When I render a page using the Django template renderer, I can pass in a dictionary variable containing various values to manipulate them in the page using {{ myVar }}
.
Is there a way to access the same variable in Javascript (perhaps using the DOM, I don't know how Django makes the variables accessible)? I want to be able to lookup details using an AJAX lookup based on the values contained in the variables passed in.
This question is related to
javascript
python
django
google-app-engine
django-templates
For a JavaScript object stored in a Django field as text, which needs to again become a JavaScript object dynamically inserted into on-page script, you need to use both escapejs
and JSON.parse()
:
var CropOpts = JSON.parse("{{ profile.last_crop_coords|escapejs }}");
Django's escapejs
handles the quoting properly, and JSON.parse()
converts the string back into a JS object.
As of Django 2.1, a new built in template tag has been introduced specifically for this use case: json_script
.
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.0/ref/templates/builtins/#json-script
The new tag will safely serialize template values and protects against XSS.
Django docs excerpt:
Safely outputs a Python object as JSON, wrapped in a tag, ready for use with JavaScript.
I use this way in Django 2.1 and work for me and this way is secure (reference):
Django side:
def age(request):
mydata = {'age':12}
return render(request, 'test.html', context={"mydata_json": json.dumps(mydata)})
Html side:
<script type='text/javascript'>
const mydata = {{ mydata_json|safe }};
console.log(mydata)
</script>
For a dictionary, you're best of encoding to JSON first. You can use simplejson.dumps() or if you want to convert from a data model in App Engine, you could use encode() from the GQLEncoder library.
There are two things that worked for me inside Javascript:
'{{context_variable|escapejs }}'
and other: In views.py
from json import dumps as jdumps
def func(request):
context={'message': jdumps('hello there')}
return render(request,'index.html',context)
and in the html:
{{ message|safe }}
CAUTION Check ticket #17419 for discussion on adding similar tag into Django core and possible XSS vulnerabilities introduced by using this template tag with user generated data. Comment from amacneil discusses most of the concerns raised in the ticket.
I think the most flexible and handy way of doing this is to define a template filter for variables you want to use in JS code. This allows you to ensure, that your data is properly escaped and you can use it with complex data structures, such as dict
and list
. That's why I write this answer despite there is an accepted answer with a lot of upvotes.
Here is an example of template filter:
// myapp/templatetags/js.py
from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
from django.template import Library
import json
register = Library()
@register.filter(is_safe=True)
def js(obj):
return mark_safe(json.dumps(obj))
This template filters converts variable to JSON string. You can use it like so:
// myapp/templates/example.html
{% load js %}
<script type="text/javascript">
var someVar = {{ some_var | js }};
</script>
I have found we can pass Django variables to javascript functions like this:-
<button type="button" onclick="myJavascriptFunction('{{ my_django_variable }}')"></button>
<script>
myJavascriptFunction(djangoVariable){
alert(djangoVariable);
}
</script>
There are two things that worked for me inside Javascript:
'{{context_variable|escapejs }}'
and other: In views.py
from json import dumps as jdumps
def func(request):
context={'message': jdumps('hello there')}
return render(request,'index.html',context)
and in the html:
{{ message|safe }}
I've been struggling with this too. On the surface it seems that the above solutions should work. However, the django architecture requires that each html file has its own rendered variables (that is, {{contact}}
is rendered to contact.html
, while {{posts}}
goes to e.g. index.html
and so on). On the other hand, <script>
tags appear after the {%endblock%}
in base.html
from which contact.html
and index.html
inherit. This basically means that any solution including
<script type="text/javascript">
var myVar = "{{ myVar }}"
</script>
is bound to fail, because the variable and the script cannot co-exist in the same file.
The simple solution I eventually came up with, and worked for me, was to simply wrap the variable with a tag with id and later refer to it in the js file, like so:
// index.html
<div id="myvar">{{ myVar }}</div>
and then:
// somecode.js
var someVar = document.getElementById("myvar").innerHTML;
and just include <script src="static/js/somecode.js"></script>
in base.html
as usual.
Of course this is only about getting the content. Regarding security, just follow the other answers.
Note, that if you want to pass a variable to an external .js script then you need to precede your script tag with another script tag that declares a global variable.
<script type="text/javascript">
var myVar = "{{ myVar }}"
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{% static "scripts/my_script.js" %}"></script>
data
is defined in the view as usual in the get_context_data
def get_context_data(self, *args, **kwargs):
context['myVar'] = True
return context
A solution that worked for me is using the hidden input field in the template
<input type="hidden" id="myVar" name="variable" value="{{ variable }}">
Then getting the value in javascript this way,
var myVar = document.getElementById("myVar").value;
I've been struggling with this too. On the surface it seems that the above solutions should work. However, the django architecture requires that each html file has its own rendered variables (that is, {{contact}}
is rendered to contact.html
, while {{posts}}
goes to e.g. index.html
and so on). On the other hand, <script>
tags appear after the {%endblock%}
in base.html
from which contact.html
and index.html
inherit. This basically means that any solution including
<script type="text/javascript">
var myVar = "{{ myVar }}"
</script>
is bound to fail, because the variable and the script cannot co-exist in the same file.
The simple solution I eventually came up with, and worked for me, was to simply wrap the variable with a tag with id and later refer to it in the js file, like so:
// index.html
<div id="myvar">{{ myVar }}</div>
and then:
// somecode.js
var someVar = document.getElementById("myvar").innerHTML;
and just include <script src="static/js/somecode.js"></script>
in base.html
as usual.
Of course this is only about getting the content. Regarding security, just follow the other answers.
I use this way in Django 2.1 and work for me and this way is secure (reference):
Django side:
def age(request):
mydata = {'age':12}
return render(request, 'test.html', context={"mydata_json": json.dumps(mydata)})
Html side:
<script type='text/javascript'>
const mydata = {{ mydata_json|safe }};
console.log(mydata)
</script>
I have found we can pass Django variables to javascript functions like this:-
<button type="button" onclick="myJavascriptFunction('{{ my_django_variable }}')"></button>
<script>
myJavascriptFunction(djangoVariable){
alert(djangoVariable);
}
</script>
For a JavaScript object stored in a Django field as text, which needs to again become a JavaScript object dynamically inserted into on-page script, you need to use both escapejs
and JSON.parse()
:
var CropOpts = JSON.parse("{{ profile.last_crop_coords|escapejs }}");
Django's escapejs
handles the quoting properly, and JSON.parse()
converts the string back into a JS object.
you can assemble the entire script where your array variable is declared in a string, as follows,
views.py
aaa = [41, 56, 25, 48, 72, 34, 12]
prueba = "<script>var data2 =["
for a in aaa:
aa = str(a)
prueba = prueba + "'" + aa + "',"
prueba = prueba + "];</script>"
that will generate a string as follows
prueba = "<script>var data2 =['41','56','25','48','72','34','12'];</script>"
after having this string, you must send it to the template
views.py
return render(request, 'example.html', {"prueba": prueba})
in the template you receive it and interpret it in a literary way as htm code, just before the javascript code where you need it, for example
template
{{ prueba|safe }}
and below that is the rest of your code, keep in mind that the variable to use in the example is data2
<script>
console.log(data2);
</script>
that way you will keep the type of data, which in this case is an arrangement
I was facing simillar issue and answer suggested by S.Lott worked for me.
<script type="text/javascript">
var a = "{{someDjangoVariable}}"
</script>
However I would like to point out major implementation limitation here. If you are planning to put your javascript code in different file and include that file in your template. This won't work.
This works only when you main template and javascript code is in same file. Probably django team can address this limitation.
For a dictionary, you're best of encoding to JSON first. You can use simplejson.dumps() or if you want to convert from a data model in App Engine, you could use encode() from the GQLEncoder library.
Here is what I'm doing very easily: I modified my base.html file for my template and put that at the bottom:
{% if DJdata %}
<script type="text/javascript">
(function () {window.DJdata = {{DJdata|safe}};})();
</script>
{% endif %}
then when I want to use a variable in the javascript files, I create a DJdata dictionary and I add it to the context by a json : context['DJdata'] = json.dumps(DJdata)
Hope it helps!
I was facing simillar issue and answer suggested by S.Lott worked for me.
<script type="text/javascript">
var a = "{{someDjangoVariable}}"
</script>
However I would like to point out major implementation limitation here. If you are planning to put your javascript code in different file and include that file in your template. This won't work.
This works only when you main template and javascript code is in same file. Probably django team can address this limitation.
CAUTION Check ticket #17419 for discussion on adding similar tag into Django core and possible XSS vulnerabilities introduced by using this template tag with user generated data. Comment from amacneil discusses most of the concerns raised in the ticket.
I think the most flexible and handy way of doing this is to define a template filter for variables you want to use in JS code. This allows you to ensure, that your data is properly escaped and you can use it with complex data structures, such as dict
and list
. That's why I write this answer despite there is an accepted answer with a lot of upvotes.
Here is an example of template filter:
// myapp/templatetags/js.py
from django.utils.safestring import mark_safe
from django.template import Library
import json
register = Library()
@register.filter(is_safe=True)
def js(obj):
return mark_safe(json.dumps(obj))
This template filters converts variable to JSON string. You can use it like so:
// myapp/templates/example.html
{% load js %}
<script type="text/javascript">
var someVar = {{ some_var | js }};
</script>
A solution that worked for me is using the hidden input field in the template
<input type="hidden" id="myVar" name="variable" value="{{ variable }}">
Then getting the value in javascript this way,
var myVar = document.getElementById("myVar").value;
There is a nice easy way implemented from Django 2.1+ using a built in template tag json_script. A quick example would be:
Declare your variable in your template:
{{ variable|json_script:'name' }}
And then call the variable in your <script>
Javascript:
var js_variable = JSON.parse(document.getElementById('name').textContent);
It is possible that for more complex variables like 'User' you may get an error like "Object of type User is not JSON serializable" using Django's built in serializer. In this case you could make use of the Django Rest Framework to allow for more complex variables.
Here is what I'm doing very easily: I modified my base.html file for my template and put that at the bottom:
{% if DJdata %}
<script type="text/javascript">
(function () {window.DJdata = {{DJdata|safe}};})();
</script>
{% endif %}
then when I want to use a variable in the javascript files, I create a DJdata dictionary and I add it to the context by a json : context['DJdata'] = json.dumps(DJdata)
Hope it helps!
As of Django 2.1, a new built in template tag has been introduced specifically for this use case: json_script
.
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.0/ref/templates/builtins/#json-script
The new tag will safely serialize template values and protects against XSS.
Django docs excerpt:
Safely outputs a Python object as JSON, wrapped in a tag, ready for use with JavaScript.
There is a nice easy way implemented from Django 2.1+ using a built in template tag json_script. A quick example would be:
Declare your variable in your template:
{{ variable|json_script:'name' }}
And then call the variable in your <script>
Javascript:
var js_variable = JSON.parse(document.getElementById('name').textContent);
It is possible that for more complex variables like 'User' you may get an error like "Object of type User is not JSON serializable" using Django's built in serializer. In this case you could make use of the Django Rest Framework to allow for more complex variables.
For a dictionary, you're best of encoding to JSON first. You can use simplejson.dumps() or if you want to convert from a data model in App Engine, you could use encode() from the GQLEncoder library.
Note, that if you want to pass a variable to an external .js script then you need to precede your script tag with another script tag that declares a global variable.
<script type="text/javascript">
var myVar = "{{ myVar }}"
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{% static "scripts/my_script.js" %}"></script>
data
is defined in the view as usual in the get_context_data
def get_context_data(self, *args, **kwargs):
context['myVar'] = True
return context
Source: Stackoverflow.com