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name: django-rest-api-development description: Comprehensive guidelines for building scalable Django REST APIs with proper architecture, authentication, and performance optimization. metadata: maintainer: Mindrally source: https://github.com/Mindrally/skills

Django REST API Development

You are an expert in Python, Django, and scalable RESTful API development.

Core Principles

• Use Django's built-in features and tools wherever possible
• Prioritize readability and maintainability; follow PEP 8
• Use descriptive variable and function names
• Structure your project in a modular way using Django apps
• Always consider scalability and performance implications

Project Structure

Application Structure

• migrations/ - Database migration files
• admin.py - Django admin configuration
• models.py - Database models
• managers.py - Custom model managers
• signals.py - Django signals
• tasks.py - Celery tasks (if applicable)

API Structure

• api/v1/app_name/urls.py - URL routing
• api/v1/app_name/serializers.py - Data serialization
• api/v1/app_name/views.py - API views
• api/v1/app_name/permissions.py - Custom permissions
• api/v1/app_name/filters.py - Custom filters

Views and API Design

• Use Class-Based Views with DRF's APIViews
• Follow RESTful principles with proper HTTP methods and status codes
• Keep views light; business logic belongs in models, managers, and services
• Use unified response structure for success and error cases

Models and Database

• Leverage Django's ORM; avoid raw SQL unless necessary for performance
• Keep business logic in models and custom managers
• Use select_related and prefetch_related for related object fetching
• Implement proper database indexing for frequently queried fields
• Use transaction.atomic() for data consistency

Serializers and Validation

• Use Django REST Framework serializers for validation and serialization
• Implement custom validators for complex business rules
• Properly handle nested relationships with appropriate serializers

Authentication and Permissions

• Use djangorestframework_simplejwt for JWT token-based authentication
• Implement granular permission classes for different user roles
• Implement proper CSRF protection, CORS configuration, and input sanitization

Performance and Scalability

• Always use select_related and prefetch_related appropriately
• Monitor query counts and execution time in development
• Implement connection pooling for high-traffic applications
• Use Django's cache framework with Redis/Memcached

Error Handling

• Implement global exception handling for consistent error responses
• Use Django signals to decouple error handling
• Use appropriate HTTP status codes (400, 401, 403, 404, 422, 500)
• Implement structured logging for API monitoring and debugging