{% csrf_token %} Explanation

In Django web development, {% csrf_token %} is a template tag used to include a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) token in an HTML form. CSRF is a security measure to protect against unauthorized form submissions.

Here’s an explanation of how it works:

1. CSRF Token:
   • The CSRF token is a unique, unpredictable value associated with a user’s session. It is used to verify that the person submitting a form on your website is the same person who requested the form.
2. Template Tag:
   • In Django templates, you use {% %} to denote template tags. The {% csrf_token %} is a template tag that is replaced with an actual CSRF token when the template is rendered.
3. Usage in Forms:
   • Typically, you include {% csrf_token %} within a <form> tag in your HTML template.
   • Example:
     <form method="post" action="{% url 'your_form_submission_view' %}">
{% csrf_token %}
<!-- Other form fields go here -->
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

4. Submission of Forms:
   • When a user submits the form, the CSRF token is included in the form data.
   • This token is checked on the server side to ensure that it matches the expected value for the user’s session, preventing CSRF attacks.
5. Incorporated in Views:
   • In the corresponding Django view that handles the form submission, Django’s middleware automatically checks the CSRF token for validity.
   • If the token is missing or incorrect, the server rejects the form submission, protecting against CSRF attacks.

By including {% csrf_token %} in your forms, you’re ensuring that your Django application follows best practices for web security and helps prevent certain types of attacks. Django takes care of generating and validating the CSRF token, making it relatively simple for developers to implement CSRF protection in their applications.