How to Document Query Parameters in Django REST Framework Using drf-yasg

Описание: Learn how to properly document query parameters for your views in Django REST Framework using drf-yasg to enhance your OpenAPI documentation.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/65872458/ asked by the user 'pbn' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2429333/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/65872646/ provided by the user 'JPG' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8283848/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Add documentation to generics.RetrieveAPIView 'retrieve' method's query param

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Documenting Query Parameters in Django REST Framework with drf-yasg

In the world of APIs, clear and comprehensive documentation is crucial for ease of use by consumers. If you're working with Django REST Framework (DRF) and you want to document query parameters, you might run into some challenges. In this post, we’ll tackle how to document the email query parameter for the retrieve method in a RetrieveAPIView, specifically using the drf-yasg library.

The Problem

You have a view that accepts an email as a query parameter, and you need it to be correctly reflected in your OpenAPI autogenerated schema. Your current implementation uses the method_decorator together with swagger_auto_schema, but it seems to be ineffective in reflecting the query parameter in the auto-generated Swagger documentation.

Your Current Implementation

Here’s a snippet of your code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Despite these efforts, your auto-generated models still only show information from the body coming from the serializer.

The Solution

The issue lies in the usage of the method_decorator. To resolve it, you need to change the parameter name from retrieve to get. This is because the retrieve method is internally mapped to the GET HTTP method, and because of that, the correct configuration should look like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of Changes

Change name='retrieve' to name='get':

This modification is vital as it directly associates the documentation with the appropriate HTTP verb that this view will respond to.

Using swagger_auto_schema:

The swagger_auto_schema decorator allows you to document query parameters effectively. Make sure that the manual_parameters list includes your required query parameter.

Testing the Outcome:

After making the change, visit your Swagger UI (in this case, located at the /docs/ path as defined in your urls.py) to ensure that the email query parameter is now being documented correctly.

Final Notes

This approach ensures your API documentation accurately reflects all usable parameters, enhancing the overall developer experience.

Remember, effective documentation not only helps in reducing future confusion but also promotes better adoption of your API!

By following these steps, you should be able to correctly document any query parameters in your Django REST Framework views using drf-yasg.