Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a FastAPI Project in PyCharm

Introduction FastAPI is a modern, high-performance web framework for building APIs with Python. If you're using PyCharm as your IDE, setting up a FastAPI project is straightforward. In this guide, we will walk through the process of creating a FastAPI project in PyCharm from scratch.

Step 1: Install PyCharm

If you haven't installed PyCharm yet, download and install it from the official JetBrains website: PyCharm Download.

Once installed, open PyCharm and create a new project.

Step 2: Create a New Project

1. Open PyCharm and click on Create New Project.
2. Select Virtualenv as the environment.
3. Choose the Python interpreter (Python 3.7+ is recommended for FastAPI).
4. Set a project location and click Create.

Step 3: Install FastAPI and Uvicorn

After setting up the project:

• Open the Terminal in PyCharm.
• Run the following command to install FastAPI and Uvicorn (the ASGI server for running FastAPI applications):

pip install fastapi uvicorn        

• Verify the installation by running:

python -c "import fastapi; print(fastapi.__version__)"        

Step 4: Create the Main FastAPI Application File

1. Inside your project directory, create a new Python file, e.g., main.py.
2. Add the following FastAPI boilerplate code:

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/")
def read_root():
    return {"message": "Hello, FastAPI!"}        

Step 5: Run the FastAPI Application

• In the terminal, run the following command to start the application:

uvicorn main:app --reload        

• You should see output indicating that Uvicorn is running.
• Open a web browser and visit: https://127.0.0.1:8000.
• To explore the auto-generated API documentation, go to:
• Swagger UI: https://127.0.0.1:8000/docs
• Redoc UI: https://127.0.0.1:8000/redoc

Step 6: Configuring PyCharm for FastAPI Development

Enable Virtual Environment

• Open File > Settings > Project: > Python Interpreter.
• Ensure the correct virtual environment is selected.

Run Configurations

• Go to Run > Edit Configurations.
• Click + (Add New Configuration) and select Python.
• Set the script path to uvicorn and parameters as:

main:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000 --reload        

• Save and run the configuration.

Step 7: Creating API Endpoints

Extend your FastAPI application by adding more endpoints:

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/")
def home():
    return {"message": "Welcome to FastAPI"}

@app.get("/items/{item_id}")
def read_item(item_id: int, q: str = None):
    return {"item_id": item_id, "query": q}