Django -- How to have a project wide templatetags shared among all my apps in that project

Question

Second time asking more details ...

I'd like to have a project wide templagetags directory to have the common tags used by all Apps, then each app can have their own tags if need so.

Let say that I have:

proj1/app1
proj1/app1/templatetags/app1_tags.py

proj1/app2
proj1/app2/templatetags/app2_tags.py

proj1/templatetags/proj1_tags.py

proj1/templates/app1/base.html
proj1/templates/app1/index.html
proj1/templates/app2/base.html
proj1/templates/app2/index.html

Where:

proj1/templates/app1/base.html
-----------
{% load proj1_tags %}
{% load app1_tags %}

proj1/templates/app1/index.html
-----------
{% extends "base.html" %}

proj1/templates/app2/base.html
-----------
{% load proj2_tags %}
{% load app2_tags %}

proj1/templates/app2/index.html
-----------
{% extends "base.html" %}

Would this work? It didn't work for me. It can't find the proj1_tags to load.

Solution 1

I don't know if this is the right way to do it, but in my Django apps, I always place common template tags in a lib "app", like so:

proj/
    __init__.py
    lib/
        __init__.py
        templatetags/
            __init__.py
            common_tags.py

Just make sure to add the lib app to your list of INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py.

Solution 2

Since Django 1.9, it is no longer necessary to create additional common app as others mentioned. All you need to do is to add a path to your project templatetags directory to the settings.py's OPTION['libraries'] dict.

After that, these tags will be accessible throughout your whole project. The templatetags folder can be placed wherever you need and can also have different name.

Customized example from the Django docs:

OPTIONS={
    'libraries': {
        'myapp_tags': 'path.to.myapp.tags',
        'project_tags': 'project.templatetags.common_extras',
        'admin.urls': 'django.contrib.admin.templatetags.admin_urls',
    },
}

Solution 3

Django registers templatetags globally for each app in INSTALLED_APPS (and that's why your solution does not work: project is not an application as understood by Django) — they are available in all templates (providing they was properly registered).

I usually have an app that handles miscellaneous functionality (like site's start page) and put templatetags not related to any particular app there, but this is purely cosmetic.

Solution 4

This is the place where you place it in settings.py.

The first key('custom_tags' in this case) in 'libraries' should be what you want to load name in template.

---

PROJECT STRUCTURE

mysite
    - myapp
    - mysite
        - manage.py
        - templatetags
            - custom_tags.py

---

SETTINGS.PY

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        'BACKEND': '....',
        'OPTIONS': {
            'context_processors': [
                ...
            ],
            'libraries': {
                'custom_tags': 'mysite.templatetags.custom_tags',
            }
        },
    },
]

View more solutions

Comments

[andilabs]

how you than call it in html files? Just {% load common_tags %}?

[mipadi]

@andi: Yes, that's it.

[Mohammad Torkashvand]

The name of the module inside tempaltetags is the same as the package/application name (e.g. lib.py).

[Hakim]

Just to make it clearer, in the template html where this tag is called one needs to {% load project_tags %} first before calling the tag normally using {% common_extras %}.

[User]

All you need to do is to add a path to your project can you elaborate on this part and give an example project structure showing the templatetags directory not inside of an app?

[User]

I seem to have got it working for a templatetags directory at the same level of manage.py. Using 'mytest_tags': 'templatetags.mytest_tags'. I have __init.py__ inside of templatetags directory and also a python file named mytest_tags.py

[Yi Yang Apollo]

Add a public app for all common templatetags and functions. This options works for me. Django version 2.17

[logicOnAbstractions]

Don't know if this is the right way either, but the smartest solution I have come across while trying to manage that. It makes me realize that apps in django can be meta-apps in a way, not just corresponding strictly to a project functionality....

[MartinM]

OPTIONS is under TEMPLATES in Django 2.1.2