Introduction
To display the current year in a Django template, you can use the built-in template tags and filters. There are two common ways to achieve this:
Using Django Template Tags
You can use the {% now %} template tag to display the current year. Here's an example:
1 | {% now "Y" %} |
This will render the current year in four digits, like 2024.
Using a Context Processor
If you want the current year to be available in every template without having to add it manually, you can create a context processor. Here's how you can do it:
Create a context processor:
Create a file called context_processors.py in one of your Django apps (or in a dedicated utility app).
1 2 3 4 5 | # myapp/context_processors.py from datetime import datetime def current_year(request): return {'current_year': datetime.now().year} |
Add the context processor to your settings:
Add the path to the context processor in your TEMPLATES setting.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | # settings.py TEMPLATES = [ { 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': [], 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': { 'context_processors': [ 'django.template.context_processors.debug', 'django.template.context_processors.request', 'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth', 'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages', # Add your custom context processor here 'myapp.context_processors.current_year', ], }, }, ] |
Use it in your template:
Now, you can use {{ current_year }} in any template.
1 | <footer>© {{ current_year }}</footer> |
This will automatically render the current year wherever you use the {{ current_year }} variable in your templates.
Example: Add a Copyright © [current year]
To add a "Copyright © [current year] - All rights reserved" statement at the end of each page in a Django project, you can follow these steps:
Use a Base Template
If your project uses a base template that all other templates extend, you can add the copyright statement directly in the base template. This ensures that it appears on every page.
Example:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | <!-- base.html --> <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>{% block title %}My Website{% endblock %}</title> {% block head %}{% endblock %} </head> <body> {% block content %}{% endblock %} <!-- Footer Section --> <footer> <p>Copyright © {% now "Y" %} - All rights reserved.</p> </footer> </body> </html> |
Using a Context Processor (Optional)
If you prefer to use a context processor to make the current year available throughout your templates, you can do the following (as mentioned earlier):
Create the context processor:
1 2 3 4 5 | # myapp/context_processors.py from datetime import datetime def current_year(request): return {'current_year': datetime.now().year} |
Add the context processor to your settings:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | # settings.py TEMPLATES = [ { 'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates', 'DIRS': [], 'APP_DIRS': True, 'OPTIONS': { 'context_processors': [ 'django.template.context_processors.debug', 'django.template.context_processors.request', 'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth', 'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages', 'myapp.context_processors.current_year', ], }, }, ] |
Update your base template:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | <!-- base.html --> <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>{% block title %}My Website{% endblock %}</title> {% block head %}{% endblock %} </head> <body> {% block content %}{% endblock %} <!-- Footer Section --> <footer> <p>Copyright © {{ current_year }} - All rights reserved.</p> </footer> </body> </html> |
Extending the Base Template
If you have multiple pages that extend from the base template, the footer with the copyright statement will automatically be included.
Example:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | <!-- home.html --> {% extends "base.html" %} {% block title %}Home Page{% endblock %} {% block content %} <h1>Welcome to My Website</h1> <p>This is the home page content.</p> {% endblock %} |
With this setup, every page that extends base.html will have the "Copyright © [current year] - All rights reserved." footer at the bottom.
