django-flex 26.1.12

A flexible query language for Django - enable frontends to dynamically construct database queries

Django-Flex

A flexible query language for Django — let your frontend dynamically construct database queries

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Your first API in 5 minutes. No serializers. No viewsets. Just config.

Features

• Field Selection — Request only the fields you need, including nested relations
• JSONField Support — Seamless dot notation for nested JSON data
• Dynamic Filtering — Full Django ORM operator support with composable AND/OR/NOT
• Smart Pagination — Limit/offset with cursor-based continuation
• Built-in Security — Row-level, field-level, and operation-level permissions
• Automatic Optimization — N+1 prevention with smart select_related
• Django-Native — Feels like a natural extension of Django

Installation

pip install django-flex

Quick Start

1. Add to Django

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = ['django_flex', ...]

MIDDLEWARE = ['django_flex.middleware.FlexMiddleware', ...]

DJANGO_FLEX = {
    'EXPOSE': {
        'booking': {
            'staff': {
                'fields': ['id', 'status', 'customer.name', 'scheduled_date'],
                'ops': ['get', 'list', 'add', 'edit', 'delete'],
            },
        },
    },
}

2. Add URL

# urls.py
urlpatterns = [
    path('api/', include('django_flex.urls')),
]

Done. Your API is live at /api/bookings/.

---

CRUD Operations

List

fetch('/api/bookings/')

{
    "results": {
        "1": {
            "id": 1,
            "status": "confirmed"
        },
        "2": {
            "id": 2,
            "status": "pending"
        }
    }
}

Get

fetch('/api/bookings/1')

{
    "id": 1,
    "status": "confirmed",
    "customer": {
        "name": "Aisha Khan"
    }
}

Create

fetch('/api/bookings/', {
    method: 'POST',
    body: JSON.stringify({
        customer_id: 1,
        status: 'pending'
    })
})

{
    "id": 3,
    "status": "pending",
    "customer_id": 1
}

Update

fetch('/api/bookings/1', {
    method: 'PUT',
    body: JSON.stringify({
        status: 'completed'
    })
})

{
    "id": 1,
    "status": "completed"
}

Delete

fetch('/api/bookings/1', { method: 'DELETE' })

{
    "deleted": true
}

---

Advanced Querying

All query options are sent in the request body.

Field Selection

fetch('/api/bookings/', {
    method: 'GET',
    body: JSON.stringify({
        fields: 'id, status, customer.name'
    })
})

{
    "results": {
        "1": {
            "id": 1,
            "status": "confirmed",
            "customer": {
                "name": "Aisha Khan"
            }
        }
    }
}

Nested Relations

{
    fields: 'id, customer.name, customer.address.city'
}

{
    "results": {
        "1": {
            "id": 1,
            "customer": {
                "name": "Aisha Khan",
                "address": {
                    "city": "Sydney"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Wildcard Fields

{
    fields: '*, customer.*'
}

Filtering — Exact Match

{
    filters: {
        status: 'confirmed'
    }
}

{
    "results": {
        "1": {
            "id": 1,
            "status": "confirmed"
        }
    }
}

Filtering — Comparison

{
    filters: {
        'price.gte': 50,
        'price.lte': 200
    }
}

Filtering — Text Search

{
    filters: {
        'name.icontains': 'khan'
    }
}

Filtering — List Membership

{
    filters: {
        'status.in': ['pending', 'confirmed']
    }
}

Filtering — Null Check

{
    filters: {
        'assignee.isnull': true
    }
}

Filtering — Date Range

{
    filters: {
        'created_at.gte': '2024-01-01',
        'created_at.lte': '2024-12-31'
    }
}

Filtering — Related Fields

{
    filters: {
        'customer.vip': true,
        'customer.address.city': 'Sydney'
    }
}

Filtering — OR Conditions

{
    filters: {
        or: {
            status: 'pending',
            urgent: true
        }
    }
}

Filtering — NOT Conditions

{
    filters: {
        not: {
            status: 'cancelled'
        }
    }
}

Ordering

{
    order_by: '-scheduled_date'
}

{
    "results": {
        "3": {
            "scheduled_date": "2024-03-15"
        },
        "1": {
            "scheduled_date": "2024-03-10"
        }
    }
}

Pagination

{
    limit: 20,
    offset: 0
}

{
    "results": {},
    "pagination": {
        "offset": 0,
        "limit": 20,
        "has_more": true,
        "next": {}
    }
}

---

Why Django-Flex?

Feature	Django-Flex	GraphQL	REST
Learning curve	Low (Django-native)	High	Low
Field selection	✅	✅	❌ (fixed endpoints)
Dynamic filtering	✅	✅	Limited
Built-in security	✅	Manual	Manual
Django integration	Native	Requires graphene	Native
Schema definition	Optional	Required	N/A
N+1 prevention	Automatic	Manual	Manual

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Learn More

📖 Full Documentation

License

MIT