I’m currently working with Django’s admin interface and encountering some unexpected behavior related to form saving with the commit parameter. Here’s what I’m trying to understand:

Context: I’m using a custom form (DeckCreateForm) with a save method overridden to handle saving deck data. Within this method, I’ve set the commit parameter to False to prevent immediate database commits.

Observation: Despite setting commit to False, when saving a form instance through the admin interface, it appears that the form data is being committed to the database.

Understanding Needed: I’m seeking clarification on why the form data is being committed to the database even when commit is explicitly set to False. Additionally, I want to understand the factors that could influence the behavior of the commit parameter within the context of Django’s admin interface.

Efforts Made: I’ve reviewed the Django documentation regarding form saving and the admin interface but haven’t found a clear explanation for this behavior. I’ve also examined my code and haven’t identified any obvious bugs or misconfigurations.

Request: I’m looking for insights or explanations from the Django community on how Django’s admin interface handles form saving and the factors that might affect the behavior of the commit parameter. Additionally, any suggestions for troubleshooting or further exploration would be greatly appreciated.

My Code:

Custom save function (forms.py):

def save(self, commit=False):
    deck = super().save(commit=False)

    if commit:
        deck.save()
        self.save_m2m()

        cleaned_data = self.cleaned_data
        word_items = cleaned_data.get('word_items')

        with transaction.atomic():
            try:
                for rank, word_item in enumerate(word_items, start=1):
                    deck_entry, created = DeckWord.objects.get_or_create(
                        deck=deck,
                        word_item=word_item,
                        defaults={'rank':1}
                    )
            except IntegrityError as e:
                raise
    return deck

Admin.py

@admin.register(Deck)
class DeckAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = ['id', 'name', 'description', 'language', 'is_ranked', 'created_by', 'visibility']
    form = DeckCreateForm

Any guidance or insights into this matter would be invaluable in helping me better understand Django’s admin interface behavior. Thank you in advance for your assistance!