically handling unique field conflicts.

Yes. The package solves a real Django problem (safe model duplication) with low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and permissive licensing. It is well-tested and integrates cleanly with Django Admin. Install it if you need to duplicate model instances with control over which fields and relationships are copied.

## Install

pip install django-clone
uv add django-clone
poetry add django-clone

## Installing django-clone

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained with recent commits and no known vulnerabilities. Depends only on django, conditional, and six.

License in practice: Dual-licensed under MIT and Apache-2.0 (permissive). Either license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install django-clone

from django_clone import CloneMixin

class MyModel(CloneMixin, models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)

original = MyModel.objects.get(pk=1)
clone = original.clone()

Requires Django 2.0 or later; Python 3.6+. Must add django-clone to INSTALLED_APPS before django.contrib.admin if using admin integration.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package handles all Django ORM field types without manual intervention.
- Performance characteristics when cloning instances with large many-to-many or one-to-many relationship sets.
- Exact behavior of unique field suffix generation when multiple clones are created in rapid succession.

## Package facts

- License: MIT/Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 221.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

django model cloning, duplicate django instances, django object duplication, clone model fields, django model copying, unique field handling, django instance clone, django-orm, model-duplication, admin-integration

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