Debugging Static Files in Dockerized Django Application

Based on your description, there seems to be a discrepancy between Django finding your static files via the findstatic command but failing to serve them properly in development mode. Let me help you troubleshoot this issue.

Potential Issues and Solutions

1. Ensure django.contrib.staticfiles is in INSTALLED_APPS

First, verify that django.contrib.staticfiles is included in your INSTALLED_APPS setting:

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INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    # ...
]

2. Check Your STATICFILES_DIRS Configuration

Your current configuration:

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STATIC_URL = 'static/'  
STATICFILES_DIRS = [  
    BASE_DIR / 'static/'  
]

There might be an issue with the trailing slash in your path. Try modifying it to:

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STATIC_URL = '/static/'  # Note the leading slash
STATICFILES_DIRS = [  
    BASE_DIR / 'static'  # Remove trailing slash
]

3. Volume Mounting in Docker

A common issue with Docker is that the static files might not be properly mounted into the container. Check your docker-compose.yml or Dockerfile to ensure your static files are properly mounted:

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volumes:
  - ./:/app  # Ensure this includes your static directory

4. Debug with More Verbose Logging

Increase the logging level specifically for the staticfiles app:

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LOGGING = {
    "version": 1,
    "disable_existing_loggers": False,
    "handlers": {
        "console": {
            "class": "logging.StreamHandler",
        },
    },
    "root": {
        "handlers": ["console"],
        "level": "WARNING",
    },
    "loggers": {
        "django": {
            "handlers": ["console"],
            "level": "DEBUG",  # Changed from INFO to DEBUG
            "propagate": False,
        },
        "django.contrib.staticfiles": {
            "handlers": ["console"],
            "level": "DEBUG",
            "propagate": False,
        },
    },
}

5. Check DEBUG Setting

You mentioned verifying DEBUG mode, but let's double-check:

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DEBUG = True  # Must be True for Django to serve static files in development

6. Check Your runserver Command

Make sure you're running the server with the correct command that binds to all interfaces:

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python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

7. Verify File Permissions

Ensure the static files have proper read permissions inside the container:

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# Inside the container
ls -la /app/static/css/styles.css

8. Try Using collectstatic

Even in development, sometimes running collectstatic can help:

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python manage.py collectstatic --noinput

Then add the STATIC_ROOT setting:

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STATIC_ROOT = BASE_DIR / 'staticfiles'

9. Check for URL Conflicts

Ensure there are no URL patterns in your urls.py that might be capturing the static URL path.

Debugging Steps

1. First, try accessing the static file directly in your browser with the developer tools open to see the exact response.

2. Check the Docker logs for any errors related to file access.

3. Verify the file exists in the expected location inside the container:

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   # Inside the container
   ls -la /app/static/css/styles.css

4. Try a simple test to confirm static file serving is working by creating a new test.txt file in your static directory and accessing it.

If these steps don't resolve the issue, you might need to consider using a separate web server like Nginx to serve your static files, which is the recommended approach for production environments.