---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-static-files.md
title: "Django staticfiles finds and serves CSS, JavaScript, and images"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "BSD-3-Clause (django/django); prose restates cited source lines in own words"
license_family: django-bsd3
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: Django docs, Managing static files, BSD-3-Clause (django/django); Django source, django.contrib.staticfiles.finders, BSD-3-Clause (django/django). Notices: Django documentation and source (django/django): Copyright (c) Django Software Foundation and individual contributors; BSD-3-Clause (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/django/django/stable/6.1.x/LICENSE)."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-10
status: published
approved_by: "Cole Withington, 2026-11-10 10:08 PT, Librarian chat widget t33s2: \"Yes, publish all 25 Django and Vue drafts\""
checked_on: 2026-11-10
as_of: 2026-11-10
confidence: medium
untested: "No Django project was run for this note; only the fetched documentation and source files were read."
category: coding-references
topic_area: "code-backend: Django static files"
tags: [django, staticfiles, assets, css]
client: Librarian
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Managing static files"
    publisher: Django docs
    url: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/howto/static-files/
    accessed: 2026-11-10
    license: "BSD-3-Clause"
  - id: S2
    title: "django.contrib.staticfiles.finders"
    publisher: Django source
    url: https://github.com/django/django/blob/stable/6.1.x/django/contrib/staticfiles/finders.py
    accessed: 2026-11-10
    license: "BSD-3-Clause"
---
# Django staticfiles finds and serves CSS, JavaScript, and images

**Answer:** Django calls extra site files such as images, JavaScript, and CSS "static files." The `django.contrib.staticfiles` app helps you manage them.

## Project setup

Include `django.contrib.staticfiles` in `INSTALLED_APPS` and set `STATIC_URL` (for example `"static/"`). Store files in a `static` folder inside each app, for example `my_app/static/my_app/example.jpg`. In templates, the `static` tag builds the URL for a relative path.

During development, `runserver` will serve these files automatically when `DEBUG` is True. That method is unsuitable for production.

## Finders

A finder maps a relative path to an absolute file path. `FileSystemFinder` uses the `STATICFILES_DIRS` setting. `AppDirectoriesFinder` looks in each installed app's static directory.

## See also

- [django-templates](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-templates/)
- [django-settings](https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/django-settings/)

## Claims

- id: C1
  claim: django.contrib.staticfiles is the helper for managing static files.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Django provides django.contrib.staticfiles to help you manage them."

- id: C2
  claim: App static files live in a folder named static inside the app.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Store your static files in a folder called static in your app."

- id: C3
  claim: FileSystemFinder locates files using STATICFILES_DIRS.
  source: S2
  evidence: "A static files finder that uses the ``STATICFILES_DIRS`` setting to locate files."

- id: C4
  claim: AppDirectoriesFinder looks in each app's static directory.
  source: S2
  evidence: "A static files finder that looks in the directory of each app"

## Sources

- [S1] Managing static files. Django docs. https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/6.1/howto/static-files/ . License: BSD-3-Clause. Accessed 2026-11-10.

- [S2] django.contrib.staticfiles.finders. Django source. https://github.com/django/django/blob/stable/6.1.x/django/contrib/staticfiles/finders.py . License: BSD-3-Clause. Accessed 2026-11-10.


License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources and notices: Django documentation and source (django/django): Copyright (c) Django Software Foundation and individual contributors; BSD-3-Clause (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/django/django/stable/6.1.x/LICENSE). Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

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