FastAPI: Build Python APIs from Scratch to Deployment
FastAPI has become the go-to framework for building Python APIs. It combines automatic OpenAPI docs, Pydantic validation, and native async support into a framework that is both fast to develop with and fast at runtime. Whether you are building a simple CRUD API or a production service handling authentication, rate limiting, and ML model serving, FastAPI has patterns for it.
This learning path takes you from your first endpoint through production-ready architecture: Pydantic models, dependency injection, middleware, OAuth2/JWT auth, project structure at scale, and Docker deployment.
Getting Started
4 articlesPython FastAPI: Introduction and First Steps
What FastAPI is, how it compares to Flask and Django, and building your first endpoint.
FastAPI vs Flask vs Django
Detailed comparison of the three major Python web frameworks -- features, performance, and when to choose each.
Flask vs FastAPI
Head-to-head comparison focused on migration paths, async support, and real-world trade-offs.
Build a REST API with FastAPI and SQLAlchemy
Full walkthrough of building a CRUD API with FastAPI, SQLAlchemy ORM, and a real database.
Core Concepts
5 articlesFastAPI Pydantic Models Explained
Request validation, response serialization, nested models, and custom validators with Pydantic.
FastAPI Dependency Injection Explained
How FastAPI's Depends system works for database sessions, authentication, and shared logic.
FastAPI Custom Middleware
Building middleware for logging, CORS, timing, authentication, and request/response transformation.
FastAPI async def vs def
When to use async endpoints, how FastAPI handles blocking code, and the threadpool fallback mechanism.
FastAPI Async Backend with External API Calls
Making non-blocking external API calls from FastAPI endpoints using httpx and aiohttp.
Authentication and Security
3 articlesFastAPI OAuth2 + JWT Authentication Tutorial
Implementing OAuth2 with JWT tokens in FastAPI -- login flow, token generation, and protected routes.
JWT Authentication in FastAPI
Building a complete JWT auth system with refresh tokens, token expiry, and role-based access control.
FastAPI Rate Limiter Middleware
Adding rate limiting to FastAPI with middleware, Redis backends, and per-route configuration.
Production and Deployment
3 articlesHow to Structure a Large FastAPI Project
Organizing routes, models, services, and configuration for maintainable FastAPI applications at scale.
Deploy FastAPI with Docker and Uvicorn
Containerizing FastAPI apps, multi-stage builds, uvicorn configuration, and production deployment patterns.
Serve a Machine Learning Model with FastAPI
Building an ML inference API with FastAPI, model loading patterns, and handling prediction requests.