Build Production LLM Apps with Python & FastAPI
A hands-on, 12-part track that builds from modern Python through FastAPI and into production LLM features, with runnable code in every part.
This series builds one skill at a time. You start with a modern Python toolchain, move into FastAPI for production APIs, and finish by wiring real language model features: reliable JSON, retrieval, streaming, and a small agent. Every part ships runnable code, and most include a playground so you can run Python right in the browser.
In this series
- 1 Modern Python 3.14 Setup for LLM Projects: uv, Virtualenvs, Typing, and Project Layout Set up a fast, reproducible Python 3.14 project with uv, a src layout, Ruff, and mypy: the foundation for the FastAPI and LLM work ahead.
- 2 Type-Safe Data Modeling with Pydantic v2 and Python Type Hints Use Pydantic v2 to validate data at the boundary: models, field constraints, custom validators, and clean serialization, the backbone of FastAPI and reliable LLM output.
- 3 Async Python Deep Dive: asyncio, httpx, and Concurrency for API and LLM Calls Understand asyncio and the event loop, then fan out API and LLM calls concurrently with httpx, gather, and a semaphore to bound load.
- 4 FastAPI Fundamentals: Routing, Pydantic Models, and Dependency Injection Build real FastAPI endpoints: typed routing, Pydantic request and response models, dependency injection, and automatic docs.
- 5 FastAPI in Production: Settings, Auth, Middleware, and Project Structure Harden a FastAPI app for production: typed settings with pydantic-settings, bearer auth, logging and CORS middleware, and a scalable project structure.
- 6 Streaming and Background Work in FastAPI: SSE and BackgroundTasks Stream responses from FastAPI with server sent events, run side effects with BackgroundTasks, and know when to move to a real task queue.
- 7 Testing FastAPI the Right Way: pytest, the Test Client, and Validation Test FastAPI with pytest and the test client: assert on validation, override dependencies to isolate from real services, and cover async and streaming code.
- 8 Calling LLMs from Python: The Request Loop, Tokens, Cost, and Retries Call language models from Python with the Claude SDK: the messages loop, tokens and cost, and a client with timeouts and retries you can inject and test.
- 9 Structured Outputs and Function Calling: Getting Reliable JSON from LLMs Get dependable JSON from language models with structured outputs and function calling, then validate with Pydantic so your code works with typed objects.
- 10 Building a RAG Service with FastAPI: Chunking, Embeddings, and Vector Search Build a RAG service end to end: chunk documents, embed and search by similarity, and answer grounded in retrieved context from a FastAPI endpoint.
- 11 Streaming LLM Responses to the Browser with FastAPI and SSE Stream a real model response to the browser: consume the model stream in Python, forward it through a FastAPI SSE endpoint, and render it live.
- 12 Building an AI Agent API: Tool Calls, Memory, and Guardrails Build a small AI agent API: the tool calling loop, conversation memory, and the guardrails that keep an action taking agent safe and bounded.