Agentic AI Notebook
Phase 21

FastAPI

~2 min read

Concept & How It Works

  • Key points are in the visual diagram above.

Why Does It Exist?

REST is predictable and universal. Every LLM provider, vector DB, and backend you build follows these conventions.

Real-World Analogy

REST is a library catalog — each book has a unique ID, and everyone uses the same rules to browse, add, or remove.
Loading diagram...

Visual Workflows

What is FastAPI?

Loading diagram...

Example

Scenario

You need an API where users upload documents and ask questions about them.

Solution

POST /documents uploads a file, GET /documents/{id} returns metadata, POST /chat returns an answer with source citations.

Practice Task

Do this before moving to the next module — reading alone is not enough.

On paper or in a note, design 4 REST endpoints for a simple notes app: list notes, get one note, create a note, delete a note. For each, write the HTTP method, URL path, and what JSON it sends or returns.

Code Walkthrough

Highlighted lines show where FastAPI happens in the code.

FastAPI
1# FastAPI — minimal example2from openai import OpenAI3
4client = OpenAI()  # create API client5
6# Ask the model to explain this topic7response = client.chat.completions.create(  # core API call for FastAPI8    model="gpt-4o-mini",9    messages=[10        {"role": "system", "content": "You explain fastapi clearly."},11        {"role": "user", "content": f"What is fastapi?"},12    ],13    temperature=0,14)15print(response.choices[0].message.content)  # show output for debugging

Commands to Remember

Commands to Remember

  • curl http://localhost:8000/docs # open auto-generated API documentation
  • curl http://localhost:8000/documents/1 # GET a resource by ID
  • curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{...}' URL # POST JSON to an endpoint

Common Mistakes

  • Using GET to modify data
  • Verbs in URLs like /getUser
  • Returning 200 with errors in body

Cheat Sheet

Quick recap — the most important points from this module.

Cheat Sheet

quick ref
  • Resources = nouns in URLs (/documents, /chats)
  • HTTP methods map to CRUD: GET read · POST create · PUT/PATCH update · DELETE remove
  • Stateless — auth token in every request header
  • JSON request and response bodies with proper status codes
  • Version APIs with /v1/ in the URL path
  • Build with FastAPI + Pydantic · docs at /docs