Installation

Getting started with DRF is straightforward.

Prerequisites

• Python (3.6+)
• Django (3.0+)

Step-by-step Guide

1. Install using pip:

   pip install djangorestframework

2. Add to INSTALLED_APPS: Open your project's settings.py and add 'rest_framework' to your installed apps.

   INSTALLED_APPS = [
       ...
       'rest_framework',
   ]

3. Global Settings (Optional): You can configure global DRF settings in settings.py using the REST_FRAMEWORK dictionary.

   REST_FRAMEWORK = {
       # Use Django's standard `django.contrib.auth` permissions,
       # or allow read-only access for unauthenticated users.
       'DEFAULT_PERMISSION_CLASSES': [
           'rest_framework.permissions.DjangoModelPermissionsOrAnonReadOnly'
       ]
   }

Optional Packages

None of these are required, but each adds a capability you are likely to want as an API grows:

pip install markdown                      # Markdown support for the browsable API.
pip install django-filter                 # Filtering support.
pip install drf-spectacular               # Schema generation support.
pip install djangorestframework-simplejwt # JSON Web Token authentication plugin for DRF.
pip install drf-writable-nested           # Nested create and update support for serializers.