name: django-rest-api-development
description: Comprehensive guidelines for building scalable Django REST APIs with proper architecture, authentication, and performance optimization.

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