Responses

Use this skill for response shaping, status code control, and custom response behavior.

Workflow

1. Default to typed return values for standard JSON responses.
2. Use Response(...) when headers/cookies/media/status must be controlled explicitly.
3. Use response DTO/serialization controls where domain objects need transformation.
4. Ensure error responses are consistent with exception handlers.

Core Patterns

Typed Return

from litestar import get

@get("/ping")
async def ping() -> dict[str, str]:
    return {"message": "pong"}

Explicit Response

from litestar import Response, get

@get("/created")
async def created() -> Response[dict[str, str]]:
    return Response({"result": "ok"}, status_code=201)

Response Checklist

• Use precise return types for better schema generation.
• Set explicit status codes for non-default flows.
• Keep response envelope conventions consistent across the API.
• Coordinate response contracts with exception handling.

Litestar References

• https://docs.litestar.dev/latest/usage/responses.html
• https://docs.litestar.dev/latest/usage/exceptions.html