Setting Up Python Backends

Prerequisites

This is a Python-specific extension to myai's setting-up-backends. Load setting-up-backends first for the backend architecture philosophy, directory layout patterns, wiring rules, defer-by-default guidance, and migrations/operations strategy. This skill provides only Python-specific framework choices, library selections, and code patterns.

Also requires engineering-principles and architecting-changes (via myai bootstrap).

This skill is a backend-specialized extension of setting-up-python-projects. Start here for backend repos, then pull generic Python bootstrap pieces from setting-up-python-projects as needed.

Python Framework Choice

• FastAPI is the default boring choice for most service APIs.
• Django is justified when auth, admin, sessions, and CRUD-heavy backend surface are obviously large from the start.
• Starlette is for deliberate thin-edge builds, not as a default.

Python Default Stack

• FastAPI + uvicorn
• pydantic models at the FastAPI HTTP edge; msgspec.Struct for config and non-framework external payload decoding
• dataclass(frozen=True, slots=True) + Result[T, E] in the core
• SQLAlchemy 2 + Alembic when the service owns relational persistence
• httpx for outbound HTTP
• existing repo logging setup via shared/logging
• pytest, pytest-asyncio, and integration tests through real app wiring
• uv, poethepoet, basedpyright, and ruff

Keep pydantic request/response DTOs at the HTTP boundary and convert immediately into framework-free typed structures.

Python Backend Layout

See setting-up-backends for the philosophy behind this layout.

src/appname/
  api/
    app.py
    routes/
    schemas/
    errors.py
  domain/
    models.py
    services.py
    errors.py
  infrastructure/
    config.py
    logging.py
    db/
      models.py
      session.py
      queries.py
    clients/
  workers/
    __main__.py
  bootstrap.py
tests/
  integration/
  unit/
  fixtures/
migrations/

Omit what you do not need. No DB, no db/ or migrations/. No workers, no workers/.

First Files

• api/app.py with create_app()
• api/routes/health.py with /healthz
• bootstrap.py with create_services() and app wiring
• domain/models.py and one small service/use-case module
• infrastructure/config.py to parse env into typed settings
• DB files and migrations only if persistence exists
• one smoke API test and one domain test

Wiring Rules

• create_app() assembles only the HTTP layer.
• bootstrap.py wires settings, DB/session factories, external clients, and services.
• No DI framework by default. Use constructor injection and one composition root.
• Keep main.py or ASGI entrypoints thin.

Boundary Rules

• Request/response schemas are not domain models.
• No Request, Response, Depends, ORM session, or framework auth objects in domain services.
• Convert request data and auth/session state at the edge.
• Workers are another adapter, not a separate business-logic stack.
• CLI/admin scripts should call the same core services when they touch the same workflows.

Python Migrations and Operations

• If the service owns a relational DB, initialize Alembic early.
• Add health and readiness endpoints early.
• Keep dev run, lint, test, and migrate commands in Poe tasks.
• Containerize when needed, but keep v1 Linux-first and boring.

Defer by Default

See setting-up-backends for the full defer-by-default philosophy. The list below is the Python ecosystem application:

• queues and background-job stacks
• caching layers
• metrics/tracing vendors
• event buses or CQRS
• multitenancy
• API versioning strategy beyond basic room for growth
• generated SDKs and OpenAPI customization
• Kubernetes-specific guidance

Add those only when the project actually needs them.

Handoff

• Use building-backends (myai) for day-2 backend architecture and service/API/worker shaping.
• Use building-multi-ui-apps if API, CLI, and automation share one core.
• Use writing-python-code for implementation rules.

Related Skills

• setting-up-backends (myai) — Parent skill. Load first for backend architecture philosophy.
• engineering-principles (myai) — Foundation.
• architecting-changes (myai) — Architecture decisions.
• api-design (myai) — Stable API and protocol design.
• security-and-hardening (myai) — Auth, secrets, boundary hardening.
• setting-up-python-projects — Generic Python bootstrap pieces (templates, shared code).
• building-backends (myai) — Day-2 backend architecture.
• testing-python — Python API/service test setup.