I built a tool to visualize Django REST Framework architecture (URLs, Serializers, Models, and more)

raoubaid-12 — Sun, 24 May 2026 20:52:26 +0000

I built a tool to visualize Django REST Framework architecture (URLs, serializers, models, and more)

As Django REST Framework projects grow, one of the biggest challenges is understanding how everything is connected.

In my recent projects, I kept running into the same problem:

Which view is using which serializer?
How are models connected across the system?
Where are potential N+1 or optimization issues?
How does the API structure actually look as a whole?

I found myself constantly jumping between:

urls.py
views.py
serializers.py
models.py

At some point, it becomes hard to mentally map the entire architecture.

So I decided to experiment with building something to make DRF structure more visual and explorable.

🧠 What I built

I created a Django package called:

DRF Inspector

It automatically analyzes a Django REST Framework project and provides a visual dashboard inside Django.

✨ Features

🌐 API Structure Visualization

Lists all API endpoints
Maps URLs → views
Shows HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.)

🧠 Model Relationship Graph

Visual graph of:
- ForeignKey
- ManyToManyField
- OneToOneField
Helps understand DB structure instantly

🔍 Serializer Inspection

Detects serializers used in views
Shows nested serializer relationships
Maps serializer → model relationships

🧭 View Analysis

Authentication classes
Permissions
Pagination
Throttling

⚡ Query Optimization Hints

Detects potential N+1 query issues
Suggests select_related / prefetch_related

📦 Export Options

JSON export
Markdown export

🔗 Links

GitHub: https://github.com/codewithubaid1/drf-inspector

- PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/drf-inspector/

🖥️ How it works

After installing, it adds a dashboard inside your Django project.

⚡ Installation

Step 1: Install the package

pip install drf-inspector==0.1.4

Step 2: Add in settings.py:

installed_apps = [
  drf_inspector,
   ....
]

Step 3: Add in project urls.py:

from django.urls import path, include
urlpatterns = [
  ...,
  path("drf-inspector/",include("drf_inspector.urls")),
]

Final Step : Go to the url and that's it:

   http://127.0.0.1:8000/drf-inspector/

DEV Community: raoubaid-12