django-drf

Django REST Framework Patterns

This skill provides reference patterns for building APIs with Django REST Framework (DRF). It covers serializer design, viewset architecture, routing, filtering, pagination, authentication, and permissions.

When to Use

• Project has djangorestframework in its dependencies
• Building or modifying REST API endpoints
• Designing serializer validation or nested write logic
• Configuring authentication, permissions, or throttling
• Reviewing DRF code for performance or correctness issues

Style Conventions

• Use | None instead of Optional for type hints
• Maximum line length: 100 characters
• Prefer select_related / prefetch_related in viewset get_queryset(), not in serializers
• Keep serializers thin -- move complex logic to model methods or services

Reference Files

• serializers.md - Serializer patterns: ModelSerializer vs Serializer, nested writes, validation, field customization, performance
• viewsets.md - ViewSet patterns: ModelViewSet vs GenericViewSet, routers, custom actions, filtering, pagination, throttling
• permissions-auth.md - Authentication and permissions: token/JWT/session auth, permission classes, object-level permissions, rate limiting

Quick Reference

Common Settings

REST_FRAMEWORK = {
    "DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES": [
        "rest_framework_simplejwt.authentication.JWTAuthentication",
        "rest_framework.authentication.SessionAuthentication",
    ],
    "DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES": [
        "rest_framework.permissions.IsAuthenticated",
    ],
    "DEFAULT_PAGINATION_CLASS": "rest_framework.pagination.PageNumberPagination",
    "PAGE_SIZE": 20,
    "DEFAULT_FILTER_BACKENDS": [
        "django_filters.rest_framework.DjangoFilterBackend",
        "rest_framework.filters.SearchFilter",
        "rest_framework.filters.OrderingFilter",
    ],
    "DEFAULT_THROTTLE_CLASSES": [
        "rest_framework.throttling.AnonRateThrottle",
        "rest_framework.throttling.UserRateThrottle",
    ],
    "DEFAULT_THROTTLE_RATES": {
        "anon": "100/hour",
        "user": "1000/hour",
    },
}

Typical File Layout

app/
    serializers.py      # All serializers for this app
    views.py            # ViewSets and API views
    urls.py             # Router registration
    permissions.py      # Custom permission classes
    filters.py          # Custom filter classes
    pagination.py       # Custom pagination classes
    throttling.py       # Custom throttle classes
    tests/
        test_api.py     # API endpoint tests