What is CORS, and how do you handle CORS issues in a full-stack Python application?

 

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Whether you're a fresher or someone shifting domains, iHub Talent provides a supportive ecosystem where you can upskill, practice, and intern under real-time project scenarios, gaining hands-on exposure to current industry practices. What is CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)?

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) is a security feature implemented by browsers that restricts web pages from making requests to a different origin (domain, protocol, or port) than the one that served the web page.

For example:

Frontend hosted on http://localhost:3000

Backend API hosted on http://localhost:5000

By default, the browser will block this cross-origin request unless the server explicitly allows it using CORS headers.

Why CORS Errors Occur

When your frontend tries to call an API on a different origin, and the server doesn’t send the correct CORS headers, the browser blocks the response.

The error typically looks like:

“Access to fetch at ‘http://localhost:5000/api’ from origin ‘http://localhost:3000’ has been blocked by CORS policy.”

How to Handle CORS in a Full-Stack Python App

 In a Flask Backend

You can handle CORS easily using the flask-cors package.

1. Install:

bash

pip install flask-cors

2. Apply Globally:

python

from flask import Flask

from flask_cors import CORS

app = Flask(__name__)

CORS(app)

3. Or Apply to Specific Routes:

python

flask_cors import cross_origin

@app.route("/api/data")

@cross_origin(origin='http://localhost:3000')

def data():

    return {"message": "Hello from Flask"}

 In a Django Backend

Use the django-cors-headers middleware.

1. Install:

   bash

   pip install django-cors-headers

2. Add to INSTALLED_APPS:

python

INSTALLED_APPS = [

    ...

   'corsheaders',

]

3. Add Middleware (top of the list):

   python

   MIDDLEWARE = [

    'corsheaders.middleware.CorsMiddleware',

    ...

]

4. Allow Specific Origins (e.g., frontend dev server):


python

CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS = [

    "http://localhost:3000",

]

⚠️ Best Practices

Avoid CORS_ALLOW_ALL_ORIGINS = True in production—it’s a security risk.

Always specify trusted frontend origins explicitly.

Use HTTPS in production for secure cross-origin communication.

 Summary

CORS is a browser-enforced policy to protect users from malicious cross-origin requests. In a full-stack Python app, you handle CORS using:

flask-cors for Flask apps

django-cors-headers for Django apps

This enables safe communication between your frontend and backend during development and deployment.

Read more

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  How do you manage database migrations in Django or Flask? What tools are commonly used?

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What are Python decorators, and how are they used in a web application context?

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