---
title: "Tour the FastAPI Starter"
description: "Get the FastAPI starter running locally, explore the /api/items endpoint, and understand how Vercel's Python runtime finds and serves your app from the api/ folder."
canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/academy/python-on-vercel/explore-fastapi-starter"
md_url: "https://vercel.com/academy/python-on-vercel/explore-fastapi-starter.md"
docset_id: "vercel-academy"
doc_version: "1.0"
last_updated: "2026-05-10T05:45:21.732Z"
content_type: "lesson"
course: "python-on-vercel"
course_title: "Python on Vercel"
prerequisites:  []
---

<agent-instructions>
Vercel Academy — structured learning, not reference docs.
Lessons are sequenced.
Adapt commands to the human's actual environment (OS, package manager, shell, editor) — detect from project context or ask, don't assume.
The lesson shows one path; if the human's project diverges, adapt concepts to their setup.
Preserve the learning goal over literal steps.
Quizzes are pedagogical — engage, don't spoil.
Quiz answers are included for your reference.
</agent-instructions>

# Tour the FastAPI Starter

# Tour the FastAPI Starter

The Python side of this project will feel immediately familiar. A single file in an `api/` folder, a list of furniture items, two routes. Nothing surprising. But before we connect it to anything, it's worth understanding exactly what's there. The location of this file is what Vercel looks for when it's time to deploy.

## Outcome

Get the FastAPI starter running locally and confirm the `/api/items` endpoint is returning data.

## Fast Track

1. Clone the starter repo and `cd` into it
2. `pip install "fastapi[standard]"`
3. `fastapi dev api/index.py`
4. Open `http://localhost:8000/api/items`

## Hands-On

### Get the starter

Clone the course starter repo into a folder called `starter` and step into it:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/vercel-labs/academy-python-course.git starter
cd starter
```

Inside `starter/` you'll see an `api/` folder with Python and an `app/` folder with Next.js side by side at the root.

### Install dependencies

From the project root, install the Python dependencies:

```bash
pip install "fastapi[standard]"
```

The `[standard]` extra includes `uvicorn`, which FastAPI uses as its development server. If you already have a virtual environment set up, activate it first.

### Start the server

```bash
fastapi dev api/index.py
```

You'll see output like this:

```
INFO:     Will watch for changes in these directories: ['/path/to/starter']
INFO:     Uvicorn running on http://127.0.0.1:8000 (Press CTRL+C to quit)
INFO:     Started reloader process [12345] using WatchFiles
INFO:     Started server process [12346]
INFO:     Waiting for application startup.
INFO:     Application startup complete.
```

### Explore the endpoints

Open `http://localhost:8000/api/items` in your browser. You'll get the full inventory:

```json
[
  {"id": 1, "name": "Fernwood Sectional", "category": "Seating", "price": 2499.0, "in_stock": true},
  {"id": 2, "name": "Knotted Oak Coffee Table", "category": "Tables", "price": 849.0, "in_stock": true},
  {"id": 3, "name": "Garrison Bookshelf", "category": "Storage", "price": 629.0, "in_stock": false}
]
```

FastAPI also generates interactive API docs automatically. Visit `http://localhost:8000/docs` to see them. Handy for testing endpoints without curl.

### Read the code

Open `starter/api/index.py`. The whole thing is about 20 lines:

```python
from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

items = [...]

@app.get("/api")
def home():
    return {"message": "Hazel Home Furniture API"}

@app.get("/api/items")
def get_items():
    return items
```

Three things to notice. First, the variable is named `app`. That's not a style choice. Vercel looks for a top-level variable named exactly `app` when it deploys a Python project. If it's named anything else, the deploy fails.

Second, the file lives at `api/index.py`. Vercel treats the `api/` folder specially: any Python file there becomes a serverless function at deploy time. `index.py` is the catch-all that handles requests to `/api/*`.

Third, every route starts with `/api`. That's because when a request hits `/api/items` in production, Vercel routes it to `api/index.py`, and FastAPI needs to match the full path. Keeping the prefix explicit in the route definitions is the clearest mental model: the URL the browser requests is the URL FastAPI expects.

### Check the dependency file

Open `starter/pyproject.toml` at the project root:

```toml
[project]
name = "hazel-home"
version = "0.1.0"
requires-python = ">=3.12"
dependencies = [
    "fastapi>=0.136.0",
]
```

Vercel reads this file to install Python dependencies at build time. The `requires-python` field sets the Python version. Without it, Vercel uses its default, which may not match your local environment.

\*\*Note: requirements.txt works too\*\*

Vercel also reads `requirements.txt` and `Pipfile`. This course uses
`pyproject.toml` because it handles Python version pinning and dependency
management in one place.

## Try It

With the server running, confirm both endpoints work:

```bash
curl http://localhost:8000/api
```

```json
{"message": "Hazel Home Furniture API"}
```

```bash
curl http://localhost:8000/api/items
```

```json
[
  {"id":1,"name":"Fernwood Sectional","category":"Seating","price":2499.0,"in_stock":true},
  ...
]
```

## Troubleshooting

**`fastapi: command not found`:** The `[standard]` extra installs the `fastapi` CLI along with `uvicorn`. If the command isn't found, your virtual environment may not be activated, or the install didn't complete. Run `pip install "fastapi[standard]"` again inside an active venv.

**Port 8000 already in use:** Another process is using the port. Run `fastapi dev api/index.py --port 8001` to use a different port, or kill the existing process with `lsof -ti:8000 | xargs kill`.

## Done-When

- [ ] `fastapi dev api/index.py` starts without errors
- [ ] `http://localhost:8000/api/items` returns all 8 furniture items
- [ ] You can identify the `app` variable and the `api/index.py` entrypoint in the code

## Solution

```python
# starter/api/index.py
from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()

items = [
    {"id": 1, "name": "Fernwood Sectional", "category": "Seating", "price": 2499.00, "in_stock": True},
    {"id": 2, "name": "Knotted Oak Coffee Table", "category": "Tables", "price": 849.00, "in_stock": True},
    {"id": 3, "name": "Garrison Bookshelf", "category": "Storage", "price": 629.00, "in_stock": False},
    {"id": 4, "name": "The Long Table", "category": "Tables", "price": 1199.00, "in_stock": True},
    {"id": 5, "name": "Pivot Desk Chair", "category": "Seating", "price": 449.00, "in_stock": True},
    {"id": 6, "name": "Ember Side Table", "category": "Tables", "price": 299.00, "in_stock": True},
    {"id": 7, "name": "Stacked Nightstand", "category": "Storage", "price": 389.00, "in_stock": False},
    {"id": 8, "name": "Canvas Floor Lamp", "category": "Lighting", "price": 219.00, "in_stock": True},
]

@app.get("/api")
def home():
    return {"message": "Hazel Home Furniture API"}

@app.get("/api/items")
def get_items():
    return items
```


---

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