---
id: djangorestframework-csv
version: "3.0.2"
license: BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# djangorestframework-csv — CSV Tools for Django REST Framework

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 3.6M/mo

## What it is and what it does

djangorestframework-csv extends Django REST Framework with CSV rendering and parsing support. It provides renderers to output API responses as CSV files, with customizable field ordering and labels, plus parsers for incoming CSV data. The package also includes a paginated renderer for handling paginated datasets and a streaming renderer for memory-efficient output of large CSV files.

The package integrates directly into the framework's renderer and parser architecture, configured via renderer_classes on views or as defaults in Django settings. It handles field ordering, custom labels, byte order markers, and non-UTF-8 encodings. The codebase has been stable since version 3.0.0, though active maintenance appears limited.

Use it for:

- Export API querysets as downloadable CSV files for reporting or data analysis
- Accept CSV file uploads to bulk-create or update records via REST endpoints
- Serve CSV data from paginated API views without loading entire datasets into memory
- Customize CSV column order and labels for different API consumers or use cases
- Provide alternative data formats alongside JSON in the same API view

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Adds CSV rendering and parsing capabilities to Django REST Framework, allowing API views to output data as CSV files and parse CSV input.

Yes, if you need CSV support in Django REST Framework and can accept aging maintenance. The package is stable with no known vulnerabilities and handles the core use case well. However, verify compatibility with your specific Django and djangorestframework versions before relying on it for new projects, and monitor the repository for any breaking changes in upstream dependencies.

## Install

pip install djangorestframework-csv
uv add djangorestframework-csv
poetry add djangorestframework-csv

## Installing djangorestframework-csv

Before you install: Low install friction with a single runtime dependency on djangorestframework. Maintenance status is aging—last release was 2023-12-12 and the repository shows no recent activity, though it remains unarchived and has accumulated 368 stars.

License in practice: BSD license is permissive, allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution.

Quickstart:

pip install djangorestframework-csv

from djangorestframework_csv import renderers

class MyView:
    renderer_classes = (renderers.CSVRenderer,)

Requires djangorestframework as a runtime dependency; Django 3.2 or later for version 3.0.2

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with Django versions beyond 4.2 or Python versions beyond 3.11
- Current state of compatibility with the latest djangorestframework releases
- Performance characteristics when handling very large CSV exports or imports

## Package facts

- License: BSD (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 3.6M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

django rest framework csv export, csv renderer for drf, django api csv output, csv parsing django rest, rest framework csv serialization, django csv download api, drf csv renderer, csv-export, django-rest-framework

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