> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.featherframework.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Serializers

> Turn models into JSON with camelCase conversion, typed fields, computed values and nesting.

```python theme={null}
from feather.serializers import Serializer
from models import User

class UserSerializer(Serializer):
    class Meta:
        model = User
        fields = ['id', 'email', 'created_at']
        camel_case = True

user = User.query.first()
data = UserSerializer().serialize(user)
# {'id': '...', 'email': '...', 'createdAt': '2024-01-15T10:30:00Z'}

users = User.query.all()
data = UserSerializer().serialize_many(users)
```

`camel_case` defaults to `True`, so `created_at` serializes as `createdAt`. Set it to
`False` in `Meta` to keep the Python names.

## Field types

```python theme={null}
from feather.serializers import (
    Serializer, StringField, IntegerField, FloatField,
    BooleanField, DateTimeField, MethodField, NestedField
)

class UserSerializer(Serializer):
    class Meta:
        model = User
        fields = ['id', 'email', 'status', 'balance', 'created_at', 'full_name', 'posts']

    status = StringField()                          # coerce to string
    balance = FloatField()                          # coerce to float
    created_at = DateTimeField(format='%Y-%m-%d')   # custom date format
    full_name = MethodField()                       # computed field
    posts = NestedField(PostSerializer, many=True)  # nested objects

    def get_full_name(self, obj, **context):
        return f"{obj.first_name} {obj.last_name}"
```

| Field                                 | Description                                |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `StringField()`                       | Coerce to string                           |
| `IntegerField()`                      | Coerce to integer                          |
| `FloatField()`                        | Coerce to float                            |
| `BooleanField()`                      | Coerce to boolean                          |
| `DateTimeField(format=None)`          | Format datetime, default ISO 8601          |
| `NestedField(serializer, many=False)` | Nested object or collection                |
| `MethodField()`                       | Computed via a `get_<field_name>()` method |

## Generating one

```bash theme={null}
feather generate serializer UserSerializer id email created_at
```

This writes exactly the shape above, including the `Meta` block and a commented example
of a computed field.