DEV Community: Vaibhavi Naik

Building My First API with FastAPI 🚀

Vaibhavi Naik — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:21:20 +0000

After deciding to start learning FastAPI, I wanted to build something simple to understand how APIs actually work.

So today, I built my very first API using FastAPI.

Honestly, I expected backend development to feel complicated at first, but FastAPI made the setup surprisingly clean and beginner-friendly.

Setting Up FastAPI

First, I installed FastAPI and Uvicorn:

pip install fastapi uvicorn

Then I created a file called main.py.

My First FastAPI Code

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

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

To run the server:

uvicorn main:app --reload

After running this command, my API started working locally.

My First API Response

When I opened:

http://127.0.0.1:8000

I saw:


{
  "message": "Hello FastAPI"
}

It felt surprisingly satisfying seeing my first backend response working.

The Coolest Part — Automatic Docs

One thing that immediately impressed me was the automatic API documentation.

FastAPI instantly generated:

/docs
/redoc

Swagger UI looked incredibly clean and made testing APIs much easier for beginners like me.

What I Learned Today

Here are a few things I understood while building this small API:

APIs return data instead of web pages
Routes define endpoints
FastAPI syntax feels very readable
Backend development feels less scary when starting small

Challenges I Faced

At first, I got confused with:

virtual environments
running uvicorn
understanding what app = FastAPI() actually does

But after experimenting a little, things slowly started making sense.

Next Step

Next, I want to learn:

GET vs POST requests
path parameters
request validation using Pydantic

I’ll keep documenting everything as I continue learning backend development with FastAPI 🚀

Building My First API with FastAPI 🚀

Vaibhavi Naik — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:21:20 +0000

After deciding to start learning FastAPI, I wanted to build something simple to understand how APIs actually work.

So today, I built my very first API using FastAPI.

Honestly, I expected backend development to feel complicated at first, but FastAPI made the setup surprisingly clean and beginner-friendly.

Setting Up FastAPI

First, I installed FastAPI and Uvicorn:

pip install fastapi uvicorn

Then I created a file called main.py.

My First FastAPI Code

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

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

To run the server:

uvicorn main:app --reload

After running this command, my API started working locally.

My First API Response

When I opened:

http://127.0.0.1:8000

I saw:


{
  "message": "Hello FastAPI"
}

It felt surprisingly satisfying seeing my first backend response working.

The Coolest Part — Automatic Docs

One thing that immediately impressed me was the automatic API documentation.

FastAPI instantly generated:

/docs
/redoc

Swagger UI looked incredibly clean and made testing APIs much easier for beginners like me.

What I Learned Today

Here are a few things I understood while building this small API:

APIs return data instead of web pages
Routes define endpoints
FastAPI syntax feels very readable
Backend development feels less scary when starting small

Challenges I Faced

At first, I got confused with:

virtual environments
running uvicorn
understanding what app = FastAPI() actually does

But after experimenting a little, things slowly started making sense.

Next Step

Next, I want to learn:

GET vs POST requests
path parameters
request validation using Pydantic

I’ll keep documenting everything as I continue learning backend development with FastAPI 🚀

Why I Started Learning FastAPI in 2026

Vaibhavi Naik — Sun, 24 May 2026 21:31:52 +0000

Why I Started Learning FastAPI in 2026 🚀

I wanted to learn backend development in Python, but choosing the right framework felt overwhelming. Flask was simple and beginner-friendly, Django looked powerful but huge, and then I discovered FastAPI.

At first, I kept seeing developers talk about how fast and modern FastAPI felt compared to older Python frameworks. The more I explored it, the more interested I became.

As someone who already knew basic Python, I wanted a framework that would help me:

build real APIs,

understand backend development properly,
and learn modern development practices without too much boilerplate code.

That’s exactly what FastAPI seemed to offer.

Why FastAPI Caught My Attention

After spending some time exploring it, here are the main reasons why I decided to start learning FastAPI in 2026.

⚡ Speed & Performance

FastAPI is known for being one of the fastest Python web frameworks. Since modern applications rely heavily on APIs, performance matters a lot.

🧠 Modern Python Features

One thing I immediately liked was how FastAPI uses Python type hints.

The syntax feels clean and easy to understand:

from fastapi import FastAPI

`app = FastAPI()

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

Even this small example already looks simple and readable.

📄 Automatic API Documentation

One of the coolest things about FastAPI is that it automatically generates API documentation using Swagger UI and ReDoc.

Just by running the server, you instantly get:

/docs
/redoc

This felt incredibly beginner-friendly.

🔥 Growing Popularity

I also noticed that many modern startups, AI tools, and backend systems are using FastAPI because of:

async support,
performance,
clean architecture,
and developer productivity.

Since APIs are everywhere today, learning FastAPI felt like a practical skill to invest time in.

What I Plan to Learn

I’m starting a FastAPI learning journey where I’ll document everything step by step — from beginner concepts to advanced backend development.

Some topics I plan to cover:

Building REST APIs
CRUD operations
Request validation with Pydantic
Authentication with JWT
Database integration
Async programming
Docker & deployment
Production-ready project structure

Learning in Public

Instead of waiting until I become an “expert,” I decided to start writing while learning.

I think documenting the process will help me:

understand concepts better,
stay consistent,
and hopefully help other beginners who are learning backend development too.

Final Thoughts

Starting backend development can feel confusing at first, especially when there are so many frameworks and technologies to choose from.

But FastAPI feels like a great balance between:

simplicity,
modern features,
and real-world backend development.

I’m excited to see where this journey goes.

If you’re also learning Python backend development in 2026, feel free to follow along 🚀

👉
Building My First API with FastAPI

DEV Community: Vaibhavi Naik

Building My First API with FastAPI 🚀

Setting Up FastAPI

My First FastAPI Code

My First API Response

The Coolest Part — Automatic Docs

What I Learned Today

Challenges I Faced

Next Step

Building My First API with FastAPI 🚀

Setting Up FastAPI

My First FastAPI Code

My First API Response

The Coolest Part — Automatic Docs

What I Learned Today

Challenges I Faced

Next Step

Why I Started Learning FastAPI in 2026

Why I Started Learning FastAPI in 2026 🚀

build real APIs,

⚡ Speed & Performance

🧠 Modern Python Features

📄 Automatic API Documentation

🔥 Growing Popularity

What I Plan to Learn

Some topics I plan to cover:

Learning in Public

Final Thoughts

Next Article