Django Will Not Pull CSS Static File (404 Error) Even Though File Paths Look Correct

Question

When I load my local site I cannot get the CSS files to load. I'm running Django 1.9 and python 3.4.2.

Here is my structure:

apps/
    app1/
    app2/
    etc.
clients/
    media/ #css, js, images, etc.
    static/ #static files
    templates/ #html templates
__init__.py
manage.py
settings.py
etc.

In my settings.py file I have:

STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'clients', 'static')
STATIC_URL = 'clients/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
    os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'clients', 'media'),
]
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(PROJECT_PATH, 'clients', 'media')

And my html template that is calling the css files is as so:

 {% load staticfiles %}
 <link rel="stylesheet" href="{% static 'css/primary_stylesheet.css' %}" />

I continue to get a 404 error that says it can't find the css file in:/clients/static/css/primary_stylesheet.css

In my settings.py file I have printed out my STATICFILES_DIRS and STATIC_ROOT and they both lead directly where they should. I've read through the documentation and tried multiple variations of DIRS and ROOT and don't understand why the css file is not pulling correctly - even "collectstatic" is collecting correctly.

I greatly appreciate any help and wisdom someone else has to give.

Thank you!

Are you sure the file /clients/media/css/primary_stylesheet.css exists? When you run collectstatic have you verified that /clients/static/css/primary_stylesheet.css exists? — YPCrumble
– YPCrumble, Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 2:12
@YPCrumble Yes I am sure that /clients/media/css/primary_stylehseets.css exists. And if I delete the CSS file from my /static/ file, and then collectstatic again, the file is properly updated in /static/css/ — Tarrant
– Tarrant, Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 2:30
@YPCrumble Currently I have no STATICFILES_FINDERS setting listed...Is this a requirement? — Tarrant
– Tarrant, Commented Jul 17, 2016 at 2:34

YPCrumble · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-18 22:20:24Z

1

If you have DEBUG = True set then django won't actually pull your files from the /static/ folder - it finds and collects your staticfiles at runtime when you input the runserver command.

I think you'll find that if you use the default setting for STATICFILES_FINDERS your app will be able to serve your files:

STATICFILES_FINDERS = [
    'django.contrib.staticfiles.finders.FileSystemFinder',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles.finders.AppDirectoriesFinder',
]

answered Jul 18, 2016 at 22:20

YPCrumble

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4 Comments

Tarrant Over a year ago

Thanks for the answer. I added 'STATICFILES_FINDERS = [django.contrib.staticfiles.finders.FileSystemFinder,]' and my media files were still not loaded. I have not added '...AppDirectoriesFinder' to the array because I was under the impression that it would affect nothing because my staticfiles to be collected are not located inside of an app. I will try adding it this evening and see if anything changes...

YPCrumble Over a year ago

@Tarrant would still have to be STATICFILES_FINDERS with the S.

Tarrant Over a year ago

Sorry spelling mistake - udpated!

Tarrant Over a year ago

yes for whatever reason adding 'django.contrib.staticfiles.finders.AppDirectoriesFinder' to my STATICFILES_FINDERS array worked.Thank you for your help I appreciate it!

Gokhan Sari · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-17 08:59:35Z

1

If you are running your server with python ./manage.py runserver, you need to set urls for both static and media files, check here: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.9/howto/static-files/#serving-static-files-during-development

When I am starting a new project, I generally set my urls.py like this:

from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static
from django.conf.urls import url, include
from django.contrib import admin

url_patterns = [
    url(r'^admin/', admin.site.urls),
    # your url patterns go here
]

if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += static(settings.STATIC_URL, document_root=settings.STATIC_ROOT)
    urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)

This requires you to set STATIC_ROOT, STATIC_URL, MEDIA_ROOT and MEDIA_URL in your settings.py:

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

MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'

answered Jul 17, 2016 at 8:59

Gokhan Sari

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2 Comments

Tarrant Over a year ago

I will try includin ga MEDIA_URL and add 'if setting.DEBUG:...' this evening and let you know if that fixes things.

Tarrant Over a year ago

FYI this did not fix the problem, but none the less I appreciate the url advice!

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