djangorestframework
Web APIs for Django, made easy.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Django REST framework is the de facto standard for building REST APIs in Django. It has low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. If you are building any REST API on Django, this package is the established choice and saves substantial development time.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10+ and Django 5.2, 6.0, or 6.1; older Django or Python versions are not supported.
- Low install friction—a single pure-Python wheel with only django as a runtime dependency.
- Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and 30129 repository stars signal ongoing support and community use.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-07 (7 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-12 · 30,129 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 28,399,095 downloads/mo, #835 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install djangorestframework
# In settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
'rest_framework',
]
# In urls.py
from django.contrib.auth.models import User
from django.urls import include, path
from django import forms
class UserSerializer(forms.ModelForm):
class Meta:
model = User
fields = ['url', 'username', 'email']
class UserViewSet:
queryset = User.objects.all()
serializer_class = UserSerializer
urlpatterns = [path('', include('rest_framework.urls'))]- Whether optional OAuth1a and OAuth2 support packages are maintained and compatible with current versions.
- Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large API workloads.
- Specific authentication policies and permission classes available beyond what the excerpt mentions.
What it is and what it does
Django REST framework extends Django with a complete toolkit for building REST APIs. It sits on top of Django's URL routing and view system, providing serializers to convert model data to JSON, and built-in authentication and permission classes. The package generates a browsable web interface for each API endpoint, letting developers and testers interact with the API directly in a browser—a significant usability advantage over raw JSON endpoints.
The framework is highly customizable and handles both ORM-backed serialization and custom data sources. It is production-stable, actively maintained, and widely adopted in the Django ecosystem. The package requires Python 3.10+ and Django 5.2, 6.0, or 6.1.
Use it for
- Build a REST API for a Django model-backed application with automatic CRUD endpoints and a browsable interface.
- Add authentication and permission controls to an existing Django application to restrict API access by user role.
- Serialize complex Django ORM querysets to JSON for consumption by frontend or mobile clients.
- Provide a web-browsable API for internal tools and admin dashboards where developers can test endpoints interactively.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Django REST framework is the de facto standard for building REST APIs in Django. It has low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. If you are building any REST API on Django, this package is the established choice and saves substantial development time.
Install
djangorestframework on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction—a single pure-Python wheel with only django as a runtime dependency. Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and 30129 repository stars signal ongoing support and community use.
Requires Python 3.10+ and Django 5.2, 6.0, or 6.1; older Django or Python versions are not supported.
License in practice
BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install djangorestframework
# In settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
'rest_framework',
]
# In urls.py
from django.contrib.auth.models import User
from django.urls import include, path
from django import forms
class UserSerializer(forms.ModelForm):
class Meta:
model = User
fields = ['url', 'username', 'email']
class UserViewSet:
queryset = User.objects.all()
serializer_class = UserSerializer
urlpatterns = [path('', include('rest_framework.urls'))]
Verify before relying
- Whether optional OAuth1a and OAuth2 support packages are maintained and compatible with current versions.
- Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large API workloads.
- Specific authentication policies and permission classes available beyond what the excerpt mentions.
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagedjango |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 7 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 28,399,095 / month, #835 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentFramework :: DjangoFramework :: Django :: 5.2Framework :: Django :: 6.0Framework :: Django :: 6.1Intended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: djangorestframework-3.18.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also django-fiber · django-rest-framework-docs · djangorestframework-jsonapi · djangorestframework-xml · djangorestframework-queryfields · adrf · drf-rw-serializers · djangorestframework-api-key · djangorestframework-yaml · djangorestframework-role-filters