Can't get Django to serve static files

Question

I know there are a ton of similiar threads on SO with actually the same question - but I can't solve my problem

Django Version

>>> import django
>>> print django.get_version()
1.6.2

I want to access static files (css, images, ..) from a template.

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles.css" />

My folder structure

Project
|-- Project
    |-- settings.py
    |-- ...
|-- app
    |-- views.py
    |-- ...
|-- templates
    |-- a_template.html
|-- static
    |-- styles.css

settings.py (important parts)

BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))

INSTALLED_APPS = (
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'server',
)

STATIC_URL = '/static/'

I tried a lot different solutions for STATIC_URL (even absolute paths) but none of them worked for me.

https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/howto/static-files/#serving-static-files-during-development, The documentation explains how to serve static files in development — dm03514, Mar 17 '14 at 19:12

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 17 '14 at 19:20

1

first, I would use the static template tag by adding to the top of the template:

{% load static %}

and then, in the href:

href="{% static "styles.css" %}"

then, I would change my urls.py and add the possibility for your development server to serve static files:

from django.contrib.staticfiles.urls import staticfiles_urlpatterns

/* you url patterns here */

if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += staticfiles_urlpatterns()

that should do the trick...

answered Mar 17 '14 at 19:20

Gabriel Amram

2,700
2
19
29

still "GET /static/styles.css HTTP/1.1" 404 1634 – Lucas Mar 17 '14 at 19:22
have you tried adding `STATICFILES_DIRS = ('/path/to/your/static/folder/')` to your `settings.py`? you have to use forward-slashes though, even on windows. – Gabriel Amram Mar 17 '14 at 19:27
Nope - but now it works :) btw: I don't have to change the `urls.py` – Lucas Mar 17 '14 at 19:31

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Locating the static files

Since your static dir doesn't live in an app, you should add os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static') to STATICFILES_DIRS. Much like you probably added os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'templates') to your TEMPLATE_DIRS. (at least I think so, as you're not complaining about missing templates.

Collecting the static files (not needed during dev)

During deployment you should issue a

$ python manage.py collectstatic

command, which copies all static files to your STATIC_ROOT

Using the static files in your template

To point your browser to the right resource you should either put {{ STATIC_URL }} before the filenames you use or use the {% static %} templatetags as in the how to.

Ramesh Ponnusamy · Answer 3 · 2020-05-12T08:26:04.257

Configure BASE_DIR:

BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))

Set Debug is True:

DEBUG=True

Set Static URl:

STATIC_URL = '/static/'

Set ROOT_PATH In ROOT variable

ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static')

Set STATICFILES Variable:

STATICFILES_DIRS = [
    os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static'),]

Mention the Static css file in HTML file:

 {% load static %}
 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="{% static 'style.css' %}">

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 17 '14 at 19:10

0

You want to change the href attribute in the template:

href="{{STATIC_URL}}styles.css"

Additionally, you may want to collect static files via python manage.py collectstatic.

More info here: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/howto/static-files/

answered Mar 17 '14 at 19:10

Andrew C

689
2
9
23

Edited with the `collectstatic` tip, and documentation – Andrew C Mar 17 '14 at 19:14

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 15 '21 at 19:34

To get django to serve bootstrap files, I had to let collectstatic put the files into my STATIC_ROOT--I could NOT paste the files into the folder myself. I put the bootstrap files in a directory called my_app/boot.

updated my settings:

STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static')
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
        os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'boot'),
        ]

and ran

python manage.py collectstatic

Can't get Django to serve static files

5 Answers5

Locating the static files

Collecting the static files (not needed during dev)

Using the static files in your template

Linked