python-backend-dev

name	python-backend-dev
description	Comprehensive Python backend development guide with CI/CD workflows, testing, documentation, and best practices using uv, flake8, mypy, pytest, and Sphinx.
argument-hint	[{"task":"setup-project | run-tests | build-docs | lint"}]
claude-skill-version	1

Python Backend Development Skill Guide

Goal

This skill guide provides production-ready workflows, CI/CD pipelines, testing strategies, and documentation standards for Python backend development. It covers modern Python tooling including uv package management, flake8 linting, mypy type checking, pytest testing, and Sphinx documentation generation.

Intended Audience

Backend developers working on Python projects who need:

• Production-ready CI/CD workflows
• Comprehensive testing and type checking
• API documentation generation
• Modern package management with uv
• Best practices for maintainable, type-safe code

1. CI/CD Workflows

1.1 Linting with flake8

Purpose: Enforce code style following PEP 8 standards

Configuration (.flake8):

[flake8]
max-line-length = 100
ignore = E203, E266, E501, W503
max-complexity = 10
exclude = 
    .git,
    __pycache__,
    build,
    dist,
    .venv,
    venv,
    .eggs,
    *.egg-info

Run Command:

flake8 src/ tests/

CI Integration: See complete workflow in section 4.1

1.2 Type Checking with mypy

Purpose: Static type analysis for type safety

Configuration (in pyproject.toml):

[tool.mypy]
python_version = "3.12"
strict = true
warn_return_any = true
warn_unused_configs = true
disallow_untyped_defs = true
disallow_any_generics = true
check_untyped_defs = true
no_implicit_reexport = true
warn_redundant_casts = true
warn_unused_ignores = true
warn_no_return = true

Run Command:

mypy src/

CI Integration: See complete workflow in section 4.1

1.3 Unit Testing with pytest

Purpose: Comprehensive test coverage with detailed reporting

Configuration (in pyproject.toml):

[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
python_files = "test_*.py"
python_classes = "Test*"
python_functions = "test_*"
addopts = [
    "--cov=src",
    "--cov-report=html",
    "--cov-report=xml",
    "--cov-report=term-missing",
    "--cov-fail-under=80",
    "--junitxml=test-results/junit.xml",
    "-v"
]

Run Command:

pytest tests/

CI Integration: See complete workflow in section 4.1

1.4 Documentation Building with Sphinx

Purpose: Generate API documentation with GitHub Pages deployment

Initial Setup:

# Install Sphinx
uv add --dev sphinx sphinx-rtd-theme

# Initialize Sphinx
cd docs
sphinx-quickstart --quiet --project="My Project" --author="Your Name" -v "1.0"

Build Command:

sphinx-build -b html docs/source docs/build/html

CI Integration: See complete workflow in section 4.2

2. UV Package Management

2.1 Project Initialization

# Initialize new project
uv init my-project
cd my-project

# Initialize in existing directory
uv init

2.2 Dependency Management

# Add production dependency
uv add requests

# Add development dependency
uv add --dev pytest pytest-cov

# Add specific version
uv add "fastapi==0.109.0"

# Install all dependencies
uv sync

# Update dependencies
uv lock --upgrade

2.3 Lock Files

uv automatically manages uv.lock file for reproducible builds:

• Contains exact versions of all dependencies
• Committed to version control
• Ensures consistent environments

2.4 Build and Packaging

# Build distribution packages
uv build

# Creates:
# - dist/*.whl (wheel)
# - dist/*.tar.gz (source distribution)

2.5 Complete pyproject.toml Configuration

[project]
name = "my-backend-project"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "A production-ready Python backend"
authors = [
    {name = "Your Name", email = "[e-mail]"}
]
readme = "README.md"
requires-python = ">=3.11"
dependencies = [
    "fastapi>=0.109.0",
    "uvicorn>=0.27.0",
    "sqlalchemy>=2.0.25",
    "pydantic>=2.5.0",
    "pydantic-settings>=2.1.0",
]

[project.optional-dependencies]
dev = [
    "pytest>=7.4.4",
    "pytest-cov>=4.1.0",
    "flake8>=7.0.0",
    "mypy>=1.8.0",
    "sphinx>=7.2.6",
    "sphinx-rtd-theme>=2.0.0",
]

[build-system]
requires = ["hatchling"]
build-backend = "hatchling.build"

[tool.uv]
dev-dependencies = [
    "pytest>=7.4.4",
    "pytest-cov>=4.1.0",
    "flake8>=7.0.0",
    "mypy>=1.8.0",
]

[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
python_files = "test_*.py"
python_classes = "Test*"
python_functions = "test_*"
addopts = [
    ,
    ,
    ,
    ,
    ,
    ,
    
]


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    ,
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    ,
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    ,
    ,
]

3. Type Hints & reStructuredText Docstrings

3.1 Type Hints with typing Module

from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Any, Union, Tuple
from datetime import datetime

def process_user_data(
    user_id: int,
    username: str,
    email: Optional[str] = None,
    tags: List[str] = None,
    metadata: Dict[str, Any] = None
) -> Dict[str, Union[str, int, List[str]]]:
    """
    Process user data and return formatted result.
    
    :param user_id: Unique identifier for the user
    :type user_id: int
    :param username: Username for the account
    :type username: str
    :param email: Optional email address
    :type email: Optional[str]
    :param tags: List of user tags
    :type tags: Optional[List[str]]
    :param metadata: Additional metadata dictionary
    :type metadata: Optional[Dict[str, Any]]
    
    :return: Formatted user data dictionary
    :rtype: Dict[str, Union[str, int, List[str]]]
    
    :raises ValueError: If user_id is negative
    :raises TypeError: If username is not a string
    
    .. note::
       This function validates all input parameters before processing.
    
    .. warning::
       Large metadata dictionaries may impact performance.
    
    .. seealso::
       :func:`validate_user_data` for validation logic
    
    **Example Usage:**
    
    .. code-block:: python
    
        result = process_user_data(
            user_id=123,
            username="john_doe",
            email="[e-mail]",
            tags=["admin", "verified"]
        )
        print(result)
        # {'id': 123, 'name': 'john_doe', 'email': '[e-mail]', 'tags': ['admin', 'verified']}
    """
    if user_id < :
         ValueError()
      (username, ):
         TypeError()
    
    tags = tags  []
    metadata = metadata  {}
    
     {
        : user_id,
        : username,
        : email  ,
        : tags,
    }

3.2 Class Documentation with Instance Variables

from typing import Optional, List
from datetime import datetime

class DatabaseConnection:
    """
    Manages database connection lifecycle with context manager support.
    
    This class provides a robust connection manager with automatic resource
    cleanup and error handling.
    
    :ivar host: Database host address
    :vartype host: str
    :ivar port: Database port number
    :vartype port: int
    :ivar database: Database name
    :vartype database: str
    :ivar connected: Connection status flag
    :vartype connected: bool
    :ivar connection_time: Timestamp of last connection
    :vartype connection_time: Optional[datetime]
    
    .. note::
       Always use this class as a context manager to ensure proper cleanup.
    
    .. warning::
       Connections are not thread-safe. Create separate instances per thread.
    
    **Example Usage:**
    
    .. code-block:: python
    
        with DatabaseConnection("localhost", 5432, "mydb") as conn:
            result = conn.execute("SELECT * FROM users")
            print(result)
    """
    
    def __init__(self, host: str, port: int, database: str) -> None:
        """
        Initialize database connection parameters.
        
        :param host: Database server hostname or IP
        :type host: str
        :param port: Database server port
        :type port: int
        :param database: Target database name
        :type database: str
        
        :raises ValueError: If port is not in valid range (1-65535)
        """
        if not 1 <= port <= 65535:
            raise ValueError("Port must be between 1 and 65535")
        
        self.host: str = host
        self.port: int = port
        self.database: str = database
        .connected:  = 
        .connection_time: [datetime] = 
    
     () -> :
        
        .connect()
         
    
     () -> :
        
        .disconnect()
         
    
     () -> :
        
        
        .connected = 
        .connection_time = datetime.now()
    
     () -> :
        
         .connected:
            
            .connected = 
    
     () -> [[, ]]:
        
          .connected:
             RuntimeError()
          query.strip():
             ValueError()
        
        
         []

4. Complete GitHub Actions Workflows

4.1 CI Workflow (.github/workflows/ci.yml)

name: CI Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, develop]

jobs:
  lint-and-type-check:
    name: Lint and Type Check
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        python-version: ["3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
      
      - name: Install uv
        run: |
          curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
          echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
      
         
               
         
               
         
           
  
      
     
    
      
         [, , ]
    
    
         
         
      
             
         
        
             
      
         
               
         
               
         
               
          
         
         
        
             
           
      
          
         
         
        
             
           
      
           
         
        
           
           
             
           
  
  
      
     
     [, ]
    
    
         
         
      
          
         
        
           
      
         
               
         
               
          
         
        
           
           

4.2 Documentation Workflow (.github/workflows/docs.yml)

name: Documentation

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build-docs:
    name: Build Documentation
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: "3.12"
      
      - name: Install uv
        run: |
          curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
          echo "$HOME/.cargo/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
      
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          uv sync --dev
          uv add --dev sphinx sphinx-rtd-theme
      
      - name: Generate API documentation
        run: |
          uv run sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs/source/api src/
      
          
               
          
         
        
           
           
      
           
               
         
        
             
           

5. Testing with pytest

5.1 Unit Test Structure

tests/test_user_service.py:

import pytest
from typing import List, Dict, Any
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch

from src.services.user_service import UserService, User


class TestUserService:
    """Test suite for UserService class."""
    
    def setup_method(self) -> None:
        """Set up test fixtures before each test method."""
        self.service = UserService()
    
    def teardown_method(self) -> None:
        """Clean up after each test method."""
        self.service = None
    
    def test_create_user_success(self) -> None:
        """Test successful user creation."""
        user = self.service.create_user(
            username="testuser",
            email="[e-mail]"
        )
        
        assert user.username == "testuser"
        assert user.email == "[e-mail]"
        assert user.id is not None
    
    def test_create_user_duplicate_username(self) -> None:
        
        .service.create_user(username=, email=)
        
         pytest.raises(ValueError, =):
            .service.create_user(username=, email=)
    

     () -> :
        
         pytest.raises(ValueError, =expected_error):
            .service.create_user(username=username, email=email)
    
     () -> :
        
        created_user = .service.create_user(
            username=,
            email=
        )
        
        retrieved_user = .service.get_user_by_id(created_user.)
        
         retrieved_user   
         retrieved_user. == created_user.
         retrieved_user.username == created_user.username
    
     () -> :
        
        user = .service.get_user_by_id()
         user  
    

     () -> :
        
        user = .service.create_user(
            username=,
            email=
        )
        
        mock_send_email.assert_called_once_with(
            to=user.email,
            subject=,
            body=pytest.approx(, rel=)
        )

5.2 Fixtures with conftest.py

tests/conftest.py:

import pytest
from typing import Generator
from src.database import Database
from src.services.user_service import UserService


@pytest.fixture
def database() -> Generator[Database, None, None]:
    """
    Provide a test database instance.
    
    Yields:
        Database: A configured test database instance
    """
    db = Database(url="sqlite:///:memory:")
    db.create_tables()
    yield db
    db.drop_tables()
    db.close()


@pytest.fixture
def user_service(database: Database) -> UserService:
    """
    Provide a UserService instance with test database.
    
    Args:
        database: Test database fixture
    
    Returns:
        UserService: Configured service instance
    """
    return UserService(database=database)


@pytest.fixture
def sample_users() -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """
    Provide sample user data for testing.
    
    Returns:
        List of user dictionaries
    """
    return [
        {"username": "user1", "email": "[e-mail]"},
        {"username": "user2", "email": "[e-mail]"},
        {"username": "user3", "email": "[e-mail]"},
    ]

5.3 Coverage Configuration

Coverage settings are in pyproject.toml (see section 2.5).

Verify Coverage:

# Run tests with coverage
pytest --cov=src --cov-report=html --cov-report=term-missing

# Open HTML report
open htmlcov/index.html

6. Sphinx Documentation

6.1 Installation and Setup

# Add Sphinx dependencies
uv add --dev sphinx sphinx-rtd-theme

# Create docs directory
mkdir -p docs/source

# Initialize Sphinx (or create manually)
cd docs
sphinx-quickstart --quiet --project="My Backend" --author="Your Name" -v "1.0"

6.2 Sphinx Configuration (docs/source/conf.py)

# Configuration file for the Sphinx documentation builder.

import os
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('../../src'))

# -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
project = 'My Backend Project'
copyright = '2026, Your Name'
author = 'Your Name'
release = '1.0.0'

# -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
extensions = [
    'sphinx.ext.autodoc',
    'sphinx.ext.napoleon',
    'sphinx.ext.viewcode',
    'sphinx.ext.intersphinx',
    'sphinx.ext.todo',
    'sphinx.ext.coverage',
]

templates_path = ['_templates']
exclude_patterns = []

# -- Options for HTML output -------------------------------------------------
html_theme = 'sphinx_rtd_theme'
html_static_path = ['_static']

# -- Extension configuration -------------------------------------------------

# Napoleon settings for Google/NumPy style docstrings
napoleon_google_docstring = True
napoleon_numpy_docstring = True
napoleon_include_init_with_doc = True
napoleon_include_private_with_doc = False
napoleon_include_special_with_doc = True
napoleon_use_admonition_for_examples = True
napoleon_use_admonition_for_notes = True
napoleon_use_admonition_for_references = False
napoleon_use_ivar = True
napoleon_use_param = True
napoleon_use_rtype = True
napoleon_type_aliases = None

# Autodoc settings
autodoc_default_options = {
    'members': ,
    : ,
    : ,
    : ,
    : 
}


intersphinx_mapping = {
    : (, ),
    : (, ),
}


todo_include_todos = 

6.3 Index Structure (docs/source/index.rst)

Welcome to My Backend Project Documentation
===========================================

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2
   :caption: Contents:

   installation
   quickstart
   api/modules
   examples
   changelog

Overview
--------

This is a comprehensive Python backend project with full CI/CD integration,
type safety, and extensive documentation.

Features
--------

* **Type-Safe**: Full mypy strict mode compliance
* **Well-Tested**: >80% code coverage with pytest
* **CI/CD Ready**: GitHub Actions workflows included
* **API Documentation**: Auto-generated with Sphinx

Quick Start
-----------

Install the package:

.. code-block:: bash

   pip install my-backend-project

Basic usage:

.. code-block:: python

   from my_backend import UserService

   service = UserService()
   user = service.create_user("john_doe", "[e-mail]")
   print(user)

Indices and tables
==================

* :ref:`genindex`
* :ref:`modindex`
* :ref:`search`

6.4 API Documentation Auto-Generation

# Generate API documentation from source code
sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs/source/api src/

# Build HTML documentation
sphinx-build -b html docs/source docs/build/html

# View documentation
open docs/build/html/index.html

6.5 GitHub Pages Deployment

Documentation is automatically deployed via the workflow in section 4.2. To enable GitHub Pages:

1. Go to repository Settings → Pages
2. Set Source to "GitHub Actions"
3. Documentation will be available at https://<username>.github.io/<repo>/

7. Configuration Files

7.1 .flake8 Configuration

[flake8]
max-line-length = 100
ignore = E203, E266, E501, W503
max-complexity = 10
exclude = 
    .git,
    __pycache__,
    build,
    dist,
    .venv,
    venv,
    .eggs,
    *.egg-info,
    .tox,
    .pytest_cache
per-file-ignores =
    __init__.py:F401

Explanation:

• E203: Whitespace before ':' (conflicts with Black)
• E266: Too many leading '#' for block comment
• E501: Line too long (handled by max-line-length)
• W503: Line break before binary operator (conflicts with PEP 8 update)
• max-complexity: McCabe complexity threshold

7.2 Complete pyproject.toml

See section 2.5 for the complete configuration file including:

• Project metadata
• Dependencies
• pytest configuration
• mypy configuration
• coverage configuration

8. Comprehensive Code Examples

8.1 Type-Hinted Service Layer

from typing import Optional, List, Dict, Any
from datetime import datetime
from dataclasses import dataclass


@dataclass
class User:
    """
    User domain model.
    
    :ivar id: Unique user identifier
    :vartype id: int
    :ivar username: User's username
    :vartype username: str
    :ivar email: User's email address
    :vartype email: str
    :ivar created_at: Account creation timestamp
    :vartype created_at: datetime
    """
    id: int
    username: str
    email: str
    created_at: datetime


class UserRepository:
    """
    Repository for user data access.
    
    Handles all database operations for User entities.
    
    .. note::
       This repository uses connection pooling for efficiency.
    """
    
    def __init__(self, connection_string: str) -> None:
        """
        Initialize repository with database connection.
        
        :param connection_string: Database connection URL
        :type connection_string: str
        """
        self.connection_string = connection_string
        self.users: Dict[int, User] = {}
        self.next_id: int = 1
    
    def create(self, username: str, email: str) -> User:
        """
        Create a new user.
        
        :param username: Desired username
        :type username: str
        :param email: User email address
        :type email: str
        
        :return: Created user instance
        :rtype: User
        
        :raises ValueError: If username or email is invalid
        """
        user = User(
            =.next_id,
            username=username,
            email=email,
            created_at=datetime.now()
        )
        .users[.next_id] = user
        .next_id += 
         user
    
     () -> [User]:
        
         .users.get(user_id)
    
     () -> [User]:
        
         (.users.values())

8.2 Context Manager Implementation

from typing import Optional
from contextlib import contextmanager


class TransactionManager:
    """
    Manages database transactions with context manager support.
    
    :ivar connection: Database connection instance
    :vartype connection: Any
    :ivar in_transaction: Transaction active flag
    :vartype in_transaction: bool
    
    .. warning::
       Nested transactions are not supported.
    
    **Example Usage:**
    
    .. code-block:: python
    
        with TransactionManager(conn) as txn:
            txn.execute("INSERT INTO users VALUES (...)")
            txn.execute("UPDATE accounts SET balance = ...")
            # Automatically commits on success, rolls back on exception
    """
    
    def __init__(self, connection: Any) -> None:
        """
        Initialize transaction manager.
        
        :param connection: Database connection
        :type connection: Any
        """
        self.connection = connection
        self.in_transaction: bool = False
    
    def __enter__(self) -> "TransactionManager":
        """
        Begin transaction.
        
        :return: Transaction manager instance
        :rtype: TransactionManager
        
        :raises RuntimeError: If already in transaction
        """
        if self.in_transaction:
            raise RuntimeError("Already in transaction")
        
        self.connection.begin()
        self.in_transaction = True
        return self
    
    def __exit__() -> :
        
         exc_type  :
            .connection.commit()
        :
            .connection.rollback()
        
        .in_transaction = 
         
    
     () -> :
        
          .in_transaction:
             RuntimeError()
        
         .connection.execute(query)

8.3 Comprehensive Test Suite

import pytest
from typing import List
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch, MagicMock

from src.services.user_service import UserService, User
from src.repositories.user_repository import UserRepository


class TestUserRepository:
    """Test suite for UserRepository."""
    
    @pytest.fixture
    def repository(self) -> UserRepository:
        """Provide a test repository instance."""
        return UserRepository("sqlite:///:memory:")
    
    def test_create_user(self, repository: UserRepository) -> None:
        """Test user creation."""
        user = repository.create("testuser", "[e-mail]")
        
        assert user.id == 1
        assert user.username == "testuser"
        assert user.email == "[e-mail]"
    
    def test_find_by_id_exists(self, repository: UserRepository) -> None:
        """Test finding existing user."""
        created = repository.create("testuser", "[e-mail]")
        found = repository.find_by_id(created.id)
        
        assert found is not 
         found. == created.
    
     () -> :
        
        found = repository.find_by_id()
         found  
    

     () -> :
        
        user = repository.create(username, email)
         user.username == username
         user.email == email


 :
    
    

     () -> Mock:
        
        connection = Mock()
        connection.begin = Mock()
        connection.commit = Mock()
        connection.rollback = Mock()
        connection.execute = Mock(return_value=)
         connection
    
     () -> :
        
         src.transaction  TransactionManager
        
         TransactionManager(mock_connection)  txn:
            result = txn.execute()
        
        mock_connection.begin.assert_called_once()
        mock_connection.commit.assert_called_once()
        mock_connection.rollback.assert_not_called()
         result == 
    
     () -> :
        
         src.transaction  TransactionManager
        
         pytest.raises(ValueError):
             TransactionManager(mock_connection)  txn:
                txn.execute()
                 ValueError()
        
        mock_connection.begin.assert_called_once()
        mock_connection.rollback.assert_called_once()
        mock_connection.commit.assert_not_called()
    
     () -> :
        
         src.transaction  TransactionManager
        
        txn = TransactionManager(mock_connection)
        
         txn:
             pytest.raises(RuntimeError, =):
                 txn:
                    

9. Best Practices

9.1 Type Hint Guidelines (PEP 484)

Do:

• ✅ Use type hints for all function parameters and return types
• ✅ Import types from typing module: Optional, List, Dict, Union
• ✅ Use None as return type for functions without return value
• ✅ Use -> None instead of omitting return type
• ✅ Use Optional[T] for nullable types
• ✅ Use Union[T1, T2] for multi-type parameters

Don't:

• ❌ Skip type hints on public APIs
• ❌ Use Any unless absolutely necessary
• ❌ Use mutable default arguments (list=[])
• ❌ Mix typing styles (e.g., list[str] vs List[str])

9.2 Docstring Standards (PEP 257, reStructuredText)

Do:

• ✅ Use reStructuredText format for all docstrings
• ✅ Include :param:, :type:, :return:, :rtype:, :raises:
• ✅ Document all parameters, including optional ones
• ✅ Use Sphinx directives: .. note::, .. warning::, .. seealso::
• ✅ Include usage examples in docstrings
• ✅ Document class instance variables with :ivar: and :vartype:

Don't:

• ❌ Leave public APIs undocumented
• ❌ Use inconsistent docstring formats
• ❌ Forget to document exceptions
• ❌ Skip examples for complex APIs

9.3 Testing Strategies

Do:

• ✅ Aim for >80% code coverage
• ✅ Test edge cases and error conditions
• ✅ Use parametrized tests for multiple inputs
• ✅ Mock external dependencies
• ✅ Organize tests in classes by component
• ✅ Use descriptive test names: test_<method>_<scenario>_<expected_result>
• ✅ Use fixtures for shared setup

Don't:

• ❌ Test implementation details
• ❌ Have tests dependent on execution order
• ❌ Skip testing error paths
• ❌ Write tests without assertions

9.4 Code Quality Rules (PEP 8)

Do:

• ✅ Follow PEP 8 style guide
• ✅ Keep line length ≤100 characters
• ✅ Keep cyclomatic complexity ≤10
• ✅ Use meaningful variable names
• ✅ Group imports: stdlib, third-party, local
• ✅ Use 4 spaces for indentation

Don't:

• ❌ Use wildcard imports (from module import *)
• ❌ Create functions with >50 lines
• ❌ Use single-letter variables (except loop counters)
• ❌ Ignore linter warnings

9.5 Dependency Management with uv

Do:

• ✅ Commit uv.lock to version control
• ✅ Use exact versions for production dependencies
• ✅ Separate dev dependencies with --dev flag
• ✅ Run uv sync after pulling changes
• ✅ Update lock file regularly with uv lock --upgrade

Don't:

• ❌ Manually edit uv.lock
• ❌ Use pip alongside uv in the same project
• ❌ Forget to update lock file after adding dependencies

10. Official Documentation References

Core Tools

• ✅ uv: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/
• ✅ flake8: https://flake8.pycqa.org/en/latest/
• ✅ mypy: https://mypy.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
• ✅ pytest: https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/
• ✅ Sphinx: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/

Documentation Standards

• ✅ reStructuredText: https://docutils.sourceforge.io/rst.html
• ✅ Sphinx reStructuredText Primer: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/restructuredtext/basics.html
• ✅ Napoleon Extension: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/napoleon.html

Python Standards

• ✅ PEP 8 (Style Guide): https://peps.python.org/pep-0008/
• ✅ PEP 257 (Docstring Conventions): https://peps.python.org/pep-0257/
• ✅ PEP 484 (Type Hints): https://peps.python.org/pep-0484/

CI/CD

• ✅ GitHub Actions Python: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/automating-builds-and-tests/building-and-testing-python
• ✅ Codecov: https://docs.codecov.com/docs

Additional Resources

• Python Packaging: https://packaging.python.org/
• Type Checking: https://typing.readthedocs.io/
• Testing Best Practices: https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/goodpractices.html

11. Quick Reference Commands

Project Setup

# Initialize new project
uv init my-project
cd my-project

# Add dependencies
uv add fastapi uvicorn sqlalchemy pydantic

# Add dev dependencies
uv add --dev pytest pytest-cov flake8 mypy sphinx sphinx-rtd-theme

# Install all dependencies
uv sync

Code Quality Checks

# Run flake8
flake8 src/ tests/

# Run mypy
mypy src/

# Run both
flake8 src/ tests/ && mypy src/

Testing

# Run all tests
pytest tests/

# Run with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=src --cov-report=html --cov-report=term-missing

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_user_service.py

# Run specific test
pytest tests/test_user_service.py::TestUserService::test_create_user

# Run with verbose output
pytest tests/ -v

# Run and stop on first failure
pytest tests/ -x

Documentation

# Generate API docs
sphinx-apidoc -f -o docs/source/api src/

# Build HTML documentation
sphinx-build -b html docs/source docs/build/html

# Serve documentation locally
cd docs/build/html && python -m http.server 8000

# Open in browser
open http://localhost:8000

Package Building

# Build distribution packages
uv build

# Verify build
ls dist/

Complete Quality Check Pipeline

# Run all checks (CI simulation)
flake8 src/ tests/ && \
mypy src/ && \
pytest tests/ --cov=src --cov-report=term-missing --cov-fail-under=80 && \
uv build

12. Troubleshooting

Issue 1: mypy Errors on Third-Party Packages

Problem: error: Library stubs not installed for "requests"

Solution:

# Install type stubs
uv add --dev types-requests

# For other packages, search for types-<package>
uv add --dev types-PyYAML types-redis

Alternative: Add to pyproject.toml:

[tool.mypy]
ignore_missing_imports = true  # Not recommended, use as last resort

Issue 2: flake8 and Black Conflicts

Problem: flake8 complains about formatting that Black enforces

Solution: Configure .flake8 to ignore conflicting rules:

[flake8]
max-line-length = 100
ignore = E203, E266, W503
extend-ignore = E203, W503

Issue 3: Sphinx Module Discovery Issues

Problem: WARNING: autodoc: failed to import module 'mymodule'

Solution: Ensure correct Python path in conf.py:

import os
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('../../src'))

Alternative: Install package in editable mode:

uv pip install -e .

Issue 4: pytest Import Errors

Problem: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'src'

Solution 1: Add src to Python path in conftest.py:

import sys
from pathlib import Path
sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent / "src"))

Solution 2: Install package in editable mode:

uv pip install -e .

Issue 5: Coverage Not Detecting All Files

Problem: Coverage report shows lower coverage than expected

Solution: Configure source paths in pyproject.toml:

[tool.coverage.run]
source = ["src"]
omit = ["*/tests/*", "*/__pycache__/*"]

Issue 6: uv Lock File Conflicts

Problem: Merge conflicts in uv.lock

Solution:

# Accept one side of the conflict
git checkout --theirs uv.lock  # or --ours

# Regenerate lock file
uv lock

# Commit regenerated file
git add uv.lock
git commit -m "Regenerate uv.lock after merge"

Issue 7: GitHub Actions Workflow Fails

Problem: CI pipeline fails on GitHub Actions

Debugging Steps:

1. Check workflow logs in GitHub Actions tab
2. Run same commands locally:

   uv sync --dev
   uv run flake8 src/ tests/
   uv run mypy src/
   uv run pytest tests/
   

3. Verify Python version matches CI (check workflow YAML)
4. Ensure all dev dependencies are in pyproject.toml

Issue 8: Documentation Build Warnings

Problem: Sphinx builds with warnings about missing references

Solution: Enable intersphinx mapping in conf.py:

intersphinx_mapping = {
    'python': ('https://docs.python.org/3', None),
    'requests': ('https://requests.readthedocs.io/en/latest/', None),
}

---

Summary

This skill guide provides a complete, production-ready setup for Python backend development with:

✅ Modern Tooling: uv, flake8, mypy, pytest, Sphinx
✅ CI/CD Ready: Complete GitHub Actions workflows
✅ Type Safety: Strict mypy configuration with comprehensive examples
✅ Documentation: Sphinx with auto-generated API docs and GitHub Pages deployment
✅ Testing: pytest with >80% coverage target and parametrized tests
✅ Best Practices: PEP 8, PEP 257, PEP 484 compliance

Follow this guide to build maintainable, well-tested, and well-documented Python backend applications that align with industry standards and the hexagonal architecture principles of the db-explorer project.