django-static-tutorial

django static tutorial in production mode

set up Django static files for production on Windows, likely for local deployment or desktop server use (without Linux Nginx setup).

Here’s a clean, working setup specifically for Windows production use — for example, when using runserver, or packaging with PyInstaller, NSSM, or XAMPP/Apache.

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⚙️ Step-by-Step Static File Setup (Windows)

🧩 1. Folder structure

Example project layout:

E:\Django\MyProject\
│
├── allfile\          # your development static files
│   ├── css\
│   ├── js\
│   └── images\
│
├── static\           # will be created automatically by collectstatic
│
├── media\            # for uploaded files
│
├── myapp\
├── myproject\
│   └── settings.py
└── manage.py

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⚙️ 2. Configure settings.py

import os
from pathlib import Path

BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent

# STATIC FILES
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
    BASE_DIR / "allfile",   # where you keep your dev static files
]
STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "static"

# MEDIA FILES (uploads)
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = BASE_DIR / "media"

# Production
DEBUG = False
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['127.0.0.1', 'localhost']

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⚙️ 3. Collect all static files

In the terminal (inside your project folder):

python manage.py collectstatic

✅ Django will copy everything from allfile/ and apps’ static/ folders into your static/ directory.

You should see something like:

127 static files copied to 'E:\Django\MyProject\static'.

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⚙️ 4. Serving Static Files in “Production” Mode on Windows

🟢 Option A — Using runserver for internal deployment

Even though runserver isn’t meant for production, for internal/local apps you can still use it safely by manually serving static files:

In urls.py (usually your project-level one):

from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static

urlpatterns = [
    # your urls
]

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

👉 When DEBUG = False, runserver doesn’t serve static files. But for local Windows production, you can just temporarily enable DEBUG = True if you’re not exposed to the internet.

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🟢 Option B — Using Whitenoise (best for Windows standalone use)

1. Install Whitenoise:

   pip install whitenoise

2. Add middleware in settings.py:

   MIDDLEWARE = [
       'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
       'whitenoise.middleware.WhiteNoiseMiddleware',
       ...
   ]

3. Set this for optimized serving:

   STATICFILES_STORAGE = 'whitenoise.storage.CompressedManifestStaticFilesStorage'

Now Whitenoise will automatically serve /static/ and /media/ when you run:

python manage.py runserver

Even with DEBUG = False, it will still work ✅

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🟢 Option C — Using Apache (via XAMPP / WAMP on Windows)

If you run Apache locally, add this inside your Apache config (e.g., httpd-vhosts.conf):

Alias /static/ "E:/Django/MyProject/static/"
<Directory "E:/Django/MyProject/static/">
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Alias /media/ "E:/Django/MyProject/media/"
<Directory "E:/Django/MyProject/media/">
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Then restart Apache from the XAMPP control panel.

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⚙️ 5. Test Static and Media Access

Visit:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/static/css/yourfile.css
http://127.0.0.1:8000/media/uploads/test.png

If you see the file load — your setup is working perfectly ✅

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⚙️ 6. Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Static not loading when DEBUG=False	Use Whitenoise or Apache alias
collectstatic not copying	Check STATICFILES_DIRS path correctness
Browser cache not updating	Clear browser cache or use Whitenoise compressed storage
Wrong slashes in paths	Always use BASE_DIR / "folder" (Pathlib handles Windows paths correctly)

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