Middleware configuration in Django - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Middleware configuration

📖 Scenario: You are building a Django web application that needs to log every request's path for debugging purposes.

🎯 Goal: Create a custom middleware that logs the request path, then add it to the Django project's middleware settings.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a custom middleware class named LogRequestMiddleware in a file called middleware.py inside an app named core.

The middleware must have a __call__ method that logs the request path using print().

Add the core.middleware.LogRequestMiddleware to the MIDDLEWARE list in settings.py after django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Middleware is used in Django projects to add functionality that runs on every request, such as logging, authentication, or security checks.

💼 Career

Understanding middleware configuration is essential for backend developers working with Django to customize request handling and add cross-cutting features.

1

Create the middleware class

In the core/middleware.py file, create a class called LogRequestMiddleware with an __init__ method that accepts get_response and stores it as an instance variable.

Django

# Your code here

Need a hint?

Middleware classes in Django need an __init__ method that takes get_response and saves it.

2

Add the __call__ method to log request path

Add a __call__ method to LogRequestMiddleware that takes request, prints request.path, then returns the response by calling self.get_response(request).

Django

class LogRequestMiddleware:
    def __init__(self, get_response):
        self.get_response = get_response

    # Your code here

Need a hint?

The __call__ method processes each request. Use print(request.path) to log the path.

3

Open settings.py and locate MIDDLEWARE list

Open settings.py and find the MIDDLEWARE list variable. Do not change it yet.

Django

# Open settings.py and find the MIDDLEWARE list
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The MIDDLEWARE list is usually near the top of settings.py.

4

Add custom middleware to MIDDLEWARE list

Add the string 'core.middleware.LogRequestMiddleware' to the MIDDLEWARE list in settings.py immediately after 'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware'.

Django

MIDDLEWARE = [
    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
    # Add your middleware here
]

Need a hint?

Insert your middleware string right after 'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware' in the list.