# Problem saving image from URL to imageField

**URL:** <https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281>\
**Category:** Forms & APIs\
**Created:** [March 5, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281 "2023-03-05T13:33:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ajfriesen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ajfriesen/32/8027_2.png) [@ajfriesen](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/ajfriesen)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/1 "2023-03-05T13:33:27Z")

</div>

I am having trouble figuring out my problem regarding saving an image from an URL.

The problem is in the `_fetch_image_from_url` method.  
I get the error:

```auto
Exception Value:	'NoneType' object has no attribute 'save'
Exception Location:	/home/andrej/github/curated/hosted/controller.py, line 64, in _fetch_image_from_url

```

I am not sure why this happens and cant get my head around it. Therefore I am reaching out.

For context here my code;

**model** :

```auto
class App(models.Model):
    app_logo = models.ImageField(
        upload_to='logos',
        null=True,
        blank=True
    )
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)
    repo = models.CharField(blank=True, null=True, editable=False, max_length=300)
    owner = models.CharField(blank=True, null=True, editable=False, max_length=300)
    github_url = models.URLField(default="", blank=False, max_length=300, unique=True)
[...]

```

The **view** is calling my “Controller”.

```auto
class AppCreateView(LoginRequiredMixin, CreateView):
    form_class = AppModelForm
    template_name = 'hosted/app_create_view.html'

    def form_valid(self, form):
        controller = CreateAppController(form.cleaned_data['github_url'])
        app = controller.create()
        return HttpResponseRedirect("/self-hosted")

```

The **controller** :

```auto
from urllib.parse import urlsplit

import requests
from django.core.files.base import ContentFile
from github import Github
from github.GithubException import RateLimitExceededException

from curated.settings.base import GITHUB_API_TOKEN
from hosted.models import App
from django.core.files import File

class CreateAppController:
    def __init__ (self, github_url):
        self.owner = None
        self.repo = None
        self.github_url = github_url
        self.github_stars = None
        self.github_description = None
        self.github_homepage_url = None
        self.github_organization_avatar_url = None
        self.app = None
        self.app_logo = None
        self.github_rate_limited = False

    def create(self):
        self._split_repo_url()
        self._fetch_github_repo_data()
        self._fetch_image_from_url()
        self.create_app_instance()
        return self.app

    def _split_repo_url(self):
        self.owner = urlsplit(str(self.github_url)).path.split('/')[1]
        self.repo = urlsplit(str(self.github_url)).path.split('/')[2]

    def _fetch_github_repo_data(self):
        g = Github(GITHUB_API_TOKEN)
        print(g.rate_limiting)

        try:
            app_data = g.get_repo(self.owner + "/" + self.repo)
            self.github_stars = app_data.stargazers_count
            self.github_description = app_data.description
            self.github_homepage_url = app_data.homepage

            if hasattr(app_data.organization, 'avatar_url'):
                self.github_organization_avatar_url = app_data.organization.avatar_url
            if hasattr(app_data.owner, 'avatar_url'):
                self.github_organization_avatar_url = app_data.owner.avatar_url

        except RateLimitExceededException as e:
            self.github_rate_limited = True
            print(f"Rate limit exceeded. Exception: {e}")

    def _fetch_image_from_url(self):
        response = requests.get(self.github_organization_avatar_url)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            content = ContentFile(response.content)
            file_name = f'{self.owner}_{self.repo}.jpg'
            self.app_logo.save(
                file_name,
                File(content),
                save=False
            )

    def create_app_instance(self):
        self.app = App(
            owner=self.owner,
            repo=self.repo,
            github_url=self.github_url,
            github_stars=self.github_stars,
            github_description=self.github_description,
            github_homepage_url=self.github_homepage_url,
            github_organization_avatar_url=self.github_organization_avatar_url,
            github_rate_limited=self.github_rate_limited,
            app_logo=self.app_logo
        )

        self.app.save()

```

**PS** : This code might not be the django way. The controller idea is from a friend who is really experienced in Python but not with Django. But I liked to keep the logic out of the model and the view.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/2 "2023-03-05T13:40:28Z")

</div>

> [@ajfriesen](#):
>
> `self.app_logo`

I don’t see any location where this is being created/set. `self` is an instance of `CreateAppController`, not `App`.

(And yes, I’d do myself a favor and refactor this promptly. I wouldn’t want to have to come back to this in six months as it is…)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ajfriesen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ajfriesen/32/8027_2.png) [@ajfriesen](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/ajfriesen)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/3 "2023-03-05T14:09:09Z")

</div>

> [@KenWhitesell](#):
>
> I don’t see any location where this is being created/set. `self` is an instance of `CreateAppController`, not `App`.

Thanks, that was the right hint. I actually assumed it was an App instance.

> [@KenWhitesell](#):
>
> (And yes, I’d do myself a favor and refactor this promptly. I wouldn’t want to have to come back to this in six months as it is…)

Could you elaborate on this?  
I had all these methods first on the model and just created a custom save method in order to save an instance of that App model.

However, I have a usecase where I only want to update certain values from the github API and for that I need a new save method again, the `update_github_stars` method for example.  
With the controller, I simply could create a Controller called `Update Github Stars` and can implement the logic in there.  
Same thing applies when I want to add GitLab projects which will have a different API and therefore different logic.

I don’t know how I would approach this and my friend pitched me this which I just adapted.  
What would be the “django” or lets say easier way to accomplish something like this?  
This is a one-person project (my hobby learning thing) so I do not need a complex design for team structures, however, I like to have an easier time developing and being clear about where things need to be placed.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/4 "2023-03-05T14:44:34Z")

</div>

> [@ajfriesen](#):
>
> Could you elaborate on this?

Sure! I’ll do my best here. Primarily by backtracking on my earlier response and admitting that I misread parts of the code. (oops) So, I’ll start by saying that it’s not as bad as my first reaction would imply. I still would do it differently though.

I guess what I find most “inelegent” about this approach is the creation of an object that’s not needed, to hold intermediate results, only to copy those results to the actual object when it’s being created and saved.

I would consider integrating this functionality within a combination of the model and the manager.

In this case, I’d start by looking just adding these methods to the model, except for the ` __init__ ` method - most of that can probably be disposed of, and the `create` method that drives this process, which belongs somewhere else.

If I were doing this, I would override the `create` method on the manager. This allows me to use the api that I use with every other object, and provides a facility for me to pass parameters in to the creation process when different actions need to be taken. (I don’t know if there’s any different circumstance in which one of these `App` objects need to be created, making this a decision that should be made in the context of the overall project.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ajfriesen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ajfriesen/32/8027_2.png) [@ajfriesen](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/ajfriesen)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/5 "2023-03-05T15:51:34Z")

</div>

Do you happen to know a repo where I could see this approach?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/6 "2023-03-05T16:02:08Z")

</div>

What aspects of this are you looking to see illustrated? The creation of a custom manager? Or something else?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ajfriesen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/ajfriesen/32/8027_2.png) [@ajfriesen](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/ajfriesen)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/7 "2023-03-05T16:26:35Z")

</div>

The mat model approach and the custom managers.  
Some kind of open-source project where I can have a look at the structure and adjust accordingly.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KenWhitesell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/forum.djangoproject.com/kenwhitesell/32/280_2.png) [@KenWhitesell](https://forum.djangoproject.com/u/KenWhitesell)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://forum.djangoproject.com/t/problem-saving-image-from-url-to-imagefield/19281/8 "2023-03-05T17:05:16Z")

</div>

I’m not specifically aware of any such repo, no.

Creating a manager is well documented at [Managers | Django documentation | Django](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.1/topics/db/managers/).

You could be creating a new `create` method in that class, again depending upon your potential need for the standard `create` method.

So _it_ might look like this:

```auto
# Structure derrived from django.db.models.query.QuerySet
def create(self, **kwargs):
        obj = self.model(**kwargs)
        obj._split_repo_url()
        obj._fetch_github_repo_data()
        obj._fetch_image_from_url()
        obj.save()

```

Your `_split_repo_url`, `_fetch_github_repo_data`, and `_fetch_image_from_url` methods do not look like they need to be changed at all when placed in the model.