thrilltrack-explorer/django-backend/PHASE_3_API_ENDPOINTS_SACRED_PIPELINE_COMPLETE.md

Phase 3: API Endpoint Sacred Pipeline Integration - COMPLETE ✅

Date: November 8, 2025
Phase: Phase 3 - API Endpoint Updates
Status: ✅ COMPLETE

Overview

Successfully updated all entity creation API endpoints to use the Sacred Pipeline submission services created in Phase 2. All entity creation now flows through ContentSubmission → Moderation → Approval workflow.

Objectives Completed

✅ Update parks.py create endpoint
✅ Update rides.py create endpoint
✅ Update companies.py create endpoint
✅ Update ride_models.py create endpoint
✅ Sacred Pipeline enforced for ALL entity creation

Files Modified

1. django/api/v1/endpoints/parks.py

Changes:

• Added imports: ParkSubmissionService, jwt_auth, require_auth, ValidationError, logging
• Updated create_park() endpoint:
  • Added @require_auth decorator for authentication
  • Replaced direct Park.objects.create() with ParkSubmissionService.create_entity_submission()
  • Updated response schema: {201: ParkOut, 202: dict, 400: ErrorResponse, 401: ErrorResponse}
  • Returns 201 with created park for moderators
  • Returns 202 with submission_id for regular users
  • Added comprehensive error handling and logging

Before:

park = Park.objects.create(**data)  # ❌ Direct creation

After:

submission, park = ParkSubmissionService.create_entity_submission(
    user=user,
    data=payload.dict(),
    source='api',
    ip_address=request.META.get('REMOTE_ADDR'),
    user_agent=request.META.get('HTTP_USER_AGENT', '')
)  # ✅ Sacred Pipeline

2. django/api/v1/endpoints/rides.py

Changes:

• Added imports: RideSubmissionService, jwt_auth, require_auth, ValidationError, logging
• Updated create_ride() endpoint:
  • Added @require_auth decorator
  • Replaced direct Ride.objects.create() with RideSubmissionService.create_entity_submission()
  • Updated response schema: {201: RideOut, 202: dict, 400: ErrorResponse, 401: ErrorResponse, 404: ErrorResponse}
  • Dual response pattern (201/202)
  • Error handling and logging

3. django/api/v1/endpoints/companies.py

Changes:

• Added imports: CompanySubmissionService, jwt_auth, require_auth, ValidationError, logging
• Updated create_company() endpoint:
  • Added @require_auth decorator
  • Replaced direct Company.objects.create() with CompanySubmissionService.create_entity_submission()
  • Updated response schema: {201: CompanyOut, 202: dict, 400: ErrorResponse, 401: ErrorResponse}
  • Dual response pattern (201/202)
  • Error handling and logging

4. django/api/v1/endpoints/ride_models.py

Changes:

• Added imports: RideModelSubmissionService, jwt_auth, require_auth, ValidationError, logging
• Updated create_ride_model() endpoint:
  • Added @require_auth decorator
  • Replaced direct RideModel.objects.create() with RideModelSubmissionService.create_entity_submission()
  • Updated response schema: {201: RideModelOut, 202: dict, 400: ErrorResponse, 401: ErrorResponse, 404: ErrorResponse}
  • Dual response pattern (201/202)
  • Error handling and logging

Sacred Pipeline Flow

Moderator Flow (Auto-Approved)

API Request → Authentication Check → ParkSubmissionService
    ↓
Moderator Detected → ContentSubmission Created → Auto-Approved
    ↓
Park Entity Created → Response 201 with Park Data

Regular User Flow (Pending Moderation)

API Request → Authentication Check → ParkSubmissionService
    ↓
Regular User → ContentSubmission Created → Status: Pending
    ↓
Response 202 with submission_id → Awaiting Moderator Approval
    ↓
[Later] Moderator Approves → Park Entity Created → User Notified

Response Patterns

Successful Creation (Moderator)

HTTP 201 Created

{
  "id": "uuid",
  "name": "Cedar Point",
  "park_type": "amusement_park",
  "status": "operating",
  ...
}

Pending Moderation (Regular User)

HTTP 202 Accepted

{
  "submission_id": "uuid",
  "status": "pending",
  "message": "Park submission pending moderation. You will be notified when it is approved."
}

Validation Error

HTTP 400 Bad Request

{
  "detail": "name: This field is required."
}

Authentication Required

HTTP 401 Unauthorized

{
  "detail": "Authentication required"
}

Key Features Implemented

1. Authentication Required ✅

All create endpoints now require authentication via @require_auth decorator.

2. Moderator Bypass ✅

Users with user.role.is_moderator == True get instant entity creation.

3. Submission Pipeline ✅

Regular users create ContentSubmission entries that enter moderation queue.

4. Metadata Tracking ✅

All submissions track:

• source='api'
• ip_address from request
• user_agent from request headers

5. Error Handling ✅

Comprehensive error handling with:

• ValidationError catching
• Generic exception handling
• Detailed logging

6. Logging ✅

All operations logged at appropriate levels:

• logger.info() for successful operations
• logger.error() for failures

Testing Checklist

Manual Testing Required:

• Moderator creates Park → Should return 201 with park object
• Regular user creates Park → Should return 202 with submission_id
• Moderator creates Ride → Should return 201 with ride object
• Regular user creates Ride → Should return 202 with submission_id
• Moderator creates Company → Should return 201 with company object
• Regular user creates Company → Should return 202 with submission_id
• Moderator creates RideModel → Should return 201 with ride_model object
• Regular user creates RideModel → Should return 202 with submission_id
• Invalid data submitted → Should return 400 with validation error
• No authentication provided → Should return 401 unauthorized
• Check ContentSubmission created → Verify in database
• Check moderation queue → Submissions should appear for moderators
• Approve submission → Entity should be created
• Email notification sent → User notified of approval/rejection

Sacred Pipeline Compliance

✅ Fully Compliant Entities:

1. Reviews - Using ReviewSubmissionService
2. Parks - Using ParkSubmissionService
3. Rides - Using RideSubmissionService
4. Companies - Using CompanySubmissionService
5. RideModels - Using RideModelSubmissionService

⚠️ Not Yet Compliant:

• Entity Updates (PUT/PATCH endpoints) - Still use direct .save() (Future Phase)
• Entity Deletions (DELETE endpoints) - Direct deletion (Future Phase)

Known Issues

Issue #4: Entity Updates Bypass Pipeline (FUTURE PHASE)

Status: Documented, will address in future phase
Description: PUT/PATCH endpoints still use direct model.save()
Impact: Updates don't go through moderation
Priority: Low (creation is primary concern)

Issue #5: Company JSONField Violation

Status: Warning logged in CompanySubmissionService
Description: company_types field uses JSONField
Impact: Violates project's "no JSONB" policy
Solution: Future migration to separate table/model

Architecture Patterns Established

1. Dual Response Pattern

if entity:  # Moderator
    return 201, entity
else:  # Regular user
    return 202, {"submission_id": str(submission.id), ...}

2. Error Handling Pattern

try:
    submission, entity = Service.create_entity_submission(...)
    # Handle response
except ValidationError as e:
    return 400, {'detail': str(e)}
except Exception as e:
    logger.error(f"Error creating entity: {e}")
    return 400, {'detail': str(e)}

3. Metadata Pattern

submission, entity = Service.create_entity_submission(
    user=user,
    data=payload.dict(),
    source='api',
    ip_address=request.META.get('REMOTE_ADDR'),
    user_agent=request.META.get('HTTP_USER_AGENT', '')
)

Integration with Existing Systems

✅ Works With:

• ModerationService - Approvals/rejections
• pghistory - Automatic versioning on entity creation
• Celery Tasks - Email notifications on approval/rejection
• JWT Authentication - User authentication via @require_auth
• Role-Based Permissions - Moderator detection via user.role.is_moderator

Documentation Updates Needed

• Update API documentation to reflect new response codes (201/202)
• Document submission_id usage for tracking
• Add examples of moderator vs regular user flows
• Update OpenAPI/Swagger specs

Next Steps (Future Phases)

Phase 4: Entity Updates Through Pipeline (Optional)

• Create update_entity_submission() methods
• Update PUT/PATCH endpoints to use submission services
• Handle update approvals

Phase 5: Testing & Validation

• Create unit tests for all submission services
• Integration tests for API endpoints
• Manual testing with real users

Phase 6: Documentation & Cleanup

• Complete API documentation
• Update user guides
• Clean up TODOs in update/delete endpoints

Success Criteria - All Met ✅

✅ All entity creation uses submission services
✅ No direct model.objects.create() calls in create endpoints
✅ Moderators get 201 responses with entities
✅ Regular users get 202 responses with submission IDs
✅ Authentication required on all create endpoints
✅ Comprehensive error handling implemented
✅ Logging added throughout
✅ Response schemas updated

Conclusion

Phase 3 has been successfully completed. The ThrillWiki Django backend now fully enforces the Sacred Pipeline for all entity creation through API endpoints. All new parks, rides, companies, and ride models must flow through the ContentSubmission → Moderation → Approval workflow, ensuring data quality and preventing spam/abuse.

The Sacred Pipeline is now complete for entity creation.

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Related Documentation:

• PHASE_1_SACRED_PIPELINE_FIXES_COMPLETE.md
• PHASE_2_ENTITY_SUBMISSION_SERVICES_COMPLETE.md
• SACRED_PIPELINE_AUDIT_AND_IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md