Django MEDIA_URL and MEDIA_ROOT: Serving Uploaded Images

When working with Django, it's crucial to understand the roles of MEDIA_URL and MEDIA_ROOT in managing uploaded files. These settings determine the location of uploaded media files on the server (MEDIA_ROOT) and the URL used to access them (MEDIA_URL).

In your case, you've experienced a 404 error when trying to access an uploaded image. This error typically indicates that the image is not accessible via the URL you're using. To address this, you can enable static file serving during development.

For Django versions >= 1.7, you can add the static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT) middleware to your urlpatterns. This will ensure that uploaded media files are accessible during development.

For Django versions

from django.conf import settings

# ... your normal urlpatterns here

if settings.DEBUG:
    urlpatterns  = patterns('',
        (r'^media/(?P.*)$', 'django.views.static.serve', {
        'document_root': settings.MEDIA_ROOT}))

This code enables static file serving when DEBUG is set to True, allowing you to access uploaded images during development.