Template configuration and directories in Django - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding TEMPLATE_DIRS setting in Django

In a Django project, what is the purpose of the TEMPLATE_DIRS setting in settings.py?

A It defines the list of directories where Django looks for template files.

B It sets the database connection strings for template rendering.

C It specifies the URL paths for static files like CSS and JavaScript.

D It controls the middleware order for processing template requests.

💡 Hint

Think about where Django finds the HTML files it uses to build pages.

The TEMPLATE_DIRS setting tells Django where to find template files on your computer. It is a list of folder paths. Django searches these folders when rendering templates.

❓ component_behavior

intermediate

Effect of missing template directory in settings

If you forget to add your custom template directory to the DIRS list inside the TEMPLATES setting in settings.py, what will happen when you try to render a template located there?

A Django will use the default template from the admin app instead.

B Django will render a blank page without any error.

C Django will raise a TemplateDoesNotExist error because it cannot find the template.

D Django will automatically search all project folders and find the template anyway.

💡 Hint

Think about how Django knows where to look for templates.

If the directory containing your template is not listed in the DIRS setting, Django will not find it and will raise a TemplateDoesNotExist error.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Correct syntax for adding a template directory in Django 4+

Which of the following is the correct way to add a custom template directory named templates located at the project base directory in Django 4+ settings.py?

A TEMPLATES = [{ 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': 'BASE_DIR/templates', 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': {} }]

B TEMPLATES = [{ 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': [BASE_DIR / 'templates'], 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': {} }]

C TEMPLATES = [{ 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': BASE_DIR + '/templates', 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': {} }]

D TEMPLATES = [{ 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': ['BASE_DIR/templates'], 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': {} }]

💡 Hint

Remember that BASE_DIR is a Path object and you should use the division operator to join paths.

In Django 4+, BASE_DIR is a Path object from pathlib. To join paths, use the division operator /. The DIRS setting expects a list of paths.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Diagnosing template loading failure in Django

You have this settings.py snippet:

TEMPLATES = [{
  'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
  'DIRS': ['templates'],
  'APP_DIRS': True,
  'OPTIONS': {},
}]

Your template is located at /home/user/myproject/templates/index.html. When rendering, Django raises TemplateDoesNotExist. What is the most likely cause?

A The <code>DIRS</code> path 'templates' is relative and does not point to the absolute template folder location.

B The <code>APP_DIRS</code> option must be set to False to load templates from <code>DIRS</code>.

C The template filename must be <code>index.htm</code> instead of <code>index.html</code>.

D The <code>BACKEND</code> setting is incorrect and should be <code>django.template.backends.jinja2.Jinja2</code>.

💡 Hint

Check if the path in DIRS matches the actual folder location.

The DIRS list should contain absolute paths or paths relative to BASE_DIR. Using just 'templates' is relative to the current working directory, which may not be correct.

❓ state_output

expert

Number of template directories searched by Django

Given this settings.py snippet:

BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent

TEMPLATES = [{
  'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
  'DIRS': [BASE_DIR / 'custom_templates'],
  'APP_DIRS': True,
  'OPTIONS': {},
}]

And you have 3 Django apps each with a templates folder inside their app directory. How many directories will Django search for templates when rendering?

A None, because <code>OPTIONS</code> is empty.

B Only 1 directory: the one specified in <code>DIRS</code>.

C 3 directories: only the app <code>templates</code> folders because <code>APP_DIRS</code> is True.

D 4 directories: the one in <code>DIRS</code> plus the 3 app <code>templates</code> folders.

💡 Hint

Remember what APP_DIRS does in Django template settings.

When APP_DIRS is True, Django automatically looks inside each app's templates folder. It also looks inside the directories listed in DIRS. So total directories searched = 1 (custom_templates) + 3 (app templates) = 4.