Django REST Framework + Vercel

Django REST Framework + Vercel

A minimal Django REST Framework API running on Vercel with Serverless Functions using the Python Runtime.

Demo

https://django-rest-framework-example.vercel.app/api/time/

Setting the Secret Key

Django requires a secret key for cryptographic signing to be set in the DJANGO_SECRET_KEY environment variable. This can be set in the web interface, or by running:

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uv run python -c 'from django.core.management.utils import get_random_secret_key; print(get_random_secret_key())' | vercel env add -y DJANGO_SECRET_KEY prod

How it Works

A single DRF view in api/views.py returns the current UTC time as JSON:

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@api_view(["GET"])
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def current_time(request):
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    return Response({"time": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()})

This view is exposed at /api/time/ and the app is served via WSGI in config/wsgi.py:

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application = get_wsgi_application()

Running Locally

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uv sync
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uv run python manage.py runserver

Your API is now available at http://localhost:8000/api/time/.

One-Click Deploy

Deploy the example using Vercel: