DJ-Static

This is a simple Django middleware utility that allows you to properly serve static assets from production with a WSGI server like Gunicorn.

Note

You should probably use WhiteNoise instead. It's better software.

Django doesn't recommend the production use of its static file server for a number of reasons. There exists, however, a lovely WSGI application aptly named Static.

"Finally, a super-simple way of serving assets in Django that’ll actually perform well" — @jacobian

It is suitable for the production use of static file serving, unlike Django. Enjoy!

Shouldn't I use a CDN?

If you have to ask that question, there's actually quite a good chance you don't. Static responses aren't very different than dynamic ones.

If you're running a top-tier application, optimizing for delivery and reducing frontend load, you will want to explore using a CDN with Django-Storages.

Usage

$ pip install dj-static

Configure your static assets in settings.py:

STATIC_ROOT = 'staticfiles'
STATIC_URL = '/static/'

Then, update your wsgi.py file to use dj-static:

from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application
from dj_static import Cling

application = Cling(get_wsgi_application())

File uploads (optional)

In case you also want to serve media files that were uploaded to MEDIA_ROOT:

MEDIA_ROOT = 'media'
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'

Then again, update your wsgi.py file:

from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application
from dj_static import Cling, MediaCling

application = Cling(MediaCling(get_wsgi_application()))