django static files weird behaviour - django

Question

in my settings.py I have:
import os
SITE_ROOT = os.path.realpath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
# ... #
STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(SITE_ROOT, 'static')
# ... #
STATIC_URL = '/static/'
in my urls.py I have:
urlpatterns = patterns('',
url(r'^', include('myapp.urls')),
url(r'^admin/', include(admin.site.urls)),
)
if settings.DEBUG:
urlpatterns += patterns('',
url(r'^static/(?P<path>.*)', 'django.views.static.serve', {
'document_root': settings.STATIC_ROOT,
}),
)
and in my template:
<img src="{{ STATIC_URL }}images/myimage.png">
Which doesn't work. The weird thing is that if I change my settings.py:
STATIC_URL = 'static/'
and my template to:
<img src="/{{ STATIC_URL }}images/myimage.png">
does work!! I have been chasing round in circle to fix this, and I have looked at lots of forum posts, but I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Answer 1

if you use staticfiles app you don't need this (assuming you are using Django 1.3):
if settings.DEBUG:
urlpatterns += patterns('',
url(r'^static/(?P<path>.*)', 'django.views.static.serve', {
'document_root': settings.STATIC_ROOT,
})
Its handled by the app automatically. Try to remove and see what happens.