Resolving the CSRF token missing Error in Django Forms

Learn how to fix the "CSRF token missing" error in Django form submissions by properly handling templates and rendering them correctly. --- This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/77276170/ asked by the user 'jessiepinkman' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/21214268/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/77276237/ provided by the user 'Tim' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2043298/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions. Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Django CSRF token missing in form submission despite including it Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/licensing The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license. If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com. --- Solving the "CSRF Token Missing" Issue in Django Form Submissions If you’re developing a Django application that involves form submissions, you might encounter a frustrating issue: the CSRF token missing error. This error can hinder functionality and block valid submissions, especially when integrating with APIs like Twilio for phone number verification. In this guide, we'll explore how to effectively solve this problem by diving into the proper use of CSRF tokens in Django templates. Understanding the CSRF Token CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) tokens are a security feature implemented in Django to prevent unauthorized commands from being transmitted from a user that the web application trusts. To successfully authenticate a form submission in Django, the form must include a unique CSRF token. The Common Issue In our scenario, you've already included the {% csrf_token %} tag within your HTML template but are still receiving a CSRF token missing error. This commonly occurs when the HTML is not rendered properly through Django's templating system. Steps to Resolve the Issue 1. Move HTML Content to a Template File Instead of embedding the HTML directly in your view function, you should create a dedicated HTML template file for rendering. Here's how you can organize your project: Create a new template file named verify.html in your templates directory. Fill it with your form and CSRF token as shown below: [[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]] 2. Update Your View Function After moving the HTML to a template, update your Django view function to return a TemplateResponse instead of manually forming the HTML. Here’s how you should adjust the code: [[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]] 3. Ensure Middleware is Active Make sure that the django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware is enabled in your Django settings.py. This middleware is responsible for processing CSRF tokens: [[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]] 4. Test Your Form Submission Once you’ve set up your template and updated your view, it's time to test the form submission again. You should no longer see the CSRF token missing error, and your form should successfully send data to the server. Conclusion By properly structuring your HTML into templates and ensuring that the CSRF token is rendered correctly, you solve the pervasive CSRF token missing error in your Django application. This not only enhances security but also improves user experience by allowing seamless interaction with your forms. Feel free to share your thoughts or questions about managing CSRF tokens in Django. Happy coding!