drf-csv-renderer 0.1.6

Django REST Framework CSV renderer with configurable field flattening

DRF Excel Renderer

A flexible Django REST Framework renderer for exporting data as CSV with advanced features including nested data flattening, streaming support, and configurable field handling.

Features

• Standard & Streaming CSV Export - Handle both small and large datasets efficiently
• Nested Data Flattening - Automatically flatten nested dictionaries and objects
• Configurable Field Handling - Preserve lists, customize separators, and control flattening behavior
• Easy Integration - Simple mixins for existing DRF views
• Memory Efficient - Streaming support for large datasets without memory issues

Installation

uv add drf-excel-renderer

Quick Start

Basic Usage

from drf_csv_renderer.views import CSVListView
from myapp.models import MyModel
from myapp.serializers import MyModelSerializer

class MyModelCSVView(CSVListView):
    queryset = MyModel.objects.all()
    serializer_class = MyModelSerializer
    csv_filename = 'my_data.csv'

With Custom Configuration

class CustomCSVView(CSVListView):
    queryset = MyModel.objects.all()
    serializer_class = MyModelSerializer
    
    # CSV Configuration
    csv_filename = 'custom_export.csv'
    csv_streaming = True  # Enable streaming for large datasets
    csv_flatten_nested = True  # Flatten nested objects
    csv_preserve_lists = False  # Convert lists to comma-separated strings
    csv_nested_separator = '.'  # Use dots instead of underscores
    csv_writer_options = {'delimiter': ';'}  # Custom CSV writer options

Generic View for Custom Data

from drf_csv_renderer.views import CSVGenericView

class CustomDataCSVView(CSVGenericView):
    csv_filename = 'custom_data.csv'
    
    def get_csv_data(self):
        # Return any data structure
        return [
            {'name': 'John', 'details': {'age': 30, 'city': 'NYC'}},
            {'name': 'Jane', 'details': {'age': 25, 'city': 'LA'}}
        ]

Configuration Options

Option	Default	Description
csv_filename	None	Custom filename for CSV download
csv_streaming	False	Enable streaming for large datasets
csv_flatten_nested	True	Flatten nested dictionaries
csv_preserve_lists	True	Keep lists as JSON vs comma-separated
csv_nested_separator	"__"	Separator for nested field names
csv_writer_options	{}	Additional options for CSV writer

Data Flattening Examples

Nested Objects

# Input
{'user': {'name': 'John', 'profile': {'age': 30}}}

# Output (flattened)
{'user__name': 'John', 'user__profile__age': 30}

Lists Handling

# With preserve_lists=True (default)
{'tags': ['python', 'django']} → {'tags': ['python', 'django']}

# With preserve_lists=False
{'tags': ['python', 'django']} → {'tags': 'python, django'}

URL Configuration

from django.urls import path
from myapp.views import MyModelCSVView

urlpatterns = [
    path('api/export/csv/', MyModelCSVView.as_view(), name='csv-export'),
]

Advanced Usage

Using Mixins Directly

from rest_framework import generics
from drf_csv_renderer.mixins import CSVResponseMixin

class MyCustomView(CSVResponseMixin, generics.ListAPIView):
    queryset = MyModel.objects.all()
    serializer_class = MyModelSerializer
    csv_streaming = True
    
    def get(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
        if request.GET.get('format') == 'csv':
            data = self.get_csv_data()
            return self.create_csv_response(data)
        return super().get(request, *args, **kwargs)

Custom Renderer

from drf_csv_renderer.renderers import CSVRenderer

class CustomCSVRenderer(CSVRenderer):
    def _serialize_value(self, value):
        # Custom serialization logic
        if isinstance(value, datetime):
            return value.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
        return super()._serialize_value(value)

Performance Considerations

• Use csv_streaming = True for datasets larger than 1000 records
• Streaming mode uses minimal memory but may be slower for small datasets
• Consider pagination for very large exports
• Nested flattening adds processing overhead

Requirements

• Python >= 3.12
• Django >= 5
• Django REST Framework >= 3.12