Django Tutorial Part 6: Upload and Display Images & Files (2025 Beginner Guide)

In Part 5, we built a user dashboard with content management. Now, let’s enable media uploads so users can upload images and files with their posts or profiles. We’ll configure media settings, add upload fields, and display uploaded files in templates.

What You’ll Learn

• Configure MEDIA_ROOT and MEDIA_URL
• Create upload fields for images/files
• Update views and templates to handle file uploads
• Serve uploaded files in development

Step 1: Configure Media Settings

In settings.py, add:

import os

MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'media')

In urls.py (project-level), add the following at the bottom:

from django.conf import settings
from django.conf.urls.static import static

urlpatterns += static(settings.MEDIA_URL, document_root=settings.MEDIA_ROOT)

Step 2: Add an Image Field to Your Post Model

In models.py:

from django.db import models

class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    content = models.TextField()
    author = models.ForeignKey('auth.User', on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    image = models.ImageField(upload_to='post_images/', blank=True, null=True)

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

Run migrations:

python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Step 3: Update the Post Form

In forms.py:

from django import forms
from .models import Post

class PostForm(forms.ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        model = Post
        fields = ['title', 'content', 'image']

Step 4: Update the Create & Edit Views

Make sure your views accept file uploads:

def create_post(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = PostForm(request.POST, request.FILES)
        if form.is_valid():
            post = form.save(commit=False)
            post.author = request.user
            post.save()
            return redirect('dashboard')
    else:
        form = PostForm()
    return render(request, 'myapp/create_post.html', {'form': form})

def edit_post(request, pk):
    post = get_object_or_404(Post, pk=pk, author=request.user)
    form = PostForm(request.POST or None, request.FILES or None, instance=post)
    if form.is_valid():
        form.save()
        return redirect('dashboard')
    return render(request, 'myapp/edit_post.html', {'form': form})

Step 5: Update Your Templates

create_post.html and edit_post.html should use enctype="multipart/form-data":

<form method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
    {% csrf_token %}
    {{ form.as_p }}
    <button type="submit">Save</button>
</form>

Step 6: Display the Uploaded Image

In your dashboard template or post list:

{% if post.image %}
    <img src="{{ post.image.url }}" alt="Post Image" width="200" />
{% endif %}

Optional: Upload Files to Profile

To allow users to upload profile pictures or documents, add fields to the Profile model (see Part 4):

profile_pic = models.ImageField(upload_to='profiles/', blank=True)
resume = models.FileField(upload_to='resumes/', blank=True)

Step 7: Install Pillow

For image handling, make sure Pillow is installed:

pip install Pillow

Conclusion

You’ve successfully added image and file upload functionality to your Django project. Now your users can upload profile pictures, images with posts, or other media. This is a key feature for blogs, portfolios, and content-based platforms. Coming Next in Part 7: Build a contact form with email functionality using Django’s built-in email system!