python-patterns

Python Backend Patterns Skill

Purpose

Best practices for Python backend development with FastAPI, SQLAlchemy, and async programming.

Auto-Invoke Triggers

• Creating FastAPI routes
• Working with SQLAlchemy models
• Implementing async operations
• Creating Pydantic schemas

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Project Structure

app/
└── backend/
    ├── app/
    │   ├── main.py              # FastAPI app initialization
    │   ├── config.py            # Settings (pydantic-settings)
    │   ├── api/v1/endpoints/    # Route handlers
    │   ├── core/                # Security, exceptions
    │   ├── models/              # SQLAlchemy models
    │   ├── schemas/             # Pydantic schemas
    │   ├── services/            # Business logic
    │   ├── repositories/        # Data access
    │   └── db/session.py        # Database session
    ├── tests/
    ├── alembic.ini
    └── requirements.txt

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Layer Responsibilities

Layer	Responsibility
Endpoints	HTTP handling, request/response
Services	Business logic, orchestration
Repositories	Data access, queries
Models	Database schema
Schemas	Data validation, serialization

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Async Database Patterns

Session Management

• Use async_sessionmaker for async sessions
• Use dependency injection for session
• Commit in dependency, rollback on exception
• Use expire_on_commit=False for response data

Query Patterns

• Use select() statements (SQLAlchemy 2.0 style)
• Prefer scalar_one_or_none() for single items
• Use scalars().all() for lists
• Eager load relationships with selectin or joinedload

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Pydantic Schema Patterns

Schema Types

Type	Purpose	Example
Base	Shared fields	UserBase(email, username)
Create	POST request	UserCreate(Base + password)
Update	PATCH request	UserUpdate(all optional)
Response	API response	UserResponse(Base + id, created_at)
InDB	Internal with secrets	UserInDB(Response + hashed_password)

Best Practices

• Use model_config = ConfigDict(from_attributes=True) for ORM
• Use Field() for validation constraints
• Use field_validator for custom validation
• Separate request and response schemas

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Repository Pattern

Base Repository Methods

• get_by_id(id) - Single item by primary key
• get_all(skip, limit) - Paginated list
• create(**kwargs) - Insert new record
• update(id, **kwargs) - Update existing
• delete(id) - Remove record

Specific Repositories

• Extend base with domain-specific queries
• Example: get_by_email(), get_active_users()

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Service Layer

Responsibilities

• Validate business rules
• Coordinate multiple repositories
• Transform data between layers
• Raise domain exceptions

Pattern

• Inject repository via constructor
• Return Pydantic schemas, not models
• Raise specific exceptions (NotFoundError, ConflictError)

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Dependency Injection

Common Dependencies

• get_db - Database session
• get_current_user - Authenticated user
• get_current_superuser - Admin user
• Service factories - get_user_service(session)

Pattern

# Endpoint receives dependencies, passes to service
async def create_user(
    data: UserCreate,
    session: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)
):
    service = UserService(session)
    return await service.create(data)

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Configuration

Settings Class

• Use pydantic-settings for env loading
• Use @lru_cache for singleton
• Define defaults for optional settings
• Use @property for computed values

Environment Variables

• DATABASE_URL - Database connection
• SECRET_KEY - JWT signing
• DEBUG - Development mode
• CORS_ORIGINS - Allowed origins

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Testing Patterns

Fixtures

• db_session - In-memory SQLite session
• client - AsyncClient with app
• Override get_db dependency for tests

Test Structure

• One test file per module
• Use pytest.mark.asyncio for async tests
• AAA pattern: Arrange, Act, Assert
• Mock external services

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Best Practices

DO

• Use async/await consistently
• Use type hints everywhere
• Use Pydantic for all validation
• Use dependency injection
• Use repository pattern for data access
• Separate business logic into services

DON'T

• Mix sync and async database calls
• Put business logic in routes
• Use raw SQL without parameters
• Catch generic Exception
• Store secrets in code
• Skip server-side validation

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Code Quality

Tool	Purpose
black	Code formatting
ruff	Linting
mypy	Type checking
pytest	Testing
pytest-cov	Coverage