---
id: django-safedelete
version: "1.4.1"
license: BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# django-safedelete — Mask your objects instead of deleting them from your database.

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 1.2M/mo

## What it is and what it does

django-safedelete is a Django application that intercepts model deletion to implement soft-delete behavior—marking objects as deleted in the database without physically removing them. Instead of calling DELETE on the database, it masks records so they remain retrievable for audit, recovery, or compliance purposes while being hidden from normal queries.

You define a deletion policy per model by setting the _safedelete_policy attribute. The package provides five policies: SOFT_DELETE (default, masks the object), SOFT_DELETE_CASCADE (masks the object and dependent models), HARD_DELETE (normal deletion), HARD_DELETE_NOCASCADE (hard-deletes only if no other objects reference it, otherwise soft-deletes), and NO_DELETE (prevents deletion entirely). Models inherit from SafeDeleteModel, and the package handles query filtering, admin integration, and restoration automatically.

Use it for:

- Audit trails: retain deleted records for compliance or historical review without exposing them in normal application queries
- Data recovery: restore accidentally deleted objects without database backups or manual intervention
- Referential integrity: soft-delete dependent objects while preserving foreign-key relationships for reporting
- Multi-tenant systems: hide deleted tenant data from queries while keeping it available for account recovery or legal holds
- Admin interfaces: provide undo/restore functionality in Django admin for recently deleted records

## Worth the install?

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

Provides soft-delete functionality for Django models, allowing objects to be masked from queries instead of permanently removed from the database.

Yes, with conditions. The package is well-established (in top 5000 PyPI by downloads), has no known vulnerabilities, and low install friction. However, the aging maintenance status (527 days since last release) and lack of explicit Python 3.12+ / Django 5.1+ support in the fact sheet warrant verification before adopting in new projects targeting the latest Django versions. Suitable for existing Django applications needing soft-delete without major framework upgrades.

## Install

pip install django-safedelete
uv add django-safedelete
poetry add django-safedelete

## Installing django-safedelete

Before you install: Low install friction with only Django and packaging as runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging—last release was 527 days ago (2025-03-05), though the repository remains active with recent commits and no archived status.

License in practice: BSD license (permissive) imposes no significant restrictions on use or redistribution.

Quickstart:

pip install django-safedelete

# In settings.py, add 'safedelete' to INSTALLED_APPS

from safedelete.models import SafeDeleteModel, SOFT_DELETE
from django.db import models

class Article(SafeDeleteModel):
    _safedelete_policy = SOFT_DELETE
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)

article = Article.objects.create(title='Test')
article.delete()  # Masked, not removed
Article.objects.filter(title='Test').exists()  # False (hidden by default)
Article.all_objects.filter(title='Test').exists()  # True (includes soft-deleted)

Requires Django as a runtime dependency; ensure Django version compatibility with the branch you install (1.4.x supports Django 3.2+, 4.0+, 4.1+, 4.2+).

Verify before relying:

- Whether current version supports Django 5.0+ and Python 3.12+ despite changelog noting 1.4.0 added Django 5.0 support
- Specific behavior differences between the five deletion policies (SOFT_DELETE, SOFT_DELETE_CASCADE, HARD_DELETE, HARD_DELETE_NOCASCADE, NO_DELETE) in edge cases
- Performance impact on large datasets with many soft-deleted records

## Package facts

- License: BSD (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 1.2M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

django soft delete, django safedelete, mask deleted objects database, django logical delete, prevent permanent deletion django, django audit trail delete, restore deleted records django, django-extension, soft-delete, audit-trail

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