Talks - Mia Bajić: Combining Django ORM & FastAPI in a Single App

FastAPI’s main advantages are exceptional performance and async capabilities, while Django excels at providing a complete batteries-included framework with extensive tooling

When combining Django ORM with FastAPI, managing sync/async code adds complexity and commonly triggers runtime exceptions that require careful handling

Django ORM started adding async features in version 4.2 (April 2023), but full async implementation is still ongoing - making it challenging to use with FastAPI’s async-first approach

Common integration challenges include:

• Tools/packages not working out of the box
• Limited community resources for troubleshooting
• Connection management issues between frameworks
• Need for custom decorators and workarounds

Django Ninja offers a potential alternative that bridges FastAPI and Django worlds, providing benefits of both frameworks

Testing requires special consideration:

• Need to handle database fixtures carefully
• Some testing tools like pytest-django may not work
• Must manage both sync and async contexts
• Dependency injection helps with mocking external services

Project structure recommendations:

• Keep database and API layers separate
• Consider module-based structure for larger projects
• Use Docker for deployment
• Follow FastAPI best practices repo guidance

Framework choice should depend on requirements:

• Use Django for CRUD-heavy apps with admin needs
• Choose FastAPI for performance-critical applications
• Consider Django Ninja for new projects wanting both

No significant dependency conflicts occur between Django and FastAPI as they operate independently despite being in the same application

While the integration is possible, conventional setups (Django+DRF or FastAPI+SQLAlchemy) are recommended unless specific requirements justify the added complexity