Refreshing Context on POST

After a POST request, when a template is returned, you typically want it to have the updated context. However, by default, the context is not updated. This happens because context is fetched when the view is first called, which occurs before the POST method executes and the form is saved.

There are ways to refresh the context, but it’s also important to know when it’s not necessary.

If you need to refresh the context on POST, you can override get_post_context_data or set refresh_views_context_on_post to True. See Adding Context Only On POST for details.

However, you don’t need to refresh the context if the only updated object is the hx_object and its name matches the object name in the view. By default, hx_object is always refreshed, ensuring the template receives the latest data. But if hx_object_name does not match the view’s object name, the updated object won’t appear in the context. See Step 8: Create The HxRequest for an example of setting hx_object_name.

For example, if the object is named object in the view, the template accesses it with object.username. Therefore, if the hx_object name is not object, the template won’t reflect the changes because the object var in the context was never updated.

Another case where refreshing the context is not needed is when the only updated context is a queryset. Querysets in Django are lazy-loaded, meaning they aren’t evaluated when the view is first called. Instead, they fetch data when accessed in the template, ensuring they reflect the latest state even if the context was fetched before the update was made.

However, if the context includes a list instead of a queryset, it must be refreshed. Unlike querysets, lists are evaluated immediately when the view is called and won’t reflect changes made on POST.