Fields Selector¶
Control which fields are included in API responses using the X-Fields header. Reduces bandwidth and improves performance by returning only requested data.
Key features¶
- Bandwidth reduction: Only return requested fields
- Dot notation: Access nested relationships (
category.name) - Query optimization: Automatically adds
select_related()for relations - Always includes ID: Primary key always returned for consistency
Use cases¶
- Mobile APIs: Reduce payload size for slower connections
- Dashboard views: Select only display-relevant fields
- Data export: Choose specific columns for reports
- Performance optimization: Minimize database column selection
Behavior¶
- Missing fields: Silently ignored (no errors)
- Invalid syntax: Returns all fields as fallback
- Relations: Automatically optimized with database JOINs
- Arrays: Supports filtering nested collections