The benefits of using Swagger with FastAPI for your Python APIs
Tags: python, swagger, fastapi, api
Published: 2022-12-26 15:25:32

---
title: The benefits of using Swagger with FastAPI for your Python APIs
published: true
date: 2022-08-17 00:16:25 UTC
tags: python,swagger,fastapi,api
canonical_url: https://blog.jjdiaz.dev/the-benefits-of-using-swagger-with-fastapi-for-your-python-apis
---

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/t833hzp78bh8f8onscjn.png)

[**Swagger and OpenAPI**](https://swagger.io/) are popular tools for designing, building, and documenting APIs.

**Swagger** is a set of tools that includes:

- [**Swagger Editor**](https://editor.swagger.io/) for designing API specifications

- [**Swagger UI**](https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-ui/) for generating API documentation

- [**Swagger Codegen**](https://swagger.io/docs/open-source-tools/swagger-codegen/) for generating API client libraries and server stubs

[**OpenAPI**](https://swagger.io/specification/) is a specification for describing APIs in a standard and machine-readable format.

[**FastAPI**](https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/) is a modern, fast, web framework for building APIs with [**Python**](https://www.python.org/) 3.6+ based on standard Python-type hints. It is built on top of the popular web framework [**Starlette**](https://www.starlette.io/) and includes built-in support for **Swagger and OpenAPI**. This means that when you build an API with **FastAPI** , you can automatically generate API documentation using **Swagger UI** and validate requests and responses using the OpenAPI specification.

To use **Swagger and OpenAPI** with **FastAPI** , you simply need to add a few lines of code to your **FastAPI** app. Here's an example of how to define a basic "Hello, World!" API using **FastAPI** and generating API documentation using **Swagger UI** :

```
from fastapi import FastAPI
from fastapi.openapi.docs import get_swagger_ui_html

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/")
def read_root():
    return {"Hello": "World"}

@app.get("/docs")
def read_docs():
    return get_swagger_ui_html(openapi_url="/openapi.json")

```

In this example, we define a **FastAPI** app and add a route that returns a "Hello, World!" message when a GET request is made to the root path of the API. We also define a route that returns the HTML for **Swagger UI** when a GET request is made to the `/docs` path. When you run this app and access the `/docs` path in your browser, you will see the API documentation generated by **Swagger UI**.

**FastAPI** also includes automatic request and response validation using the **OpenAPI** specification. This means that when you define the request and response models for your API using **Python** type hints, **FastAPI** will automatically validate the requests and responses based on the types you define. For example, here's how you can define a request model for a POST endpoint using **FastAPI** and the **OpenAPI** specification:

```
from fastapi import FastAPI
from pydantic import BaseModel

app = FastAPI()

class Item(BaseModel):
    name: str
    description: str
    price: float

@app.post("/items/")
def create_item(item: Item):
    return item

```

In this example, we define a request model called `Item` using a `pydantic` model. We then use this model as the parameter for a POST endpoint and return the item in the response. **FastAPI** will automatically validate the request body to ensure that it contains a name, description, and price field with the correct types. If the request body is not valid, **FastAPI** will return an error response.

**Swagger and OpenAPI** are powerful tools for building APIs with **FastAPI**. They allow you to automatically generate API documentation, test APIs using a web-based interface, and validate requests and responses to ensure that your API is working as intended. If you're building an API with **FastAPI** , be sure to check out **Swagger and OpenAPI** to take advantage of their many features.

In conclusion, **Swagger and OpenAPI** are valuable tools for building APIs with **FastAPI**. They allow you to easily design, document, and test your API, ensuring that it is well-designed and working correctly. By using **Swagger and OpenAPI** with **FastAPI** , you can take advantage of their many features to make your API development process more efficient and effective.

To learn more about **Swagger and OpenAPI** , be sure to [check out the official documentation](https://swagger.io/docs/).

You can also find a wealth of resources online, including tutorials, blogs, and examples of how to use these tools with **FastAPI** and other **Python** web frameworks.

Enjoy coding!