Django 5: Crear una API REST con Django REST Framework

Guia completa para construir una API REST profesional con Django 5 y DRF. Serializers, ViewSets, autenticacion JWT y buenas practicas explicadas paso a paso.

Guia para construir una API REST con Django 5 y Django REST Framework

Django REST Framework (DRF) sigue siendo el estandar de referencia para construir APIs REST con Python. Combinado con Django 5, el framework ofrece una experiencia de desarrollo excepcional gracias a serializadores potentes, ViewSets automatizados y un sistema de autenticacion flexible. Esta guia cubre la creacion completa de una API profesional, desde la instalacion hasta las pruebas.

Django 5 + DRF 3.15

Django REST Framework 3.15 ofrece soporte completo para Django 5, mejoras significativas de rendimiento y mejor integracion con los tipos nativos de Python. Esta combinacion sigue siendo la opcion preferida para APIs Python en produccion.

Instalacion y configuracion del proyecto

Configurar un proyecto Django con DRF requiere algunos pasos iniciales. Utilizar un entorno virtual y una estructura de proyecto clara facilita el mantenimiento a largo plazo.

bash
# terminal
# Create virtual environment and install dependencies
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/Mac
# venv\Scripts\activate   # Windows

# Install Django 5 and DRF
pip install django djangorestframework
pip install django-filter  # Advanced filtering
pip install djangorestframework-simplejwt  # JWT authentication

# Create Django project
django-admin startproject config .
python manage.py startapp api

Estos comandos crean un proyecto Django con una aplicacion api dedicada a los endpoints REST.

python
# config/settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    # Third-party apps
    'rest_framework',
    'rest_framework_simplejwt',
    'django_filters',
    # Local apps
    'api',
]

REST_FRAMEWORK = {
    # Default authentication classes
    'DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES': [
        'rest_framework_simplejwt.authentication.JWTAuthentication',
        'rest_framework.authentication.SessionAuthentication',
    ],
    # Default permissions: authentication required
    'DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES': [
        'rest_framework.permissions.IsAuthenticated',
    ],
    # Global pagination
    'DEFAULT_PAGINATION_CLASS': 'rest_framework.pagination.PageNumberPagination',
    'PAGE_SIZE': 20,
    # Filter backends
    'DEFAULT_FILTER_BACKENDS': [
        'django_filters.rest_framework.DjangoFilterBackend',
        'rest_framework.filters.SearchFilter',
        'rest_framework.filters.OrderingFilter',
    ],
}

Esta configuracion establece la autenticacion JWT, la paginacion por defecto y los backends de filtrado para toda la API.

Creacion de los modelos de datos

Los modelos de Django representan la estructura de datos de la API. Un diseno cuidadoso de los modelos simplifica la creacion de serializadores y vistas.

python
# api/models.py
from django.db import models
from django.contrib.auth.models import AbstractUser
from django.core.validators import MinValueValidator, MaxValueValidator
import uuid

class User(AbstractUser):
    """Custom user model with additional fields."""
    id = models.UUIDField(
        primary_key=True,
        default=uuid.uuid4,
        editable=False
    )
    bio = models.TextField(blank=True, max_length=500)
    avatar = models.URLField(blank=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

    class Meta:
        ordering = ['-created_at']

    def __str__(self):
        return self.username


class Category(models.Model):
    """Category for organizing articles."""
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100, unique=True)
    slug = models.SlugField(max_length=100, unique=True)
    description = models.TextField(blank=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

    class Meta:
        verbose_name_plural = 'categories'
        ordering = ['name']

    def __str__(self):
        return self.name


class Article(models.Model):
    """Blog article with author and category relations."""
    STATUS_CHOICES = [
        ('draft', 'Draft'),
        ('published', 'Published'),
        ('archived', 'Archived'),
    ]

    id = models.UUIDField(
        primary_key=True,
        default=uuid.uuid4,
        editable=False
    )
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    slug = models.SlugField(max_length=200, unique=True)
    content = models.TextField()
    excerpt = models.TextField(max_length=300, blank=True)
    # Author relation
    author = models.ForeignKey(
        User,
        on_delete=models.CASCADE,
        related_name='articles'
    )
    # Category relation
    category = models.ForeignKey(
        Category,
        on_delete=models.SET_NULL,
        null=True,
        related_name='articles'
    )
    status = models.CharField(
        max_length=20,
        choices=STATUS_CHOICES,
        default='draft'
    )
    views_count = models.PositiveIntegerField(default=0)
    published_at = models.DateTimeField(null=True, blank=True)
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)
    updated_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)

    class Meta:
        ordering = ['-created_at']

    def __str__(self):
        return self.title

El uso de UUIDs como claves primarias mejora la seguridad (identificadores no predecibles) y facilita la distribucion de datos.

Modelo de usuario personalizado

Siempre se debe definir un modelo de usuario personalizado al inicio de cualquier proyecto, incluso sin campos adicionales. Modificar el modelo de usuario despues de las migraciones iniciales es complejo y propenso a errores.

Serializadores: transformacion y validacion de datos

Los serializadores son el nucleo de DRF. Estas clases transforman objetos Python a JSON y viceversa, mientras validan los datos entrantes.

python
# api/serializers.py
from rest_framework import serializers
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from django.contrib.auth.password_validation import validate_password
from .models import Article, Category

User = get_user_model()


class UserSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    """Serializer for reading user data."""
    # Computed field: number of published articles
    articles_count = serializers.SerializerMethodField()

    class Meta:
        model = User
        fields = [
            'id', 'username', 'email', 'bio',
            'avatar', 'articles_count', 'created_at'
        ]
        # Read-only fields
        read_only_fields = ['id', 'created_at']

    def get_articles_count(self, obj):
        """Count user's published articles."""
        return obj.articles.filter(status='published').count()


class UserCreateSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    """Serializer for user creation with password validation."""
    password = serializers.CharField(
        write_only=True,
        required=True,
        validators=[validate_password],
        style={'input_type': 'password'}
    )
    password_confirm = serializers.CharField(
        write_only=True,
        required=True,
        style={'input_type': 'password'}
    )

    class Meta:
        model = User
        fields = [
            'id', 'username', 'email', 'password',
            'password_confirm', 'bio', 'avatar'
        ]

    def validate(self, attrs):
        """Verify that both passwords match."""
        if attrs['password'] != attrs['password_confirm']:
            raise serializers.ValidationError({
                'password_confirm': 'Passwords do not match.'
            })
        return attrs

    def create(self, validated_data):
        """Create user with hashed password."""
        # Remove confirmation field
        validated_data.pop('password_confirm')
        # Use create_user to hash the password
        user = User.objects.create_user(**validated_data)
        return user


class CategorySerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    """Serializer for categories with article counter."""
    articles_count = serializers.IntegerField(
        source='articles.count',
        read_only=True
    )

    class Meta:
        model = Category
        fields = ['id', 'name', 'slug', 'description', 'articles_count']


class ArticleListSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    """Lightweight serializer for article listings."""
    # Display username instead of UUID
    author = serializers.StringRelatedField()
    category = serializers.StringRelatedField()

    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = [
            'id', 'title', 'slug', 'excerpt',
            'author', 'category', 'status',
            'views_count', 'published_at', 'created_at'
        ]


class ArticleDetailSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    """Complete serializer for article details."""
    # Include full author data
    author = UserSerializer(read_only=True)
    category = CategorySerializer(read_only=True)
    # Write fields (accepts ID)
    category_id = serializers.PrimaryKeyRelatedField(
        queryset=Category.objects.all(),
        source='category',
        write_only=True,
        required=False
    )

    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = [
            'id', 'title', 'slug', 'content', 'excerpt',
            'author', 'category', 'category_id',
            'status', 'views_count',
            'published_at', 'created_at', 'updated_at'
        ]
        read_only_fields = ['id', 'author', 'views_count', 'created_at', 'updated_at']

    def create(self, validated_data):
        """Automatically assign the author to the logged-in user."""
        validated_data['author'] = self.context['request'].user
        return super().create(validated_data)

Separar ArticleListSerializer (liviano) y ArticleDetailSerializer (completo) optimiza el rendimiento al evitar la carga innecesaria de datos en las vistas de lista.

¿Listo para aprobar tus entrevistas de Django?

Practica con nuestros simuladores interactivos, flashcards y tests técnicos.

ViewSets y routers automaticos

Los ViewSets agrupan las operaciones CRUD en una sola clase. Combinados con routers, generan automaticamente las URLs de la API.

python
# api/views.py
from rest_framework import viewsets, status, filters
from rest_framework.decorators import action
from rest_framework.response import Response
from rest_framework.permissions import IsAuthenticated, AllowAny, IsAdminUser
from django_filters.rest_framework import DjangoFilterBackend
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from django.utils import timezone
from .models import Article, Category
from .serializers import (
    UserSerializer, UserCreateSerializer,
    ArticleListSerializer, ArticleDetailSerializer,
    CategorySerializer
)
from .permissions import IsAuthorOrReadOnly
from .filters import ArticleFilter

User = get_user_model()


class UserViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    """
    ViewSet for user management.

    Generated endpoints:
    - GET /users/ : user list
    - POST /users/ : creation (registration)
    - GET /users/{id}/ : detail
    - PUT/PATCH /users/{id}/ : update
    - DELETE /users/{id}/ : delete
    - GET /users/me/ : logged-in user profile
    """
    queryset = User.objects.all()
    filter_backends = [filters.SearchFilter, filters.OrderingFilter]
    search_fields = ['username', 'email']
    ordering_fields = ['created_at', 'username']

    def get_serializer_class(self):
        """Use different serializer for creation."""
        if self.action == 'create':
            return UserCreateSerializer
        return UserSerializer

    def get_permissions(self):
        """Dynamic permissions based on action."""
        if self.action == 'create':
            # Open registration
            return [AllowAny()]
        if self.action in ['update', 'partial_update', 'destroy']:
            # Modification: owner or admin
            return [IsAuthenticated()]
        return [IsAuthenticated()]

    @action(detail=False, methods=['get'])
    def me(self, request):
        """Return the logged-in user's profile."""
        serializer = self.get_serializer(request.user)
        return Response(serializer.data)

    @action(detail=False, methods=['patch'])
    def update_profile(self, request):
        """Update the logged-in user's profile."""
        serializer = self.get_serializer(
            request.user,
            data=request.data,
            partial=True
        )
        serializer.is_valid(raise_exception=True)
        serializer.save()
        return Response(serializer.data)


class CategoryViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    """
    ViewSet for category management.
    Only admins can create/update/delete.
    """
    queryset = Category.objects.all()
    serializer_class = CategorySerializer
    lookup_field = 'slug'
    filter_backends = [filters.SearchFilter]
    search_fields = ['name', 'description']

    def get_permissions(self):
        """Public read, admin-only write."""
        if self.action in ['list', 'retrieve']:
            return [AllowAny()]
        return [IsAdminUser()]


class ArticleViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    """
    ViewSet for article management.

    Features:
    - Filter by category, status, author
    - Text search
    - Sort by date, views
    - Custom actions (publish, archive)
    """
    queryset = Article.objects.select_related('author', 'category')
    filter_backends = [DjangoFilterBackend, filters.SearchFilter, filters.OrderingFilter]
    filterset_class = ArticleFilter
    search_fields = ['title', 'content', 'excerpt']
    ordering_fields = ['created_at', 'published_at', 'views_count']
    ordering = ['-created_at']
    lookup_field = 'slug'

    def get_serializer_class(self):
        """Lightweight serializer for lists, complete for detail."""
        if self.action == 'list':
            return ArticleListSerializer
        return ArticleDetailSerializer

    def get_permissions(self):
        """Permissions based on action."""
        if self.action in ['list', 'retrieve']:
            return [AllowAny()]
        if self.action == 'create':
            return [IsAuthenticated()]
        # Update/delete: author or admin
        return [IsAuthorOrReadOnly()]

    def get_queryset(self):
        """Filter articles based on user."""
        queryset = super().get_queryset()
        user = self.request.user

        # Unauthenticated users: published articles only
        if not user.is_authenticated:
            return queryset.filter(status='published')

        # Admins: all articles
        if user.is_staff:
            return queryset

        # Authenticated users: published + their own articles
        from django.db.models import Q
        return queryset.filter(
            Q(status='published') | Q(author=user)
        )

    def retrieve(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        """Increment view counter on each retrieval."""
        instance = self.get_object()
        instance.views_count += 1
        instance.save(update_fields=['views_count'])
        serializer = self.get_serializer(instance)
        return Response(serializer.data)

    @action(detail=True, methods=['post'])
    def publish(self, request, slug=None):
        """Publish a draft article."""
        article = self.get_object()

        if article.status == 'published':
            return Response(
                {'error': 'Article already published.'},
                status=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST
            )

        article.status = 'published'
        article.published_at = timezone.now()
        article.save()

        serializer = self.get_serializer(article)
        return Response(serializer.data)

    @action(detail=True, methods=['post'])
    def archive(self, request, slug=None):
        """Archive a published article."""
        article = self.get_object()
        article.status = 'archived'
        article.save()

        serializer = self.get_serializer(article)
        return Response(serializer.data)

Las acciones personalizadas (@action) agregan endpoints especificos como /articles/{slug}/publish/ sin necesidad de crear nuevas vistas.

Permisos personalizados

Los permisos controlan el acceso a los recursos. DRF permite crear permisos reutilizables para reglas de negocio complejas.

python
# api/permissions.py
from rest_framework import permissions


class IsAuthorOrReadOnly(permissions.BasePermission):
    """
    Custom permission:
    - Read: everyone
    - Write: object author or admin only
    """

    def has_object_permission(self, request, view, obj):
        # GET, HEAD, OPTIONS methods are always allowed
        if request.method in permissions.SAFE_METHODS:
            return True

        # Write allowed only for author or admins
        return obj.author == request.user or request.user.is_staff


class IsOwnerOrAdmin(permissions.BasePermission):
    """
    Permission for user resources:
    - Users can access their own resources
    - Admins can access everything
    """

    def has_object_permission(self, request, view, obj):
        # Check if object is the user themselves
        if hasattr(obj, 'id') and obj.id == request.user.id:
            return True

        # Check if object belongs to the user
        if hasattr(obj, 'user') and obj.user == request.user:
            return True

        # Admins have access to everything
        return request.user.is_staff

Estos permisos se aplican a nivel de objeto (has_object_permission) para un control granular sobre cada recurso.

Filtros personalizados con django-filter

Los filtros permiten a los clientes de la API buscar y filtrar datos segun diferentes criterios.

python
# api/filters.py
import django_filters
from .models import Article


class ArticleFilter(django_filters.FilterSet):
    """
    Custom filters for articles.

    Usage examples:
    - /articles/?category=tech
    - /articles/?status=published
    - /articles/?author=username
    - /articles/?created_after=2026-01-01
    - /articles/?min_views=100
    """
    # Filter by category slug
    category = django_filters.CharFilter(
        field_name='category__slug',
        lookup_expr='exact'
    )

    # Filter by author username
    author = django_filters.CharFilter(
        field_name='author__username',
        lookup_expr='exact'
    )

    # Filter by creation date (after)
    created_after = django_filters.DateFilter(
        field_name='created_at',
        lookup_expr='gte'
    )

    # Filter by creation date (before)
    created_before = django_filters.DateFilter(
        field_name='created_at',
        lookup_expr='lte'
    )

    # Filter by minimum views
    min_views = django_filters.NumberFilter(
        field_name='views_count',
        lookup_expr='gte'
    )

    # Filter by title (contains)
    title = django_filters.CharFilter(
        field_name='title',
        lookup_expr='icontains'
    )

    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = ['status', 'category', 'author']

Estos filtros generan documentacion automaticamente en la interfaz navegable de DRF.

Rendimiento de los filtros

Los filtros en campos de texto con icontains pueden ser lentos en tablas grandes. Para busqueda de texto completo, conviene considerar PostgreSQL con SearchVector o Elasticsearch.

Configuracion de URLs y routers

El router de DRF genera automaticamente URLs RESTful a partir de los ViewSets registrados.

python
# api/urls.py
from django.urls import path, include
from rest_framework.routers import DefaultRouter
from rest_framework_simplejwt.views import (
    TokenObtainPairView,
    TokenRefreshView,
    TokenVerifyView,
)
from .views import UserViewSet, CategoryViewSet, ArticleViewSet

# Create router with automatic URL generation
router = DefaultRouter()
router.register(r'users', UserViewSet, basename='user')
router.register(r'categories', CategoryViewSet, basename='category')
router.register(r'articles', ArticleViewSet, basename='article')

urlpatterns = [
    # Router-generated URLs
    path('', include(router.urls)),

    # JWT authentication endpoints
    path('auth/token/', TokenObtainPairView.as_view(), name='token_obtain_pair'),
    path('auth/token/refresh/', TokenRefreshView.as_view(), name='token_refresh'),
    path('auth/token/verify/', TokenVerifyView.as_view(), name='token_verify'),
]
python
# config/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    # All API URLs under /api/
    path('api/', include('api.urls')),
]

Esta configuracion expone los siguientes endpoints:

  • POST /api/auth/token/ : obtener token JWT
  • POST /api/auth/token/refresh/ : refrescar token
  • GET/POST /api/users/ : listar y crear usuarios
  • GET/PUT/PATCH/DELETE /api/users/{id}/ : operaciones sobre un usuario
  • Y lo mismo para categorias y articulos.

Configuracion avanzada de JWT

La autenticacion JWT requiere una configuracion adaptada a la seguridad y la experiencia del usuario.

python
# config/settings.py
from datetime import timedelta

SIMPLE_JWT = {
    # Access token lifetime
    'ACCESS_TOKEN_LIFETIME': timedelta(minutes=30),
    # Refresh token lifetime
    'REFRESH_TOKEN_LIFETIME': timedelta(days=7),
    # Automatic refresh token rotation
    'ROTATE_REFRESH_TOKENS': True,
    # Blacklist old tokens after rotation
    'BLACKLIST_AFTER_ROTATION': True,
    # Signing algorithm
    'ALGORITHM': 'HS256',
    # Signing key (use secret key in production)
    'SIGNING_KEY': SECRET_KEY,
    # Authorization header prefix
    'AUTH_HEADER_TYPES': ('Bearer',),
    # Fields included in token
    'USER_ID_FIELD': 'id',
    'USER_ID_CLAIM': 'user_id',
}

La rotacion de tokens (ROTATE_REFRESH_TOKENS) refuerza la seguridad al invalidar los tokens anteriores despues de cada actualizacion.

Pruebas automatizadas de la API

DRF proporciona herramientas de testing integradas para validar el comportamiento de la API.

python
# api/tests/test_articles.py
from django.test import TestCase
from django.urls import reverse
from rest_framework.test import APIClient
from rest_framework import status
from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
from api.models import Article, Category

User = get_user_model()


class ArticleAPITestCase(TestCase):
    """Tests for article endpoints."""

    def setUp(self):
        """Set up test data."""
        self.client = APIClient()

        # Create test user
        self.user = User.objects.create_user(
            username='testuser',
            email='test@example.com',
            password='testpass123'
        )

        # Create category
        self.category = Category.objects.create(
            name='Tech',
            slug='tech',
            description='Technology articles'
        )

        # Create published article
        self.article = Article.objects.create(
            title='Test Article',
            slug='test-article',
            content='Detailed test content.',
            excerpt='Short summary',
            author=self.user,
            category=self.category,
            status='published'
        )

    def test_list_articles_unauthenticated(self):
        """Published articles are accessible without authentication."""
        url = reverse('article-list')
        response = self.client.get(url)

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
        self.assertEqual(len(response.data['results']), 1)

    def test_list_articles_filters_drafts(self):
        """Drafts are not visible to unauthenticated users."""
        # Create a draft
        Article.objects.create(
            title='Draft Article',
            slug='draft-article',
            content='Draft content',
            author=self.user,
            status='draft'
        )

        url = reverse('article-list')
        response = self.client.get(url)

        # Only published article is visible
        self.assertEqual(len(response.data['results']), 1)

    def test_create_article_authenticated(self):
        """An authenticated user can create an article."""
        self.client.force_authenticate(user=self.user)

        url = reverse('article-list')
        data = {
            'title': 'New Article',
            'slug': 'new-article',
            'content': 'New article content.',
            'category_id': self.category.id,
        }

        response = self.client.post(url, data, format='json')

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
        self.assertEqual(Article.objects.count(), 2)
        # Author is automatically assigned
        self.assertEqual(
            Article.objects.get(slug='new-article').author,
            self.user
        )

    def test_create_article_unauthenticated(self):
        """An unauthenticated user cannot create an article."""
        url = reverse('article-list')
        data = {
            'title': 'Unauthorized Article',
            'slug': 'unauthorized-article',
            'content': 'Content',
        }

        response = self.client.post(url, data, format='json')

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED)

    def test_update_own_article(self):
        """An author can update their own article."""
        self.client.force_authenticate(user=self.user)

        url = reverse('article-detail', kwargs={'slug': self.article.slug})
        data = {'title': 'Modified Title'}

        response = self.client.patch(url, data, format='json')

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
        self.article.refresh_from_db()
        self.assertEqual(self.article.title, 'Modified Title')

    def test_update_other_user_article(self):
        """A user cannot update another user's article."""
        other_user = User.objects.create_user(
            username='other',
            email='other@example.com',
            password='otherpass123'
        )
        self.client.force_authenticate(user=other_user)

        url = reverse('article-detail', kwargs={'slug': self.article.slug})
        data = {'title': 'Modified Title'}

        response = self.client.patch(url, data, format='json')

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN)

    def test_publish_action(self):
        """The publish action changes the article status."""
        draft = Article.objects.create(
            title='Draft',
            slug='draft',
            content='Draft content',
            author=self.user,
            status='draft'
        )
        self.client.force_authenticate(user=self.user)

        url = reverse('article-publish', kwargs={'slug': draft.slug})
        response = self.client.post(url)

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
        draft.refresh_from_db()
        self.assertEqual(draft.status, 'published')
        self.assertIsNotNone(draft.published_at)

    def test_filter_by_category(self):
        """Filtering by category works correctly."""
        url = reverse('article-list')
        response = self.client.get(url, {'category': 'tech'})

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
        self.assertEqual(len(response.data['results']), 1)

    def test_search_articles(self):
        """Text search works."""
        url = reverse('article-list')
        response = self.client.get(url, {'search': 'Test'})

        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
        self.assertEqual(len(response.data['results']), 1)

Las pruebas se ejecutan con el comando python manage.py test api.tests.

Manejo de errores y respuestas estandarizadas

Un manejo consistente de errores mejora la experiencia del desarrollador que consume la API.

python
# api/exceptions.py
from rest_framework.views import exception_handler
from rest_framework.response import Response
from rest_framework import status


def custom_exception_handler(exc, context):
    """
    Custom exception handler to standardize error responses.

    Response format:
    {
        "success": false,
        "error": {
            "code": "ERROR_CODE",
            "message": "Error description",
            "details": {...}  # Optional
        }
    }
    """
    # Call the default handler
    response = exception_handler(exc, context)

    if response is not None:
        # Standardize response format
        custom_response = {
            'success': False,
            'error': {
                'code': get_error_code(exc),
                'message': get_error_message(response.data),
                'details': response.data if isinstance(response.data, dict) else None
            }
        }
        response.data = custom_response

    return response


def get_error_code(exc):
    """Return an error code based on exception type."""
    error_codes = {
        'ValidationError': 'VALIDATION_ERROR',
        'AuthenticationFailed': 'AUTHENTICATION_FAILED',
        'NotAuthenticated': 'NOT_AUTHENTICATED',
        'PermissionDenied': 'PERMISSION_DENIED',
        'NotFound': 'NOT_FOUND',
        'MethodNotAllowed': 'METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED',
        'Throttled': 'RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED',
    }
    return error_codes.get(exc.__class__.__name__, 'UNKNOWN_ERROR')


def get_error_message(data):
    """Extract a readable error message from response data."""
    if isinstance(data, dict):
        if 'detail' in data:
            return str(data['detail'])
        # Collect validation messages
        messages = []
        for field, errors in data.items():
            if isinstance(errors, list):
                messages.extend([f"{field}: {e}" for e in errors])
            else:
                messages.append(f"{field}: {errors}")
        return '; '.join(messages) if messages else 'Validation error'
    return str(data)
python
# config/settings.py
REST_FRAMEWORK = {
    # ... other configurations
    'EXCEPTION_HANDLER': 'api.exceptions.custom_exception_handler',
}

Conclusion

Django REST Framework combinado con Django 5 ofrece un ecosistema completo para construir APIs REST profesionales. La potencia de los serializadores, la flexibilidad de los ViewSets y la integracion nativa de autenticacion JWT permiten construir APIs robustas y seguras de manera rapida.

Checklist para una API Django de calidad

  • Usar serializadores separados para lectura y escritura
  • Implementar permisos personalizados para el control de acceso
  • Configurar filtros para busqueda y ordenamiento
  • Agregar autenticacion JWT con rotacion de tokens
  • Escribir pruebas unitarias para cada endpoint
  • Estandarizar el formato de respuestas de error
  • Documentar la API con DRF Spectacular o drf-yasg

¡Empieza a practicar!

Pon a prueba tu conocimiento con nuestros simuladores de entrevista y tests técnicos.

El enfoque de DRF fomenta la reutilizacion y la composicion: serializadores, permisos y filtros se combinan para crear APIs mantenibles a largo plazo. La documentacion automatica y la interfaz navegable aceleran el desarrollo y facilitan la integracion con equipos frontend.

Etiquetas

#django
#django rest framework
#python
#rest api
#api development

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