From 726444b687957230eee7b9dfe8bd9643355f5172 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: James Gillard <jamesgillard@live.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2025 11:27:07 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Fix AttributeError when AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL is not set
 (#788)

Use getattr() with default value in get_logentry_model() to handle
cases where conf.py hasn't been imported yet due to import order.

Adds regression test to verify the fix.
---
 auditlog/__init__.py    |  7 +++----
 auditlog_tests/tests.py | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/auditlog/__init__.py b/auditlog/__init__.py
index 3f39bfd..a893596 100644
--- a/auditlog/__init__.py
+++ b/auditlog/__init__.py
@@ -10,10 +10,9 @@ __version__ = version("django-auditlog")
 
 
 def get_logentry_model():
+    model_string = getattr(settings, "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL", "auditlog.LogEntry")
     try:
-        return django_apps.get_model(
-            settings.AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL, require_ready=False
-        )
+        return django_apps.get_model(model_string, require_ready=False)
     except ValueError:
         raise ImproperlyConfigured(
             "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL must be of the form 'app_label.model_name'"
@@ -21,5 +20,5 @@ def get_logentry_model():
     except LookupError:
         raise ImproperlyConfigured(
             "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL refers to model '%s' that has not been installed"
-            % settings.AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL
+            % model_string
         )
diff --git a/auditlog_tests/tests.py b/auditlog_tests/tests.py
index 3183015..aba766e 100644
--- a/auditlog_tests/tests.py
+++ b/auditlog_tests/tests.py
@@ -3248,3 +3248,22 @@ class GetLogEntryModelTest(TestCase):
     def test_invalid_appname(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ImproperlyConfigured):
             get_logentry_model()
+
+    def test_logentry_model_default_when_setting_missing(self):
+        """Regression test for issue #788: AttributeError when AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL is not set."""
+        # Save and remove the setting to simulate the bug condition
+        original_value = getattr(settings, "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL", None)
+        if hasattr(settings, "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL"):
+            delattr(settings, "AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL")
+
+        try:
+            # This should NOT raise AttributeError - it should use the default
+            model = get_logentry_model()
+            self.assertEqual(
+                f"{model._meta.app_label}.{model._meta.object_name}",
+                "auditlog.LogEntry",
+            )
+        finally:
+            # Restore the original setting
+            if original_value is not None:
+                settings.AUDITLOG_LOGENTRY_MODEL = original_value