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Introduction Django REST Framework (DRF) is a powerful toolkit for building APIs with Django. In this tutorial, we'll cover how to install DRF and set up interactive API documentation, making your APIs more accessible and developer-friendly. Prerequisites Before we get started, ensure you have the following: Python installed (preferably Python 3.8+) Django installed (pip install django) Basic knowledge of Django Step 1: Install Django REST Framework To install DRF, open your terminal and run: pip install djangorestframework Once installed, add rest_framework to your INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py: INSTALLED_APPS = [ 'django.contrib.admin', 'django.contrib.auth', 'django.contrib.contenttypes', 'django.contrib.sessions', 'django.contrib.messages', 'django.contrib.staticfiles', 'rest_framework', # Add this line ] Step 2: Setting Up API Documentation 1️⃣ Enable Browsable API DRF provides an interactive browsable API by default. To enable it, ensure your DEFAULT_RENDERER_CLASSES includes: REST_FRAMEWORK = { 'DEFAULT_RENDERER_CLASSES': ( 'rest_framework.renderers.JSONRenderer', 'rest_framework.renderers.BrowsableAPIRenderer', # Enables interactive UI ), } 2️⃣ Install drf-yasg for Swagger & ReDoc Documentation To generate API documentation, install drf-yasg: pip install drf-yasg Then, update your urls.py: from django.urls import path, re_path from rest_framework import permissions from drf_yasg.views import get_schema_view from drf_yasg import openapi schema_view = get_schema_view( openapi.Info( title="My API", default_version='v1', description="API documentation", ), public=True, permission_classes=(permissions.AllowAny,), ) urlpatterns = [ path('swagger/', schema_view.with_ui('swagger', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-swagger-ui'), path('redoc/', schema_view.with_ui('redoc', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-redoc'), ] Step 3: Run and Test the API Docs Start the Django development server: python manage.py runserver Now, visit: Swagger UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000/swagger/ ReDoc UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000/redoc/ Conclusion You have successfully installed Django REST Framework and set up interactive API documentation. This setup will help developers explore your API seamlessly.

Mar 13, 2025 - 12:53

Introduction

Django REST Framework (DRF) is a powerful toolkit for building APIs with Django. In this tutorial, we'll cover how to install DRF and set up interactive API documentation, making your APIs more accessible and developer-friendly.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, ensure you have the following:

Python installed (preferably Python 3.8+)
Django installed (pip install django)
Basic knowledge of Django

Step 1: Install Django REST Framework

To install DRF, open your terminal and run:

pip install djangorestframework

Once installed, add rest_framework to your INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'rest_framework',  # Add this line
]

Step 2: Setting Up API Documentation

1️⃣ Enable Browsable API

DRF provides an interactive browsable API by default. To enable it, ensure your DEFAULT_RENDERER_CLASSES includes:

REST_FRAMEWORK = {
    'DEFAULT_RENDERER_CLASSES': (
        'rest_framework.renderers.JSONRenderer',
        'rest_framework.renderers.BrowsableAPIRenderer',  # Enables interactive UI
    ),
}

2️⃣ Install drf-yasg for Swagger & ReDoc Documentation

To generate API documentation, install drf-yasg:

pip install drf-yasg

Then, update your urls.py:

from django.urls import path, re_path
from rest_framework import permissions
from drf_yasg.views import get_schema_view
from drf_yasg import openapi

schema_view = get_schema_view(
    openapi.Info(
        title="My API",
        default_version='v1',
        description="API documentation",
    ),
    public=True,
    permission_classes=(permissions.AllowAny,),
)

urlpatterns = [
    path('swagger/', schema_view.with_ui('swagger', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-swagger-ui'),
    path('redoc/', schema_view.with_ui('redoc', cache_timeout=0), name='schema-redoc'),
]

Step 3: Run and Test the API Docs

Start the Django development server:

python manage.py runserver

Now, visit:

Swagger UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000/swagger/
ReDoc UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000/redoc/

Conclusion

You have successfully installed Django REST Framework and set up interactive API documentation. This setup will help developers explore your API seamlessly.