Getting TypeError: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'on_delete' when trying to add parent table after child table with entries

Question

I have two classes in my sqlite database, a parent table named Categorie and the child table called Article. I created first the child table class and addes entries. So first I had this:

class Article(models.Model):
    titre=models.CharField(max_length=100)
    auteur=models.CharField(max_length=42)
    contenu=models.TextField(null=True)
    date=models.DateTimeField(
        auto_now_add=True,
        auto_now=False,
        verbose_name="Date de parution"
    )

    def __str__(self):
        return self.titre

And after I have added parent table, and now my models.py looks like this:

from django.db import models

# Create your models here.
class Categorie(models.Model):
    nom = models.CharField(max_length=30)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.nom


class Article(models.Model):
    titre=models.CharField(max_length=100)
    auteur=models.CharField(max_length=42)
    contenu=models.TextField(null=True)
    date=models.DateTimeField(
        auto_now_add=True,
        auto_now=False,
        verbose_name="Date de parution"
    )
    categorie = models.ForeignKey('Categorie')

    def __str__(self):
        return self.titre

So when I run python manage.py makemigrations <my_app_name>, I get this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "manage.py", line 15, in <module>
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\site-packages\django-2.0-py3.5.egg\django\core\management\__init__.py", line 354, in execute_from_command_line
    utility.execute()
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\site-packages\django-2.0-py3.5.egg\django\core\management\__init__.py", line 330, in execute
    django.setup()
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\site-packages\django-2.0-py3.5.egg\django\__init__.py", line 24, in setup
    apps.populate(settings.INSTALLED_APPS)
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\site-packages\django-2.0-py3.5.egg\django\apps\registry.py", line 112, in populate
    app_config.import_models()
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\site-packages\django-2.0-py3.5.egg\django\apps\config.py", line 198, in import_models
    self.models_module = import_module(models_module_name)
  File "C:\Users\lislis\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python35-32\lib\importlib\__init__.py", line 126, in import_module
    return _bootstrap._gcd_import(name[level:], package, level)
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 986, in _gcd_import
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 969, in _find_and_load
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 958, in _find_and_load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 673, in _load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap_external>", line 665, in exec_module
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 222, in _call_with_frames_removed
  File "C:\Users\lislis\Django\mon_site\blog\models.py", line 6, in <module>
    class Article(models.Model):
  File "C:\Users\lislis\Django\mon_site\blog\models.py", line 16, in Article
    categorie = models.ForeignKey('Categorie')
TypeError: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'on_delete'

I've seen some similar issues in stackoverflow, but it seems to not be the same problem: __init__() missing 1 required positional argument: 'quantity'

Guanabara

wich version of django are you using? – Eleemosynary

So what are you confused about here? As the error clearly says, ForeignKey has a required argument, on_delete. See the docs. – Slightly

I dont need the on_delete parameter,is it obligatory? – Guanabara

@jochri3 Yes, required positional argument means it is obligatory. Check the documentation to find out which option would best fit your needs. – Bordeaux

Did you try reading the documentation for models.ForeignKey in order to understand how to use it? Is this actually a question about the Django API, or is it a question about how to read and understand the error message? – Operetta

Answer 1

You can change the property categorie of the class Article like this:

categorie = models.ForeignKey(
    'Categorie',
    on_delete=models.CASCADE,
)

and the error should disappear.

Eventually you might need another option for on_delete, check the documentation for more details:

Arguments -- Model field reference -- Django documentation

As you stated in your comment, that you don't have any special requirements for on_delete, you could use the option DO_NOTHING:

# ...
on_delete=models.DO_NOTHING,
# ...

Bordeaux

on_delete=models.CASCADE is the default in Django < 2 – Mistletoe

It does not work. 2023 – Herbage

Answer 2

Since Django 2.x, on_delete is required.

Django Documentation

Deprecated since version 1.9: on_delete will become a required argument in Django 2.0. In older versions it defaults to CASCADE.

Subinfeudate

Answer 3

Since Django 2.0 the ForeignKey field requires two positional arguments:

1. the model to map to
2. the on_delete argument

categorie = models.ForeignKey('Categorie', on_delete=models.PROTECT)

Here are some methods can used in on_delete

1. CASCADE

Cascade deletes. Django emulates the behavior of the SQL constraint ON DELETE CASCADE and also deletes the object containing the ForeignKey

2. PROTECT

Prevent deletion of the referenced object by raising ProtectedError, a subclass of django.db.IntegrityError.

3. DO_NOTHING

Take no action. If your database backend enforces referential integrity, this will cause an IntegrityError unless you manually add an SQL ON DELETE constraint to the database field.

you can find more about on_delete by reading the documentation.

Arenas

Answer 4

From Django 2.0 on_delete is required:

user = models.OneToOneField(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)

It will delete the child table data if the User is deleted. For more details check the Django documentation.

Homothermal

Why this answer while Andrey response earlier with this information ? – Selia

Answer 5

If you are using foreignkey then you have to use "on_delete=models.CASCADE" as it will eliminate the complexity developed after deleting the original element from the parent table. As simple as that.

categorie = models.ForeignKey('Categorie', on_delete=models.CASCADE)

Endive

Answer 6

Post Django version 1.9, on_delete became a required argument, i.e. from Django 2.0.

In older versions, it defaults to CASCADE.

So, if you want to replicate the functionality that you used in earlier versions. Use the following argument.

categorie = models.ForeignKey('Categorie', on_delete = models.CASCADE)

This will have the same effect as that was in earlier versions, without specifying it explicitly.

Official Documentation on other arguments that go with on_delete

Bon

Answer 7

Here are available options if it helps anyone for on_delete

CASCADE, DO_NOTHING, PROTECT, SET, SET_DEFAULT, SET_NULL

Daciadacie

Answer 8

If you don't know which option to enter the params. Just want to keep the default value like on_delete=None before migration:

on_delete=models.CASCADE

This is a code snippet in the old version:

if on_delete is None:
    warnings.warn(
        "on_delete will be a required arg for %s in Django 2.0. Set "
        "it to models.CASCADE on models and in existing migrations "
        "if you want to maintain the current default behavior. "
        "See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/%s/ref/models/fields/"
        "#django.db.models.ForeignKey.on_delete" % (
            self.__class__.__name__,
            get_docs_version(),
        ),
        RemovedInDjango20Warning, 2)
    on_delete = CASCADE

Andesite

Answer 9

"models.ForeignKey()" and "models.OneToOneField" must have "on_delete" since Django 2.0. For example below:

"models.ForeignKey()":

categories = models.ForeignKey('Category', on_delete=models.CASCADE)

"models.OneToOneField":

categories = models.OneToOneField('Category', on_delete=models.PROTECT)

Fredi

Answer 10

Had a similar problem that resolved by adding both these two parameters to ForeignKey: null=True, on_delete=models.SET_NULL

Fischer

Answer 11

For me the package manager was resolving djangorestframework to a lower version and the authtoken model did not have the on_delete. All of my models were good. You can run django.apps.apps.get_models() to get a list of all your models to see what libraries create their own models and might be the issue.

Contemporary

Answer 12

This worked for me pip install django-csvimport --upgrade

Upcoming

How does this answer the question? – Bordeaux

Hi Mayank. You probably did something else to fix that error or you're using an earlier version of django. – Tonytonya

This is solved by supplying a value for the "on_delete" argument to models.ForeignKey – Tonytonya

You are using Django prior to version 2. Because all later releases have made on_delete a compulsion! By default in earlier versions, it was on_delete = models.CASCADE – Bon