name: rest-api-django
description: Comprehensive guidelines for Django REST API development covering project structure, views, models, serializers, authentication, performance, and error handling.

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