Pre-populate GenericForeignKey form fields when cloning #545

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MrUnknownDE · 2026-04-05T16:42:18+02:00

MrUnknownDE commented

2026-04-05 16:42:18 +02:00

Originally created by @pheus on 1/16/2026

NetBox version

v4.5.0

Feature type

Change to existing functionality

Proposed functionality

When cloning an object via CloningMixin, only the raw database fields are currently copied into the clone “initial” data. For models which use a GenericForeignKey (GFK), this means the mixin clones fields like parent_object_type and parent_object_id, but NetBox forms typically expose only a single field named after the GFK attribute (e.g. parent) using a DynamicModelChoiceField.

As a result, the “Parent” selector remains empty when cloning, even though the underlying content type + object ID values were copied.

Enhance CloningMixin.clone() to automatically support GenericForeignKey attributes “out of the box”:

Detect GenericForeignKey descriptors on the model (e.g. via Django’s model metadata / private fields).
For each detected GFK:
- If both constituent fields (content type field and object ID field) are present in clone_fields (e.g. parent_object_type and parent_object_id),
- and the GFK attribute name is not already present in the clone dict,
- then inject the GFK attribute name into the returned clone data:
  - Example: add {"parent": instance.parent}

This would allow forms which expose only the “combined” field (parent) to correctly pre-populate during cloning, without requiring per-form custom logic.

Use case

Cloning is commonly used to speed up repetitive data entry. For any model that uses a GenericForeignKey exposed via a single form field (e.g. a “Parent” selector), the current cloning behavior forces users to manually re-select the parent every time.

Automatically populating the GFK attribute in CloningMixin.clone() would make cloning behave as users expect across all GFK-enabled models, consistently and without extra per-model code.

Database changes

None.

External dependencies

None.

*Originally created by @pheus on 1/16/2026* ### NetBox version v4.5.0 ### Feature type Change to existing functionality ### Proposed functionality When cloning an object via `CloningMixin`, only the raw database fields are currently copied into the clone “initial” data. For models which use a `GenericForeignKey` (GFK), this means the mixin clones fields like `parent_object_type` and `parent_object_id`, but **NetBox forms typically expose only a single field** named after the GFK attribute (e.g. `parent`) using a `DynamicModelChoiceField`. As a result, the “Parent” selector remains empty when cloning, even though the underlying content type + object ID values were copied. Enhance `CloningMixin.clone()` to automatically support `GenericForeignKey` attributes “out of the box”: - Detect `GenericForeignKey` descriptors on the model (e.g. via Django’s model metadata / private fields). - For each detected GFK: - If both constituent fields (content type field and object ID field) are present in `clone_fields` (e.g. `parent_object_type` and `parent_object_id`), - and the GFK attribute name is **not already** present in the clone dict, - then inject the GFK attribute name into the returned clone data: - Example: add `{"parent": instance.parent}` This would allow forms which expose only the “combined” field (`parent`) to correctly pre-populate during cloning, without requiring per-form custom logic. ### Use case Cloning is commonly used to speed up repetitive data entry. For any model that uses a `GenericForeignKey` exposed via a single form field (e.g. a “Parent” selector), the current cloning behavior forces users to manually re-select the parent every time. Automatically populating the GFK attribute in `CloningMixin.clone()` would make cloning behave as users expect across all GFK-enabled models, consistently and without extra per-model code. ### Database changes None. ### External dependencies None.

MrUnknownDE closed this issue

2026-04-05 16:42:18 +02:00

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Reference: github/netbox#545