SQLModel – Pydantic + SQLAlchemy in One

One model for both validation AND database. Created by Sebastián Ramírez (FastAPI creator).

Before Implementation

Gather context to ensure successful implementation:

Clarifications

Required (ask if not clear)

1. Database? PostgreSQL / SQLite / MySQL
2. Async needed? Yes (asyncpg/aiosqlite) / No (sync)
3. Relationships? One-to-Many / Many-to-Many / None

Optional (ask if relevant)

4. Migrations? Alembic / Manual / None
5. Framework? FastAPI / Standalone Python

Official Documentation

Version Note: This skill follows SQLModel 0.0.16+ and Pydantic v2 patterns.

TDD Workflow (Red-Green-Refactor)

ALWAYS follow TDD when building with SQLModel:

The Cycle

🔴 RED    → Write a failing test for model/endpoint
🟢 GREEN  → Create minimal model/code to pass
🔄 REFACTOR → Improve code, keep tests green

TDD Example: Hero Model

# Step 1: 🔴 RED - Write test first
def test_create_hero(client):
    response = client.post("/heroes/", json={
        "name": "Spider-Boy",
        "secret_name": "Pedro Parqueador"
    })
    assert response.status_code == 201
    assert response.json()["name"] == "Spider-Boy"

# Step 2: 🟢 GREEN - Create model and endpoint
class Hero(SQLModel, table=True):
    id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
    name: str
    secret_name: str

# Step 3: 🔄 REFACTOR - Add indexes, relationships

Quick Start

# Initialize project
uv init my-app && cd my-app

# Install SQLModel
uv add sqlmodel

# For FastAPI integration
uv add sqlmodel fastapi "uvicorn[standard]"

# For async support
uv add sqlmodel aiosqlite  # SQLite async
uv add sqlmodel asyncpg    # PostgreSQL async

Core Concept: One Model, Multiple Uses

from sqlmodel import Field, SQLModel

# Base model (shared fields)
class HeroBase(SQLModel):
    name: str
    secret_name: str
    age: int | None = None

# Database model (table=True)
class Hero(HeroBase, table=True):
    id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)

# Create schema (request body)
class HeroCreate(HeroBase):
    pass

# Read schema (response)
class HeroRead(HeroBase):
    id: int

# Update schema (partial updates)
class HeroUpdate(SQLModel):
    name: str | None = None
    secret_name: str | None = None
    age: int | None = None

Basic CRUD Operations

from sqlmodel import Session, select, create_engine

DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///database.db"
engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL)

# CREATE
def create_hero(session: Session, hero: HeroCreate) -> Hero:
    db_hero = Hero.model_validate(hero)
    session.add(db_hero)
    session.commit()
    session.refresh(db_hero)
    return db_hero

# READ (single)
def get_hero(session: Session, hero_id: int) -> Hero | None:
    return session.get(Hero, hero_id)

# READ (list)
def get_heroes(session: Session, skip: int = 0, limit: int = 100) -> list[Hero]:
    statement = select(Hero).offset(skip).limit(limit)
    return session.exec(statement).all()

# UPDATE
def update_hero(session: Session, hero_id: int, hero_update: HeroUpdate) -> Hero | None:
    db_hero = session.get(Hero, hero_id)
    if db_hero:
        hero_data = hero_update.model_dump(exclude_unset=True)
        db_hero.sqlmodel_update(hero_data)
        session.add(db_hero)
        session.commit()
        session.refresh(db_hero)
    return db_hero

# DELETE
def delete_hero(session: Session, hero_id: int) -> bool:
    hero = session.get(Hero, hero_id)
    if hero:
        session.delete(hero)
        session.commit()
        return True
    return False

FastAPI Integration

from fastapi import FastAPI, Depends, HTTPException
from sqlmodel import Session, SQLModel, create_engine

app = FastAPI()

def get_session():
    with Session(engine) as session:
        yield session

@app.on_event("startup")
def on_startup():
    SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)

@app.post("/heroes/", response_model=HeroRead, status_code=201)
def create_hero(hero: HeroCreate, session: Session = Depends(get_session)):
    db_hero = Hero.model_validate(hero)
    session.add(db_hero)
    session.commit()
    session.refresh(db_hero)
    return db_hero

@app.get("/heroes/{hero_id}", response_model=HeroRead)
def read_hero(hero_id: int, session: Session = Depends(get_session)):
    hero = session.get(Hero, hero_id)
    if not hero:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Hero not found")
    return hero

Workflow Selection

Starting with SQLModel? → See references/basics.md

Building FastAPI + SQLModel? → See references/fastapi-integration.md

Need relationships (1:N, N:N)? → See references/relationships.md

Database migrations? → See references/migrations.md

Async database? → See references/async.md

Field Configuration

from sqlmodel import Field

class Hero(SQLModel, table=True):
    # Primary key
    id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)

    # Required with index
    name: str = Field(index=True)

    # Optional with default
    age: int | None = Field(default=None, index=True)

    # Unique constraint
    email: str = Field(unique=True)

    # Foreign key
    team_id: int | None = Field(default=None, foreign_key="team.id")

    # With validation
    power_level: int = Field(ge=0, le=100)

    # Max length (for VARCHAR)
    description: str | None = Field(default=None, max_length=500)

Query Examples

from sqlmodel import select, or_, and_, col

# Basic select
statement = select(Hero)
heroes = session.exec(statement).all()

# Where clause
statement = select(Hero).where(Hero.name == "Spider-Boy")
hero = session.exec(statement).first()

# Multiple conditions (AND)
statement = select(Hero).where(Hero.age >= 18, Hero.age <= 65)

# OR conditions
statement = select(Hero).where(or_(Hero.name == "Spider-Boy", Hero.name == "Deadpond"))

# LIKE query
statement = select(Hero).where(col(Hero.name).contains("Spider"))

# Order by
statement = select(Hero).order_by(Hero.name)
statement = select(Hero).order_by(col(Hero.age).desc())

# Limit and offset
statement = select(Hero).offset(10).limit(5)

# Count
from sqlmodel import func
statement = select(func.count()).select_from(Hero)
count = session.exec(statement).one()

Testing with SQLModel

# tests/conftest.py
import pytest
from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
from sqlmodel import Session, SQLModel, create_engine
from sqlmodel.pool import StaticPool

from app.main import app, get_session

@pytest.fixture(name="session")
def session_fixture():
    engine = create_engine(
        "sqlite://",  # In-memory database
        connect_args={"check_same_thread": False},
        poolclass=StaticPool,
    )
    SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)
    with Session(engine) as session:
        yield session

@pytest.fixture(name="client")
def client_fixture(session: Session):
    def get_session_override():
        return session

    app.dependency_overrides[get_session] = get_session_override
    client = TestClient(app)
    yield client
    app.dependency_overrides.clear()

# tests/test_heroes.py
def test_create_hero(client):
    response = client.post("/heroes/", json={
        "name": "Spider-Boy",
        "secret_name": "Pedro Parqueador"
    })
    assert response.status_code == 201
    data = response.json()
    assert data["name"] == "Spider-Boy"
    assert "id" in data

def test_read_hero(client):
    # Create first
    response = client.post("/heroes/", json={
        "name": "Deadpond",
        "secret_name": "Dive Wilson"
    })
    hero_id = response.json()["id"]

    # Then read
    response = client.get(f"/heroes/{hero_id}")
    assert response.status_code == 200
    assert response.json()["name"] == "Deadpond"

def test_read_hero_not_found(client):
    response = client.get("/heroes/999")
    assert response.status_code == 404

Run Tests

uv run pytest tests/ -v
uv run pytest tests/ --cov=app --cov-report=term-missing

Quick Reference

Common Mistakes

Before Delivery Checklist

Model Quality

• All DB models have table=True
• Primary keys use Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
• Separate schemas: Base, Create, Read, Update
• Indexes on frequently queried fields

Database Operations

• All operations use session.commit()
• New objects refreshed after commit
• Proper error handling for not found
• Session dependency yields and closes

Relationships

• Foreign keys properly defined
• Relationship() configured both sides
• Eager loading where needed (selectinload)

Testing

• In-memory SQLite for tests
• Dependency override for test session
• Tests pass: uv run pytest