How to load a static file in django2.0

Question

I am having difficulty loading static files in django2.0 (coming from django1.4). Here is what I have so far:

# urls.py
if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns += static(settings.STATIC_URL, document_root=settings.STATIC_ROOT)

# settings.py
TEMPLATES = [
            ...
            'builtins': [
              'django.contrib.staticfiles.templatetags.staticfiles',
             ],
]
SITE_ROOT = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
STATIC_ROOT = ''
STATICFILES_DIRS = [
  os.path.join(SITE_ROOT, "static"),    
]

And I have one image located at:

[my_project_root]/static/img/image.png

Now if I go directly to the url, I get a 404:

http://localhost:8000/static/img/image.png

Additionally, if I do it "through the template", I also get a 404:

{% load static %}
<img src="{% static 'img/image.png' %}" alt="My image">

What do I need to add here to serve the static files?

Answer 1

This was a tricky setting. I needed to change the STATIC_ROOT to:

STATIC_ROOT = 'static/'

Otherwise, with STATIC_ROOT = '', it would look for the img file in [project_root]/img/image.png .