How to Implement Ordering in Django REST Framework (DRF)

To implement ordering in Django REST Framework (DRF), add OrderingFilter to your view's filter_backends and specify ordering_fields or use ordering for default ordering. This allows clients to order API results by sending an ordering query parameter.

Syntax

Use OrderingFilter in your DRF view's filter_backends. Define which fields can be ordered with ordering_fields. Optionally, set a default order with ordering.

• filter_backends: List of filters applied to the view.
• OrderingFilter: Enables ordering support.
• ordering_fields: Fields allowed for ordering.
• ordering: Default ordering if none specified by client.

python

from rest_framework import generics, filters
from myapp.models import Item
from myapp.serializers import ItemSerializer

class ItemListView(generics.ListAPIView):
    queryset = Item.objects.all()
    serializer_class = ItemSerializer
    filter_backends = [filters.OrderingFilter]
    ordering_fields = ['name', 'price']  # fields clients can order by
    ordering = ['name']  # default ordering

Example

This example shows a DRF API view that allows clients to order items by name or price. The default order is by name. Clients can request ?ordering=price or ?ordering=-price for descending order.

python

from rest_framework import generics, filters
from django.db import models
from rest_framework.serializers import ModelSerializer

# Model
class Item(models.Model):
    name = models.CharField(max_length=100)
    price = models.DecimalField(max_digits=6, decimal_places=2)

# Serializer
class ItemSerializer(ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Item
        fields = ['id', 'name', 'price']

# View
class ItemListView(generics.ListAPIView):
    queryset = Item.objects.all()
    serializer_class = ItemSerializer
    filter_backends = [filters.OrderingFilter]
    ordering_fields = ['name', 'price']
    ordering = ['name']

Output

GET /items/  # returns items ordered by name ascending
GET /items/?ordering=price  # returns items ordered by price ascending
GET /items/?ordering=-price  # returns items ordered by price descending

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when implementing ordering in DRF include:

• Not adding OrderingFilter to filter_backends, so ordering does not work.
• Forgetting to specify ordering_fields, which restricts which fields clients can order by.
• Using model fields not included in ordering_fields in the query parameter, which will be ignored.
• Not handling descending order syntax with a leading -.

python

from rest_framework import generics, filters
from myapp.models import Item
from myapp.serializers import ItemSerializer

# Wrong: Missing OrderingFilter
class WrongView(generics.ListAPIView):
    queryset = Item.objects.all()
    serializer_class = ItemSerializer
    filter_backends = []  # No OrderingFilter

# Right: Include OrderingFilter and ordering_fields
class RightView(generics.ListAPIView):
    queryset = Item.objects.all()
    serializer_class = ItemSerializer
    filter_backends = [filters.OrderingFilter]
    ordering_fields = ['name', 'price']

Quick Reference

Feature	Description	Example
filter_backends	List of filters applied to the view	[filters.OrderingFilter]
OrderingFilter	Enables ordering support in DRF views	filters.OrderingFilter
ordering_fields	Fields allowed for ordering by clients	['name', 'price']
ordering	Default ordering if client does not specify	['name']
Ordering query param	Client uses this to order results	?ordering=price or ?ordering=-price

Key Takeaways

Add OrderingFilter to filter_backends to enable ordering in DRF views.

Specify ordering_fields to control which fields clients can order by.

Use the ordering attribute to set a default order for results.

Clients order results by adding ?ordering=field or ?ordering=-field to the URL.

Without OrderingFilter or ordering_fields, ordering will not work as expected.