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HNG Internship Stage 0: Dynamic Profile API

This project is a simple RESTful API built with Django and Django REST Framework for the HNG Internship Stage 0 Backend Task. The API serves personal profile data and integrates with a third-party service to provide a random cat fact with each request.

The live, deployed application can be accessed here: https://hngprofileproject-zichdan7442-tho7lc5q.leapcell.dev/

Features & Acceptance Criteria Checklist

This project successfully implements all the core requirements of the task:

• A working GET /me/ endpoint is accessible and returns a 200 OK status.
• The response structure strictly follows the required JSON schema.
• All required fields (status, user, timestamp, fact) are present.
• The user object contains email, name, and stack fields with valid string values.
• The timestamp field returns the current UTC time in ISO 8601 format and updates dynamically with every request.
• The fact field contains a cat fact fetched live from the Cat Facts API.
• A new cat fact is fetched on every request (not cached).
• The response Content-Type header is application/json.
• The code is well-structured and follows best practices for the Django stack.
• Robust logging and error handling are implemented for the external API call.
• The project includes interactive API documentation via Swagger UI.

API Documentation

This project includes interactive API documentation generated with drf-yasg (Swagger UI). The documentation allows for easy exploration and testing of the endpoint directly in the browser.

API Docs URL: https://hngprofileproject-zichdan7442-tho7lc5q.leapcell.dev/

Endpoint Details

• Endpoint: /me/
• Method: GET
• Description: Retrieves the user's profile information and a random cat fact.
• Success Response (200 OK):

  {
    "status": "success",
    "user": {
      "email": "zichdan1999@gmail.com",
      "name": "Daniel Ezichi Okorie",
      "stack": "Python/Django"
    },
    "timestamp": "2025-10-20T12:00:00.123456Z",
    "fact": "A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound."
  }

• Error Handling: If the external Cat Facts API fails, the fact field will contain a descriptive error message, ensuring the endpoint remains stable.

  {
      // ... other fields
      "fact": "Error: The request to the Cat Facts API timed out."
  }

Technology Stack

• Backend: Django, Django REST Framework
• Web Server: Gunicorn
• API Documentation: drf-yasg (Swagger UI)
• Deployment: Leapcell

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Local Setup and Installation

Follow these instructions to set up and run the project on your local machine.

1. Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• pip and venv
• Git

2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/zichdan/hng_profile_project.git
cd hng_profile_project

3. Set Up a Virtual Environment

It is highly recommended to use a virtual environment to manage project dependencies.

# For macOS/Linux
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

# For Windows
python -m venv venv
.\venv\Scripts\activate

4. Install Dependencies

All required packages are listed in the requirements.txt file.

pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Set Up Environment Variables

This project uses environment variables for configuration. Create a .env file in the project's root directory. For this simple project, the key variables (SECRET_KEY and DEBUG) have safe defaults for local development.

6. Run the Development Server

You can now start the local development server.

python manage.py runserver

The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:8000/.

Environment Variables

For production deployment, the following environment variables are required. For local development, safe defaults are provided in settings.py.

Variable	Description	Example Value
SECRET_KEY	The secret key for your Django application.	your-super-secret-django-key
DEBUG	Toggles Django's debug mode. Should be False in production.	False
ALLOWED_HOSTS	Comma-separated list of trusted hostnames.	yourdomain.com,127.0.0.1

How to Test the Endpoint

You can test the endpoint in several ways:

1. Via Swagger UI (Recommended):

   • Run the server and navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8000/.
   • Expand the GET /me/ endpoint.
   • Click the "Try it out" button, then "Execute".

2. Via Browser:

   • Simply navigate to http://12-7.0.0.1:8000/me/ in your web browser.

3. Via curl:

   • Open your terminal and run the following command:

     curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/me/

Author

• Name: Daniel Ezichi Okorie
• Email: zichdan1999@gmail.com

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