django-currency-converter-erapi

Django Currency Converter

A Django application for converting currencies using real-time exchange rates from ExchangeRate-API.

Features

• Real-time currency conversion using ExchangeRate-API
• Built-in caching for improved performance
• Custom Django management commands
• Comprehensive error handling
• Support for 24+ major currencies
• Production-ready with proper logging
• Type hints and documentation

Installation

• Install the package:

pip install django-currency-converter-erapi

• For .env file support (recommended), also install:

pip install django-currency-converter-erapi[dotenv]

• Add currency_converter to your Django project's INSTALLED_APPS in settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ... other apps
    'currency_converter_erapi',
]

Configuration

API Key Configuration (Multiple Options)

The currency converter supports multiple ways to configure your API key for premium access:

Option 1: .env File (Recommended)

Create a .env file in your Django project root:

# .env file
CURRENCY_API_KEY=your_exchangerate_api_key_here
# or alternatively:
EXCHANGERATE_API_KEY=your_exchangerate_api_key_here

Option 2: Django Settings

Add to your Django settings.py:

CURRENCY_API_KEY = 'your_api_key_here'

Option 3: Environment Variables

Set environment variables directly:

export CURRENCY_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
# or
export EXCHANGERATE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Priority Order

The package checks for API keys in this order:

• Django settings (CURRENCY_API_KEY)
• Environment variable CURRENCY_API_KEY
• Environment variable EXCHANGERATE_API_KEY
• No API key (uses free tier)

Additional Settings

Add these optional settings to your Django settings.py:

# Currency Converter Settings (Optional)
CURRENCY_CACHE_TIMEOUT = 3600  # Cache exchange rates for 1 hour (default: 3600)

# Ensure you have caching configured
CACHES = {
    'default': {
        'BACKEND': 'django.core.cache.backends.locmem.LocMemCache',
        'LOCATION': 'unique-snowflake',
    }
}

Usage

Using the Management Command

Convert currency using the management command:

# Basic conversion
python manage.py convert_currency 100 USD EUR

# Show only exchange rate
python manage.py convert_currency 100 USD EUR --rate-only

# List all supported currencies
python manage.py convert_currency 0 USD EUR --list-currencies

Using the Converter Class in Your Code

from currency_converter_erapi.converter import CurrencyConverter
from currency_converter_erapi.exceptions import InvalidCurrencyError, APIError

try:
    converter = CurrencyConverter()

    # Convert 100 USD to EUR
    result = converter.convert(100, 'USD', 'EUR')
    print(f"100 USD = {result} EUR")

    # Get exchange rate only
    rate = converter.get_exchange_rate('USD', 'EUR')
    print(f"1 USD = {rate} EUR")

    # Get supported currencies
    currencies = converter.get_supported_currencies()
    print(f"Supported currencies: {currencies}")

except InvalidCurrencyError as e:
    print(f"Invalid currency: {e}")
except APIError as e:
    print(f"API error: {e}")

Supported Currencies

The application supports 24 major currencies:

• USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY
• SEK, NZD, MXN, SGD, HKD, NOK, TRY, RUB
• INR, BRL, ZAR, KRW, DKK, PLN, TWD, THB

Error Handling

The package includes comprehensive error handling:

• InvalidCurrencyError: Raised for unsupported currency codes
• APIError: Raised when the exchange rate API fails
• RateLimitError: Raised when API rate limits are exceeded
• NetworkError: Raised for network connectivity issues
• CacheError: Raised for caching-related errors

API Rate Limits

The free ExchangeRate-API has the following limits:

• 1,500 requests per month
• Cached responses help minimize API calls

For higher limits, consider upgrading to a paid plan and setting CURRENCY_API_KEY.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Django 3.2+
• requests 2.25.0+

Development

Running Tests

python -m pytest

Code Quality

The project follows PEP 8 standards and includes:

• Type hints
• Comprehensive docstrings
• Error handling
• Logging support

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• API Rate Limit Exceeded

  • Solution: Wait for rate limit reset or upgrade to paid plan

• Network Timeout

  • Solution: Check internet connection and firewall settings

• Cache Issues

  • Solution: Ensure Django caching is properly configured

• Invalid Currency Code

  • Solution: Use 3-letter ISO currency codes (e.g., USD, EUR)

Logging

Enable logging to see detailed error information:

LOGGING = {
    'version': 1,
    'disable_existing_loggers': False,
    'handlers': {
        'console': {
            'class': 'logging.StreamHandler',
        },
    },
    'loggers': {
        'currency_converter_erapi': {
            'handlers': ['console'],
            'level': 'INFO',
        },
    },
}

Contributing

• Fork the repository
• Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
• Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
• Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
• Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues and questions:

• Create an issue on GitHub
• Check the troubleshooting section above

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Support for 24 major currencies
• Caching support
• Management commands
• Comprehensive error handling