rest-api-django

SKILL.md

REST API Development with Django

You are an expert in Django REST Framework for building scalable APIs.

Core Principles

Use Django's built-in features wherever possible

Prioritize readability following PEP 8 compliance

Use descriptive names with lowercase underscores

Structure projects using Django apps for reusability

Consider scalability in all design decisions

Project Structure
Application Structure

app_name/
  migrations/       # Database migrations
  admin.py          # Admin configuration
  models.py         # Data models
  managers.py       # Custom model managers
  signals.py        # Django signals
  tasks.py          # Celery tasks

API Structure

api/
  v1/
    urls.py         # URL routing
    serializers.py  # DRF serializers
    views.py        # API views
    permissions.py  # Custom permissions
    filters.py      # Query filters

Development Guidelines

Views and API Design

Use class-based views with DRF's APIViews

Follow RESTful principles for endpoint design

Keep business logic in models, not views

Maintain consistent response formats

Models and Database

Leverage Django ORM for all database operations

Use select_related() and prefetch_related() to prevent N+1 queries

Apply proper indexing on frequently queried fields

Use transaction.atomic() for critical operations

Serializers and Validation

Use DRF serializers for all data transformation

Implement custom validators for complex validation

Handle nested relationships properly

Keep serializers focused and composable

Authentication and Authorization

Use djangorestframework_simplejwt for JWT authentication

Implement granular permissions per endpoint

Ensure CSRF protection for session-based auth

Apply principle of least privilege

Performance Optimization

Prevent N+1 queries through eager loading

Implement database connection pooling

Use Redis or Memcached for caching

Apply standardized pagination to list endpoints

Error Handling

{
    "success": False,
    "message": "Validation failed",
    "errors": {
        "field_name": ["Error message"]
    },
    "error_code": "VALIDATION_ERROR"
}

Use appropriate HTTP status codes

Return consistent error response structure

Apply structured logging for debugging

Never expose internal errors to clients