fastapi

name	fastapi
description	FastAPI best practices, conventions, and production project templates. Use when writing, reviewing, or refactoring FastAPI or Pydantic API code, when scaffolding a new FastAPI project, or when building any new Python HTTP/REST service (FastAPI is the house standard).

FastAPI

FastAPI is the project standard for HTTP services. Flask / Django / Starlette-direct aren't used here — pick FastAPI for any new HTTP service unless you're writing a non-HTTP CLI (use typer instead, see writing-python).

Routing index. Each topic links to a reference with full patterns and code. New projects start at project-template.md; day-to-day code-style rules live in core-conventions.md.

Scope routing

If you're working on…	Read
Day-to-day route / model / DI style (Annotated, no ..., response_model, async vs sync, StrEnum, no RootModel, one HTTP op per function, fastapi CLI)	core-conventions.md
Scaffolding a new project — layered layout, settings, repository/service/endpoint patterns, auth wiring, tests	project-template.md
Dependency injection — yield/scope, sub-dependency chains, per-request caching + use_cache=False, class deps, app.dependency_overrides for testing	dependencies.md
Production wiring — lifespan (@asynccontextmanager, never on_event), graceful shutdown, DI via app.state, middleware (CORS → RequestID → Timing → Logging), ContextVar, hiding /docs in prod	production-patterns.md
Exception handlers — DomainError hierarchy, RFC 9457 Problem Details, RequestValidationError override, RateLimitError + Retry-After	exception-handlers.md
Health checks — /livez + /readyz, healthy / degraded / unhealthy states, per-component reporting, startup_complete / shutting_down flags from lifespan	health-checks.md
Database — SQLModel + asyncpg + AsyncEngine, pool flags (pool_pre_ping, pool_recycle), sizing formula, PgBouncer, Alembic migrations (env.py for SQLModel, k8s initContainer, data-migration batching)	database.md
Pagination — offset / cursor / keyset, reusable PaginationParams, generic Page[Item] (PEP 695), filter+sort+pagination, index requirements, MAX_OFFSET	pagination.md
Caching — cache_aside for service methods, mutation→invalidation, lifespan warming, why-not response-cache middleware	cache.md
Redis (design choice + wiring hub) — when to add Redis vs NATS/Postgres, shared make_redis + RedisDep, JWT jti revocation, single-process SSE pub/sub, distributed lock	redis.md
Rate limiting — slowapi per-route (not global middleware), Redis-backed (slowapi opens its own sync client, not app.state.redis), key by user_id not IP; mandatory on /login, /token, /forgot-password	rate-limiting.md
WebSockets — authn BEFORE accept(), ConnectionManager on app.state, server-side heartbeat, NATS JetStream for horizontal scaling, manual OTel spans; prefer SSE for one-way push	websockets.md
File handling — FileResponse (path-traversal guard), StreamingResponse for generated content, HTTP-range for video / resumable, UploadFile chunked reads, temp-file cleanup	file-handling.md
Streaming — JSON Lines, Server-Sent Events (EventSourceResponse, ServerSentEvent), byte streams	streaming.md
Authentication — who is the request? — pwdlib (Argon2 + bcrypt), self-issued JWT with PyJWT, OIDC verification (Keycloak/Dex/Okta/Auth0/Entra/Google), protected-route patterns	authn.md
Authorization — what may they do? — coarse role/scope deps, OpenFGA (Zanzibar-style) for fine-grained relational permissions	authz.md
Observability — FastAPI-specific OTel: FastAPIInstrumentor, excluded_urls, server_request_hook, when to wrap business ops manually. SDK setup defers to the otel skill	observability.md
Kubernetes deployment — one worker per pod (never gunicorn), full Deployment YAML, PodDisruptionBudget, HPA on RPS, terminationGracePeriodSeconds math, preStop sleep, Dapr sidecar interplay cross-link	kubernetes.md
Microservices — when to split, one-DB-per-service, sync (httpx ≤2 hops) vs async (NATS JetStream or Dapr pub/sub on JetStream), outbox via Dapr Workflow, trace context propagation, service-to-service authn, contract sharing, Dapr + Kubernetes interplay	microservices.md
Anti-patterns — quick-lookup table of ~35 common mistakes (blocking I/O in async def, deprecated APIs, engine = create_engine(...) at import, mocking the DB, etc.)	anti-patterns.md

OpenAPI / docs flags (the only inline rule)

Two per-route flags worth knowing inline (everything else auto-derives from types): include_in_schema=False hides internal endpoints from /docs; deprecated=True strikethroughs during a deprecation window. Prod-wide docs_url=None / openapi_url=None lives in production-patterns.md.

Tooling & libraries

Single source of truth in sibling skills + linked references: uv / ruff / ty (writing-python + astral:*), SQLModel over SQLAlchemy (database.md), HTTPX over requests (lifespan + HttpDep in production-patterns.md), Asyncer for sync↔async, PyJWT over python-jose, pwdlib over passlib (authn.md).

Cross-skill boundaries

• writing-python — language style, type safety, Pydantic, uv/ruff/ty. This skill — what changes when the code is a FastAPI route.
• python-infrastructure — NATS JetStream consumers, Dapr Workflow, retry/backoff, OTel conventions, Redis fundamentals. This skill links out for the cross-cutting concerns.
• otel — full OTel SDK reference. observability.md only pins the FastAPI-specific bits on top.

Top gotchas

• Blocking I/O in async def kills throughput. If in doubt use plain def — FastAPI runs it in a threadpool. See core-conventions.md § Async vs sync.
• engine = create_engine(...) at import time breaks tests and leaks resources. Always build in lifespan. See production-patterns.md § Lifespan.
• --workers N inside a Kubernetes pod multiplies pools and lifespan runs. One worker per pod, scale via replicas:. See kubernetes.md § Process model.
• BackgroundTasks for anything you'd page on dies with the worker. Use NATS JetStream or Dapr Workflow. See anti-patterns.md.
• Authenticate WebSockets before accept() — otherwise the socket is open and counted before you reject. See websockets.md.