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Project Structure

Understanding the project structure is essential for navigating the FastAPI Boilerplate effectively. This guide explains the organization of the codebase, the purpose of each directory, and how components interact with each other.

Overview

The FastAPI Boilerplate follows a clean, modular architecture that separates concerns and promotes maintainability. The structure is designed to scale from simple APIs to complex applications while maintaining code organization and clarity.

Root Directory Structure

FastAPI-boilerplate/
├── Dockerfile                 # Container configuration
├── docker-compose.yml         # Multi-service orchestration
├── pyproject.toml            # Project configuration and dependencies
├── uv.lock                   # Dependency lock file
├── README.md                 # Project documentation
├── LICENSE.md                # License information
├── tests/                    # Test suite
├── docs/                     # Documentation
└── src/                      # Source code

Configuration Files

File Purpose
Dockerfile Defines the container image for the application
docker-compose.yml Orchestrates multiple services (API, database, Redis, worker)
pyproject.toml Modern Python project configuration with dependencies and metadata
uv.lock Locks exact dependency versions for reproducible builds

Source Code Structure

The src/ directory contains all application code:

src/
├── app/                      # Main application package
│   ├── main.py              # Application entry point
│   ├── api/                 # API layer
│   ├── core/                # Core utilities and configurations
│   ├── crud/                # Database operations
│   ├── models/              # SQLAlchemy models
│   ├── schemas/             # Pydantic schemas
│   ├── middleware/          # Custom middleware
│   └── logs/                # Application logs
├── migrations/              # Database migrations
└── scripts/                 # Utility scripts

Core Application (src/app/)

Entry Point

  • main.py - FastAPI application instance and configuration

API Layer (api/)

api/
├── dependencies.py          # Shared dependencies
└── v1/                     # API version 1
    ├── login.py            # Authentication endpoints
    ├── logout.py           # Logout functionality
    ├── users.py            # User management
    ├── posts.py            # Post operations
    ├── tasks.py            # Background task endpoints
    ├── tiers.py            # User tier management
    └── rate_limits.py      # Rate limiting endpoints

Purpose: Contains all API endpoints organized by functionality and version.

Core System (core/)

core/
├── config.py               # Application settings
├── logger.py               # Logging configuration
├── schemas.py              # Core Pydantic schemas
├── security.py             # Security utilities
├── setup.py                # Application factory
├── db/                     # Database core
├── exceptions/             # Custom exceptions
├── utils/                  # Utility functions
└── worker/                 # Background worker

Purpose: Houses core functionality, configuration, and shared utilities.

Database Core (core/db/)

db/
├── database.py             # Database connection and session management
├── models.py               # Base models and mixins
├── crud_token_blacklist.py # Token blacklist operations
└── token_blacklist.py      # Token blacklist model

Exceptions (core/exceptions/)

exceptions/
├── cache_exceptions.py     # Cache-related exceptions
└── http_exceptions.py      # HTTP exceptions

Utilities (core/utils/)

utils/
├── cache.py                # Caching utilities
├── queue.py                # Task queue management
└── rate_limit.py           # Rate limiting utilities

Worker (core/worker/)

worker/
├── settings.py             # Worker configuration
└── functions.py            # Background task definitions

Data Layer

Models (models/)

models/
├── user.py                 # User model
├── post.py                 # Post model
├── tier.py                 # User tier model
└── rate_limit.py           # Rate limit model

Purpose: SQLAlchemy ORM models defining database schema.

Schemas (schemas/)

schemas/
├── user.py                 # User validation schemas
├── post.py                 # Post validation schemas
├── tier.py                 # Tier validation schemas
├── rate_limit.py           # Rate limit schemas
└── job.py                  # Background job schemas

Purpose: Pydantic schemas for request/response validation and serialization.

CRUD Operations (crud/)

crud/
├── crud_base.py            # Base CRUD class
├── crud_users.py           # User operations
├── crud_posts.py           # Post operations
├── crud_tier.py            # Tier operations
├── crud_rate_limit.py      # Rate limit operations
└── helper.py               # CRUD helper functions

Purpose: Database operations using FastCRUD for consistent data access patterns.

Additional Components

Middleware (middleware/)

middleware/
└── client_cache_middleware.py  # Client-side caching middleware

Logs (logs/)

logs/
└── app.log                 # Application log file

Database Migrations (src/migrations/)

migrations/
├── README                  # Migration instructions
├── env.py                  # Alembic environment configuration
├── script.py.mako          # Migration template
└── versions/               # Individual migration files

Purpose: Alembic database migrations for schema version control.

Utility Scripts (src/scripts/)

scripts/
├── create_first_superuser.py  # Create initial admin user
└── create_first_tier.py       # Create initial user tier

Purpose: Initialization and maintenance scripts.

Testing Structure (tests/)

tests/
├── conftest.py             # Pytest configuration and fixtures
├── test_user_unit.py       # User-related unit tests
└── helpers/                # Test utilities
    ├── generators.py       # Test data generators
    └── mocks.py            # Mock objects and functions

Architectural Patterns

Layered Architecture

The boilerplate implements a clean layered architecture:

  1. API Layer (api/) - Handles HTTP requests and responses
  2. Business Logic (crud/) - Implements business rules and data operations
  3. Data Access (models/) - Defines data structure and database interaction
  4. Core Services (core/) - Provides shared functionality and configuration

Dependency Injection

FastAPI's dependency injection system is used throughout:

  • Database Sessions - Injected into endpoints via async_get_db
  • Authentication - User context provided by get_current_user
  • Rate Limiting - Applied via rate_limiter_dependency
  • Caching - Managed through decorators and middleware

Configuration Management

All configuration is centralized in core/config.py:

  • Environment Variables - Loaded from .env file
  • Settings Classes - Organized by functionality (database, security, etc.)
  • Type Safety - Using Pydantic for validation

Error Handling

Centralized exception handling:

  • Custom Exceptions - Defined in core/exceptions/
  • HTTP Status Codes - Consistent error responses
  • Logging - Automatic error logging and tracking

Design Principles

Single Responsibility

Each module has a clear, single purpose:

  • Models define data structure
  • Schemas handle validation
  • CRUD manages data operations
  • API endpoints handle requests

Separation of Concerns

  • Business logic separated from presentation
  • Database operations isolated from API logic
  • Configuration centralized and environment-aware

Modularity

  • Features can be added/removed independently
  • Services can be disabled via configuration
  • Clear interfaces between components

Scalability

  • Async/await throughout the application
  • Connection pooling for database access
  • Caching and background task support
  • Horizontal scaling ready

Navigation Tips

Finding Code

  • Models → src/app/models/
  • API Endpoints → src/app/api/v1/
  • Database Operations → src/app/crud/
  • Configuration → src/app/core/config.py
  • Business Logic → Distributed across CRUD and API layers

Adding New Features

  1. Model → Define in models/
  2. Schema → Create in schemas/
  3. CRUD → Implement in crud/
  4. API → Add endpoints in api/v1/
  5. Migration → Generate with Alembic

Understanding Data Flow

Request → API Endpoint → Dependencies → CRUD → Model → Database
Response ← API Response ← Schema ← CRUD ← Query Result ← Database

This structure provides a solid foundation for building scalable, maintainable APIs while keeping the codebase organized and easy to navigate.