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Static Files

A static file is a type of file that does not change often and is not generated by a server-side script. Examples of static files include images, CSS and JavaScript files, audio and video files, and other types of media.

Static files in Ellar are served using the StaticFiles ASGI class, which is an extension of the Starlette StaticFiles ASGI class. This class uses the static files specified in the application's modules and configuration.

In addition, Ellar creates a route that mounts the static server at the /static path. The path can be modified by providing a new value for the STATIC_MOUNT_PATH configuration variable.

Configuring static files

  1. In your config file, define STATIC_MOUNT_PATH, for example: 

    class Config:
    STATIC_MOUNT_PATH = '/static'

  2. Store your static files in a folder called static in your module. For example my_module/static/my_module/example.jpg.

  3. In your templates, use the url_for with static and path parameter to build the URL for the given relative path using the configured in STATIC_DIRECTORIES, STATIC_FOLDER_PACKAGES or Module. 
     <img src="{{url_for('static', path='my_module/example.jpg')}}" alt="My image">
    OR, visit /static/my_app/example.jpg

Static File in Modules

Managing multiple sets of static files in larger projects can be challenging, but by organizing each set of static files within a specific module, it becomes easier to manage and maintain. This approach allows for clear organization and separation of static assets, making it more manageable in a large project.

In our previous project, within the car module folder, we can create a following directories, my_static/car. Inside this folder my_static/car, we can create a file named example.txt. This allows us to keep all the static files related to the car module organized in one location my_static.

Next, we tell CarModule about our static folder.

# project_name/apps/car/module.py

from ellar.common import Module
from ellar.core import ModuleBase
from ellar.di import Container

from .controllers import CarController


@Module(
    controllers=[CarController], static_folder='my_static'
)
class CarModule(ModuleBase):
    pass

Other Static Configurations

In addition to setting static directories within modules, it is also possible to manually specify additional static directories that are not located within a module by using the STATIC_FOLDER_PACKAGES and STATIC_DIRECTORIES variables in the application's configuration. These variables allow for even more flexibility in organizing and managing static files in a project. These directories will be served by the StaticFiles ASGI class along with the module-scoped static files.

STATIC_DIRECTORIES

STATIC_DIRECTORIES variable is a list of directories within the project that contain static files. These directories are not necessarily scoped to a specific module and can be used to serve static files from any location within the project. These directories can be added to the STATIC_DIRECTORIES list in the application's configuration.

STATIC_DIRECTORIES =  ['project_name/static-files', 'project_name/path/to/static/files']

STATIC_FOLDER_PACKAGES

STATIC_FOLDER_PACKAGES variable is a list of tuples that contain python packages that hold some static files. These packages should have a static folder and the package name should be passed as tuple (package_name, package_path), package_path is the relative path of static folder.

STATIC_FOLDER_PACKAGES =  [('bootstrap', 'statics'), ('package-name', 'path/to/static/directory')]

Static files will respond with "404 Not found" or "405 Method not allowed" responses for requests which do not match. In HTML mode if 404.html file exists it will be shown as 404 response.

Mounting other files

Ellar offers ASGIFileMount to easily mount files on your application outside of static files.

import ellar.common as ec

from ellar.core.middleware import as_middleware
from ellar.core.routing import ASGIFileMount


@as_middleware
async def asgi_middleware(context, call_next):
    """Run some actions"""
    await call_next()


@ec.Module(routers=[
   ASGIFileMount(
       directories=["private"],
       path="/media",
       name="media",
       base_directory='base/path/to/locate/directories',
       middleware=[
           asgi_middleware
       ],
   )
])
class ModuleSample:
    pass

In the provided example, the private directory is mounted using ASGIFileMount under the /media endpoint. Accessing a file, e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8000/media/my-file.txt, will retrieve and display my-file.txt in the browser. Additionally, there is a middleware configuration option in case if your requirement requires it.