diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 0801600..5f2dc91 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "spiderweb-framework"
-version = "0.10.0"
+version = "0.11.0"
 description = "A small web framework, just big enough for a spider."
 authors = ["Joe Kaufeld <opensource@joekaufeld.com>"]
 readme = "README.md"
diff --git a/spiderweb/constants.py b/spiderweb/constants.py
index ab3aed6..cf8734d 100644
--- a/spiderweb/constants.py
+++ b/spiderweb/constants.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from peewee import DatabaseProxy
 
 DEFAULT_ALLOWED_METHODS = ["GET"]
 DEFAULT_ENCODING = "UTF-8"
-__version__ = "0.10.0"
+__version__ = "0.11.0"
 
 # https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Set-Cookie
 REGEX_COOKIE_NAME = r"^[a-zA-Z0-9\s\(\)<>@,;:\/\\\[\]\?=\{\}\"\t]*$"
diff --git a/spiderweb/exceptions.py b/spiderweb/exceptions.py
index c826d40..bdba675 100644
--- a/spiderweb/exceptions.py
+++ b/spiderweb/exceptions.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ class SpiderwebException(Exception):
         msg = self.args[0] if len(self.args) > 0 else ""
         if msg:
             return f"{name}() - {msg}"
-        return f"{self.__class__.__name__}()"
+        return f"{name}()"
 
 
 class SpiderwebNetworkException(SpiderwebException):
diff --git a/spiderweb/main.py b/spiderweb/main.py
index 8727932..b0333dc 100644
--- a/spiderweb/main.py
+++ b/spiderweb/main.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ from spiderweb.routes import RoutesMixin
 from spiderweb.secrets import FernetMixin
 from spiderweb.utils import get_http_status_by_code
 
-file_logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+console_logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
 
 
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
         session_cookie_same_site="lax",
         session_cookie_path="/",
         log=None,
-        **kwargs
+        **kwargs,
     ):
         self._routes = {}
         self.routes = routes
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
         self.append_slash = append_slash
         self.templates_dirs = templates_dirs
         self.staticfiles_dirs = staticfiles_dirs
-        self.middleware = middleware if middleware else []
+        self._middleware: list[str] = middleware if middleware else []
+        self.middleware: list[Callable] = []
         self.secret_key = secret_key if secret_key else self.generate_key()
 
         self.extra_data = kwargs
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
 
         self.DEFAULT_ENCODING = DEFAULT_ENCODING
         self.DEFAULT_ALLOWED_METHODS = DEFAULT_ALLOWED_METHODS
-        self.log: logging.Logger = log if log else file_logger
+        self.log: logging.Logger = log if log else console_logger
 
         # for using .start() and .stop()
         self._thread: Optional[Thread] = None
@@ -108,7 +109,9 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
             self.add_error_routes()
 
         if self.templates_dirs:
-            self.template_loader = Environment(loader=FileSystemLoader(self.templates_dirs))
+            self.template_loader = Environment(
+                loader=FileSystemLoader(self.templates_dirs)
+            )
         else:
             self.template_loader = None
         self.string_loader = Environment(loader=BaseLoader())
@@ -117,12 +120,16 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
             for static_dir in self.staticfiles_dirs:
                 static_dir = pathlib.Path(static_dir)
                 if not pathlib.Path(self.BASE_DIR / static_dir).exists():
-                    log.error(
+                    self.log.error(
                         f"Static files directory '{str(static_dir)}' does not exist."
                     )
                     raise ConfigError
             self.add_route(r"/static/<str:filename>", send_file)  # noqa: F405
 
+        # finally, run the startup checks to verify everything is correct and happy.
+        self.log.info("Run startup checks...")
+        self.run_middleware_checks()
+
     def fire_response(self, start_response, request: Request, resp: HttpResponse):
         try:
             status = get_http_status_by_code(resp.status_code)
@@ -190,7 +197,9 @@ class SpiderwebRouter(LocalServerMixin, MiddlewareMixin, RoutesMixin, FernetMixi
     def prepare_and_fire_response(self, start_response, request, resp) -> list[bytes]:
         try:
             if isinstance(resp, dict):
-                return self.fire_response(start_response, request, JsonResponse(data=resp))
+                return self.fire_response(
+                    start_response, request, JsonResponse(data=resp)
+                )
             if isinstance(resp, TemplateResponse):
                 resp.set_template_loader(self.template_loader)
                 resp.set_string_loader(self.string_loader)
diff --git a/spiderweb/middleware/__init__.py b/spiderweb/middleware/__init__.py
index c43b43b..3ffeb8e 100644
--- a/spiderweb/middleware/__init__.py
+++ b/spiderweb/middleware/__init__.py
@@ -12,19 +12,26 @@ from ..utils import import_by_string
 class MiddlewareMixin:
     """Cannot be called on its own. Requires context of SpiderwebRouter."""
 
+    _middleware: list[str]
     middleware: list[ClassVar]
     fire_response: Callable
 
     def init_middleware(self):
-        if self.middleware:
+        if self._middleware:
             middleware_by_reference = []
-            for m in self.middleware:
+            for m in self._middleware:
                 try:
                     middleware_by_reference.append(import_by_string(m)(server=self))
                 except ImportError:
                     raise ConfigError(f"Middleware '{m}' not found.")
             self.middleware = middleware_by_reference
 
+    def run_middleware_checks(self):
+        for middleware in self.middleware:
+            if hasattr(middleware, "checks"):
+                for check in middleware.checks:
+                    check(server=self).check()
+
     def process_request_middleware(self, request: Request) -> None | bool:
         for middleware in self.middleware:
             try:
diff --git a/spiderweb/middleware/base.py b/spiderweb/middleware/base.py
index 0cf3b00..9a68e3e 100644
--- a/spiderweb/middleware/base.py
+++ b/spiderweb/middleware/base.py
@@ -30,4 +30,4 @@ class SpiderwebMiddleware:
         pass
 
     def on_error(self, request: Request, e: Exception) -> HttpResponse | None:
-        pass
\ No newline at end of file
+        pass
diff --git a/spiderweb/middleware/csrf.py b/spiderweb/middleware/csrf.py
index b2dd922..5a128e7 100644
--- a/spiderweb/middleware/csrf.py
+++ b/spiderweb/middleware/csrf.py
@@ -1,25 +1,42 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
-from spiderweb.exceptions import CSRFError
+from spiderweb.exceptions import CSRFError, ConfigError
 from spiderweb.middleware import SpiderwebMiddleware
 from spiderweb.request import Request
 from spiderweb.response import HttpResponse
+from spiderweb.server_checks import ServerCheck
+
+
+class SessionCheck(ServerCheck):
+
+    SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_NOT_FOUND = (
+        "Session middleware is not enabled. It must be listed above"
+        "CSRFMiddleware in the middleware list."
+    )
+    SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_BELOW_CSRF = (
+        "SessionMiddleware is enabled, but it must be listed above"
+        "CSRFMiddleware in the middleware list."
+    )
+
+    def check(self):
+
+        if (
+            "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware"
+            not in self.server._middleware
+        ):
+            raise ConfigError(self.SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_NOT_FOUND)
+
+        if self.server._middleware.index(
+            "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware"
+        ) > self.server._middleware.index(
+            "spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware"
+        ):
+            raise ConfigError(self.SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_BELOW_CSRF)
 
 
 class CSRFMiddleware(SpiderwebMiddleware):
-    """
-    tl;dr: this is a naive implementation going off just what I could think of
-    at the time. It is very vulnerable to CSRF Forgery and should be updated.
 
-    Eventually I'll probably just pull everything out of Django and use their
-    implementation, as it's written by people who know a lot more about these
-    things than I do, but in the meantime, this is still here until I get
-    around to making it more solid.
-
-    todo: fix
-
-    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_request_forgery
-    """
+    checks = [SessionCheck]
 
     CSRF_EXPIRY = 60 * 60  # 1 hour
 
@@ -33,14 +50,14 @@ class CSRFMiddleware(SpiderwebMiddleware):
                 or request.GET.get("csrf_token")
                 or request.POST.get("csrf_token")
             )
-            if self.is_csrf_valid(csrf_token):
+            if self.is_csrf_valid(request, csrf_token):
                 return None
             else:
                 raise CSRFError()
         return None
 
     def process_response(self, request: Request, response: HttpResponse) -> None:
-        token = self.get_csrf_token()
+        token = self.get_csrf_token(request)
         # do we need it in both places?
         response.headers["X-CSRF-TOKEN"] = token
         response.context |= {
@@ -48,17 +65,22 @@ class CSRFMiddleware(SpiderwebMiddleware):
             "raw_csrf_token": token,  # in case they want to format it themselves
         }
 
-    def get_csrf_token(self):
-        return self.server.encrypt(str(datetime.now().isoformat())).decode(
-            self.server.DEFAULT_ENCODING
-        )
+    def get_csrf_token(self, request):
+        # the session key should be here because we've processed the session first
+        session_key = request._session["id"]
+        return self.server.encrypt(
+            f"{str(datetime.now().isoformat())}::{session_key}"
+        ).decode(self.server.DEFAULT_ENCODING)
 
-    def is_csrf_valid(self, key):
+    def is_csrf_valid(self, request, key):
         try:
             decoded = self.server.decrypt(key)
+            timestamp, session_key = decoded.split("::")
+            if session_key != request._session["id"]:
+                return False
             if datetime.now() - timedelta(
                 seconds=self.CSRF_EXPIRY
-            ) > datetime.fromisoformat(decoded):
+            ) > datetime.fromisoformat(timestamp):
                 return False
             return True
         except Exception:
diff --git a/spiderweb/routes.py b/spiderweb/routes.py
index 5b4421b..4b26448 100644
--- a/spiderweb/routes.py
+++ b/spiderweb/routes.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class RoutesMixin:
     # ones that start with underscores are the compiled versions, non-underscores
     # are the user-supplied versions
     _routes: dict
-    routes: list[tuple[str, Callable] | tuple[str, Callable, dict]] = None,
+    routes: list[tuple[str, Callable] | tuple[str, Callable, dict]] = (None,)
     _error_routes: dict
     error_routes: dict[int, Callable]
     append_slash: bool
diff --git a/spiderweb/server_checks.py b/spiderweb/server_checks.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ec14fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spiderweb/server_checks.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+class ServerCheck:
+    """
+    Single server check base class.
+
+    During startup, each middleware can request checks to be run against the
+    current state of the server. These are usually used to verify that things
+    are configured correctly, but can also be used for database setup or other
+    similar things.
+
+    To fail a check, raise any error that makes sense to raise. This will halt
+    startup so the error can be fixed.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, server):
+        self.server = server
+
+    def check(self):
+        pass
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/__init__.py b/spiderweb/tests/__init__.py
index 187efdc..cec2bf9 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/__init__.py
@@ -1 +1,4 @@
-from spiderweb.tests.middleware import ExplodingResponseMiddleware, ExplodingRequestMiddleware
\ No newline at end of file
+from spiderweb.tests.middleware import (
+    ExplodingResponseMiddleware,
+    ExplodingRequestMiddleware,
+)
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/helpers.py b/spiderweb/tests/helpers.py
index 7948c1a..10e88ee 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/helpers.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/helpers.py
@@ -25,4 +25,4 @@ def setup():
         SpiderwebRouter(db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db")),
         environ,
         StartResponse(),
-    )
\ No newline at end of file
+    )
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/middleware.py b/spiderweb/tests/middleware.py
index c2e32c4..6c555ff 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/middleware.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/middleware.py
@@ -7,5 +7,7 @@ class ExplodingRequestMiddleware(SpiderwebMiddleware):
 
 
 class ExplodingResponseMiddleware(SpiderwebMiddleware):
-    def process_response(self, request: Request, response: HttpResponse) -> HttpResponse | None:
-        raise UnusedMiddleware("Unfinished!")
\ No newline at end of file
+    def process_response(
+        self, request: Request, response: HttpResponse
+    ) -> HttpResponse | None:
+        raise UnusedMiddleware("Unfinished!")
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/test_middleware.py b/spiderweb/tests/test_middleware.py
index 0aff358..e727b07 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/test_middleware.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/test_middleware.py
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
+from io import BytesIO, BufferedReader
 from datetime import timedelta
 
+import pytest
 from peewee import SqliteDatabase
 
-from spiderweb import SpiderwebRouter, HttpResponse
+from spiderweb import SpiderwebRouter, HttpResponse, ConfigError
 from spiderweb.constants import DEFAULT_ENCODING
 from spiderweb.middleware.sessions import Session
+from spiderweb.middleware import csrf
 from spiderweb.tests.helpers import setup
+from spiderweb.tests.views_for_tests import form_view_with_csrf, form_csrf_exempt, form_view_without_csrf
+
 
 # app = SpiderwebRouter(
 #     middleware=[
@@ -18,19 +23,20 @@ from spiderweb.tests.helpers import setup
 #     ],
 # )
 
+
 def index(request):
     if "value" in request.SESSION:
-        request.SESSION['value'] += 1
+        request.SESSION["value"] += 1
     else:
-        request.SESSION['value'] = 0
-    return HttpResponse(body=str(request.SESSION['value']))
+        request.SESSION["value"] = 0
+    return HttpResponse(body=str(request.SESSION["value"]))
 
 
 def test_session_middleware():
     _, environ, start_response = setup()
     app = SpiderwebRouter(
         middleware=["spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware"],
-        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db")
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
     )
 
     app.add_route("/", index)
@@ -46,11 +52,12 @@ def test_session_middleware():
     assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes(str(1), DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
     assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes(str(2), DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
 
+
 def test_expired_session():
     _, environ, start_response = setup()
     app = SpiderwebRouter(
         middleware=["spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware"],
-        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db")
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
     )
 
     app.add_route("/", index)
@@ -80,9 +87,170 @@ def test_exploding_middleware():
             "spiderweb.tests.middleware.ExplodingRequestMiddleware",
             "spiderweb.tests.middleware.ExplodingResponseMiddleware",
         ],
-        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db")
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
     )
 
     app.add_route("/", index)
 
     assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes(str(0), DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
+    # make sure it kicked out the middleware and isn't just ignoring it
+    assert len(app.middleware) == 0
+
+
+def test_csrf_middleware_without_session_middleware():
+    _, environ, start_response = setup()
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigError) as e:
+        SpiderwebRouter(
+            middleware=["spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware"],
+            db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
+        )
+
+    assert e.value.args[0] == csrf.SessionCheck.SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_NOT_FOUND
+
+
+def test_csrf_middleware_above_session_middleware():
+    _, environ, start_response = setup()
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigError) as e:
+        SpiderwebRouter(
+            middleware=[
+                "spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware",
+                "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware",
+            ],
+            db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
+        )
+
+    assert e.value.args[0] == csrf.SessionCheck.SESSION_MIDDLEWARE_BELOW_CSRF
+
+
+def test_csrf_middleware():
+    _, environ, start_response = setup()
+    app = SpiderwebRouter(
+        middleware=[
+            "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware",
+            "spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware",
+        ],
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
+    )
+
+    app.add_route("/", form_view_with_csrf, ["GET", "POST"])
+
+    environ["HTTP_USER_AGENT"] = "hi"
+    environ["REMOTE_ADDR"] = "1.1.1.1"
+
+    resp = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+
+    assert "<form" in resp
+    assert '<input type="hidden" name="csrf_token"' in resp
+
+    token = resp.split('value="')[1].split('"')[0]
+
+    formdata = f"name=bob&csrf_token={token}"
+    environ["CONTENT_TYPE"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
+    environ["HTTP_COOKIE"] = (
+        f"swsession={[i for i in Session.select().dicts()][-1]['session_key']}"
+    )
+    environ["REQUEST_METHOD"] = "POST"
+    environ["HTTP_X_CSRF_TOKEN"] = token
+    environ["CONTENT_LENGTH"] = len(formdata)
+
+    # setup form data
+    b_handle = BytesIO()
+    b_handle.write(formdata.encode(DEFAULT_ENCODING))
+    b_handle.seek(0)
+
+    environ["wsgi.input"] = BufferedReader(b_handle)
+
+    resp2 = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+
+    assert "bob" in resp2
+
+    # test that it raises a CSRF error on wrong token
+    formdata = f"name=bob&csrf_token=badtoken"
+    b_handle = BytesIO()
+    b_handle.write(formdata.encode(DEFAULT_ENCODING))
+    b_handle.seek(0)
+
+    environ["wsgi.input"] = BufferedReader(b_handle)
+    resp3 = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    assert "CSRF token is invalid" in resp3
+
+    # test that the wrong session also raises a CSRF error
+    token = app.decrypt(token).split("::")[0]
+    token = app.encrypt(f"{token}::badsession").decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    formdata = f"name=bob&csrf_token={token}"
+    b_handle = BytesIO()
+    b_handle.write(formdata.encode(DEFAULT_ENCODING))
+    b_handle.seek(0)
+
+    environ["wsgi.input"] = BufferedReader(b_handle)
+    resp4 = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    assert "CSRF token is invalid" in resp4
+
+
+def test_csrf_expired_token():
+    _, environ, start_response = setup()
+    app = SpiderwebRouter(
+        middleware=[
+            "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware",
+            "spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware",
+        ],
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
+    )
+    app.middleware[1].CSRF_EXPIRY = -1
+
+    app.add_route("/", form_view_with_csrf, ["GET", "POST"])
+
+    environ["HTTP_USER_AGENT"] = "hi"
+    environ["REMOTE_ADDR"] = "1.1.1.1"
+    resp = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    token = resp.split('value="')[1].split('"')[0]
+
+    formdata = f"name=bob&csrf_token={token}"
+    environ["CONTENT_TYPE"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
+    environ["HTTP_COOKIE"] = (
+        f"swsession={[i for i in Session.select().dicts()][-1]['session_key']}"
+    )
+    environ["REQUEST_METHOD"] = "POST"
+    environ["HTTP_X_CSRF_TOKEN"] = token
+    environ["CONTENT_LENGTH"] = len(formdata)
+
+    b_handle = BytesIO()
+    b_handle.write(formdata.encode(DEFAULT_ENCODING))
+    b_handle.seek(0)
+
+    environ["wsgi.input"] = BufferedReader(b_handle)
+    resp = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    assert "CSRF token is invalid" in resp
+
+
+def test_csrf_exempt():
+    _, environ, start_response = setup()
+    app = SpiderwebRouter(
+        middleware=[
+            "spiderweb.middleware.sessions.SessionMiddleware",
+            "spiderweb.middleware.csrf.CSRFMiddleware",
+        ],
+        db=SqliteDatabase("spiderweb-tests.db"),
+    )
+
+    app.add_route("/", form_csrf_exempt, ["GET", "POST"])
+    app.add_route("/2", form_view_without_csrf, ["GET", "POST"])
+
+    environ["HTTP_USER_AGENT"] = "hi"
+    environ["REMOTE_ADDR"] = "1.1.1.1"
+    environ["CONTENT_TYPE"] = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
+    environ["REQUEST_METHOD"] = "POST"
+
+    formdata = "name=bob"
+    environ["CONTENT_LENGTH"] = len(formdata)
+    b_handle = BytesIO()
+    b_handle.write(formdata.encode(DEFAULT_ENCODING))
+    b_handle.seek(0)
+
+    environ["wsgi.input"] = BufferedReader(b_handle)
+    resp = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    assert "bob" in resp
+
+    environ["PATH_INFO"] = "/2"
+    resp2 = app(environ, start_response)[0].decode(DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    assert "CSRF token is invalid" in resp2
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/test_responses.py b/spiderweb/tests/test_responses.py
index 1375c93..63c0011 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/test_responses.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/test_responses.py
@@ -3,7 +3,12 @@ import pytest
 from spiderweb import SpiderwebRouter, ConfigError
 from spiderweb.constants import DEFAULT_ENCODING
 from spiderweb.exceptions import NoResponseError, SpiderwebNetworkException
-from spiderweb.response import HttpResponse, JsonResponse, TemplateResponse, RedirectResponse
+from spiderweb.response import (
+    HttpResponse,
+    JsonResponse,
+    TemplateResponse,
+    RedirectResponse,
+)
 from hypothesis import given, strategies as st
 
 from spiderweb.tests.helpers import setup
@@ -27,7 +32,9 @@ def test_json_response():
     def index(request):
         return JsonResponse(data={"message": "text"})
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes('{"message": "text"}', DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [
+        bytes('{"message": "text"}', DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    ]
 
 
 def test_dict_response():
@@ -51,7 +58,9 @@ def test_template_response(text):
             request, template_string=template, context={"message": text}
         )
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"MESSAGE: " + bytes(text, DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [
+        b"MESSAGE: " + bytes(text, DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    ]
 
 
 def test_redirect_response():
@@ -61,7 +70,7 @@ def test_redirect_response():
     def index(request):
         return RedirectResponse(location="/redirected")
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'None']
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"None"]
     assert start_response.get_headers()["Location"] == "/redirected"
 
 
@@ -74,12 +83,14 @@ def test_add_route_at_server_start():
     def view2(request):
         return HttpResponse("View 2")
 
-    app = SpiderwebRouter(routes=[
-        ("/", index, {"allowed_methods": ["GET", "POST"], "csrf_exempt": True}),
-        ("/view2", view2),
-    ])
+    app = SpiderwebRouter(
+        routes=[
+            ("/", index, {"allowed_methods": ["GET", "POST"], "csrf_exempt": True}),
+            ("/view2", view2),
+        ]
+    )
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'None']
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"None"]
     assert start_response.get_headers()["Location"] == "/redirected"
 
 
@@ -92,7 +103,7 @@ def test_redirect_on_append_slash():
         pass
 
     environ["PATH_INFO"] = f"/hello"
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'None']
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"None"]
     assert start_response.get_headers()["Location"] == "/hello/"
 
 
@@ -104,11 +115,11 @@ def test_template_response_with_template(text):
 
     @app.route("/")
     def index(request):
-        return TemplateResponse(
-            request, "test.html", context={"message": text}
-        )
+        return TemplateResponse(request, "test.html", context={"message": text})
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"TEMPLATE! " + bytes(text, DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [
+        b"TEMPLATE! " + bytes(text, DEFAULT_ENCODING)
+    ]
 
 
 def test_view_returns_none():
@@ -119,7 +130,7 @@ def test_view_returns_none():
         pass
 
     with pytest.raises(NoResponseError):
-        assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'None']
+        assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"None"]
 
 
 def test_exploding_view():
@@ -130,9 +141,10 @@ def test_exploding_view():
         raise SpiderwebNetworkException("Boom!")
 
     assert app(environ, start_response) == [
-        b'Something went wrong.\n\nCode: Boom!\n\nMsg: None\n\nDesc: None'
+        b"Something went wrong.\n\nCode: Boom!\n\nMsg: None\n\nDesc: None"
     ]
 
+
 def test_missing_view():
     app, environ, start_response = setup()
 
@@ -146,20 +158,19 @@ def test_missing_view_with_custom_404():
     def custom_404(request):
         return HttpResponse("Custom 404")
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'Custom 404']
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"Custom 404"]
 
 
 def test_duplicate_error_view():
     app, environ, start_response = setup()
 
     @app.error(404)
-    def custom_404(request):
-        ...
+    def custom_404(request): ...
 
     with pytest.raises(ConfigError):
+
         @app.error(404)
-        def custom_404(request):
-            ...
+        def custom_404(request): ...
 
 
 def test_missing_view_with_custom_404_alt():
@@ -170,4 +181,4 @@ def test_missing_view_with_custom_404_alt():
 
     app = SpiderwebRouter(error_routes={404: custom_404})
 
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b'Custom 404 2']
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [b"Custom 404 2"]
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/test_variable_urls.py b/spiderweb/tests/test_variable_urls.py
index 5112140..ce0ff76 100644
--- a/spiderweb/tests/test_variable_urls.py
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/test_variable_urls.py
@@ -3,7 +3,12 @@ import pytest
 from spiderweb import SpiderwebRouter
 from spiderweb.constants import DEFAULT_ENCODING
 from spiderweb.exceptions import ParseError, ConfigError
-from spiderweb.response import HttpResponse, JsonResponse, TemplateResponse, RedirectResponse
+from spiderweb.response import (
+    HttpResponse,
+    JsonResponse,
+    TemplateResponse,
+    RedirectResponse,
+)
 from hypothesis import given, strategies as st, assume
 
 from peewee import SqliteDatabase
@@ -43,6 +48,7 @@ def test_unknown_converter():
     app, environ, start_response = setup()
 
     with pytest.raises(ParseError):
+
         @app.route("/<asdf:test_input>")
         def index(request, test_input: str):
             return HttpResponse(test_input)
@@ -52,19 +58,19 @@ def test_duplicate_route():
     app, environ, start_response = setup()
 
     @app.route("/")
-    def index(request):
-        ...
+    def index(request): ...
 
     with pytest.raises(ConfigError):
+
         @app.route("/")
-        def index(request):
-            ...
+        def index(request): ...
 
 
 def test_url_with_double_underscore():
     app, environ, start_response = setup()
 
     with pytest.raises(ConfigError):
+
         @app.route("/<asdf:test__input>")
         def index(request, test_input: str):
             return HttpResponse(test_input)
@@ -99,4 +105,4 @@ def test_float_converter(number):
         return HttpResponse(test_input)
 
     environ["PATH_INFO"] = f"/{number}"
-    assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes(str(number), DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
\ No newline at end of file
+    assert app(environ, start_response) == [bytes(str(number), DEFAULT_ENCODING)]
diff --git a/spiderweb/tests/views_for_tests.py b/spiderweb/tests/views_for_tests.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc4dac1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spiderweb/tests/views_for_tests.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+from spiderweb.decorators import csrf_exempt
+from spiderweb.response import JsonResponse, TemplateResponse
+
+
+EXAMPLE_HTML_FORM = """
+<form action="" method="post">
+    <input type="text" name="name" />
+    <input type="submit" />
+</form>
+"""
+
+EXAMPLE_HTML_FORM_WITH_CSRF = """
+<form action="" method="post">
+    <input type="text" name="name" />
+    <input type="submit" />
+    {{ csrf_token }}
+</form>
+"""
+
+
+def form_view_without_csrf(request):
+    if request.method == "POST":
+        return JsonResponse(data=request.POST)
+    else:
+        return TemplateResponse(request, template_string=EXAMPLE_HTML_FORM)
+
+
+@csrf_exempt
+def form_csrf_exempt(request):
+    if request.method == "POST":
+        return JsonResponse(data=request.POST)
+    else:
+        return TemplateResponse(request, template_string=EXAMPLE_HTML_FORM_WITH_CSRF)
+
+
+def form_view_with_csrf(request):
+    if request.method == "POST":
+        return JsonResponse(data=request.POST)
+    else:
+        return TemplateResponse(request, template_string=EXAMPLE_HTML_FORM_WITH_CSRF)