Understand
We identify the API's consumers, the work they need to do, access rules and existing contracts that other teams depend on.
Django REST Framework development services
DabApps builds, improves and maintains Django REST Framework APIs for web applications, mobile products and partner systems. Our API work draws on more than 15 years of building and supporting production Django software.
An API other teams can depend on
An API shapes how quickly your teams can build features and how reliably partners can work with your product. Unclear permissions, slow responses or unexpected changes can hold up work across several applications.
We design the interface around what those applications need to do, with clear rules for the data they can read and change. For StoryStream, we worked alongside its technical team to build an authentication service that gives external contributors controlled access to the platform.
WHAT WE DELIVER
Build and improve the API your product needs
Our DRF service covers API design, implementation and maintenance. We work through the behaviour that matters to its consumers, including permissions, validation and failure handling, and help the teams on either side of the interface coordinate delivery.
- API interfaces for web, mobile and partner systems
- Authentication, permissions and data access rules
- Validation and useful error responses
- Investigation of slow endpoints and database queries
- Tests and documentation for the teams using your API
- Compatibility planning, releases and ongoing maintenance
COMMON STARTING POINTS
Specialist support for your next API change
Bring us in for a new API, continued development or a problem that is blocking the product. If you need to establish what should change first, a focused Django code and architecture review can assess the API alongside the business logic and data behind it.
- A new API behind a web or mobile product
- An existing DRF API that needs a delivery partner
- Frontend teams waiting on difficult API changes
- Slow responses or unreliable integrations
- New consumers with different data and access needs
How we deliver API work
Design
We agree interfaces, data ownership and error behaviour, with a plan for testing, documentation and any compatibility changes.
Build
We develop or improve the API, test permissions and behaviour, and investigate performance using the application's actual data access patterns.
Evolve
We coordinate releases with the teams using the API and maintain it as the product, dependencies and integrations change.
WHY DABAPPS
Experience with the framework and the decisions around it
We have a long history with Django REST Framework. Its creator was our Technical Lead from 2012 to 2016, developing many of the early versions here with support from the team. That experience informs our API work, alongside the practical principles set out in Django RAPID Architecture, by our co-founder Jamie Matthews.
- A long history of working with Django REST Framework
- API design informed by the screens and services using it
- Attention to data ownership and access boundaries
- Maintainable business logic behind the interface
APIs and access control in practice
These projects show different parts of interface delivery: a token-authenticated API for Novo Nordisk, a shared API for Amaze's website and mobile app, and contributor access controls for StoryStream.
Novo Nordisk
The recruitment platform supported growth from 5,000 recorded potential trial participants in 2020 to nearly 30,000 in 2024.
Amaze
Families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities can find leisure offers, while Amaze staff update app and website content together.
StoryStream
Brands can bring their customers' stories into campaigns, with contributor access controls we built to keep valuable content protected.
What our clients say
“There's no doubt that we consider DabApps an extension of the StoryStream technical team.”
Joe Baskerville, CTO at StoryStream
MCP server development for Django applications
If your customers want their AI agents to work with your product, DabApps can build a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server alongside your Django API. It gives agents defined tools for tasks such as finding records or retrieving reports, while your application remains responsible for permissions and business rules.
Our experience includes authenticated MCP tools, delegated access and reusing existing Django logic. We start with a useful, bounded task and check what data the agent should receive. Jamie explains the options in how to add AI to an existing web app.
If the wider application needs a development and support partner, see our Django platform services. For a focused assessment, including whether people can review and maintain changes made by coding agents, start with Django consultancy and code reviews.
Questions about Django REST Framework projects
Can you take over an existing Django REST Framework API?
Yes. We review the endpoints, permissions, tests, dependencies and the applications using them. We agree the first changes around current behaviour and business priorities, including any gaps in documentation or knowledge transfer.
Can you work alongside our internal frontend or mobile team?
Yes. We can focus on the Django REST Framework API while your team develops the user interface. We agree the data, access rules and error responses together so each team knows what it can rely on and how changes will be coordinated.
How do you change an API without disrupting its users?
We identify who uses the interface and which behaviour they depend on, then test against those expectations. If a change needs a new version or a transition period, we plan that with the affected teams before release. The approach depends on how much control you have over the consuming applications.
Can you investigate a slow DRF API?
Yes. We examine where requests spend time, including database queries, data processing and calls to other services. That evidence helps us target the cause and check whether the change improves the affected requests.
Is this the same as connecting to a third-party API?
Building a DRF API means creating and maintaining an interface that other applications use. Integrating with a third-party API means using an interface someone else controls. We can help with both, but the responsibilities and scope differ.
Thinking behind dependable APIs
Explore our work on profiling, database access and interfaces for AI agents. Tom Christie's 2013 profiling article is included for its diagnostic approach; its code and benchmarks are historical.
12 min read Profiling Django REST Framework: a historical investigation, with lessons in finding the real bottleneck.
5 min read How hidden database queries cause Django performance problems, and how to make them visible.
6 min read