Add E-Signatures to Django

Quick start

1. Get an API key from signb.ee (free, no credit card)
2. Set SIGNBEE_API_KEY in your environment
3. Add the code below to your app

Django example

# views.py
import requests
from django.http import JsonResponse
from django.views.decorators.http import require_POST

@require_POST
def send_contract(request):
    response = requests.post(
        "https://signb.ee/api/send",
        headers={
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {settings.SIGNBEE_API_KEY}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json",
        },
        json={
            "content": request.POST["content"],
            "senderName": request.POST["senderName"],
            "senderEmail": request.POST["senderEmail"],
            "recipientName": request.POST["recipientName"],
            "recipientEmail": request.POST["recipientEmail"],
        },
    )
    return JsonResponse(response.json())

What happens

1. Your app sends markdown or a PDF URL to Signbee
2. Signbee generates a PDF (if markdown) and emails the recipient a signing link
3. Recipient signs — both parties receive the signed PDF with SHA-256 certificate

Also works with AI agents

Install the MCP server to let Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf send documents directly:

npx -y signbee-mcp

Integration details

Django is Python's most popular web framework, used by Instagram, Pinterest, and Mozilla. Adding e-signatures to Django requires just a view function and the requests library — both standard in Django projects.

Django REST Framework: If your Django project uses DRF, replace the function-based view with an APIView or ViewSet. DRF's serializers handle request validation, and its response classes provide consistent JSON formatting. The Signbee API call remains the same.

Settings management: Store SIGNBEE_API_KEY in your Django settings (settings.py) using django-environ or python-decouple for environment variable management. Access it via settings.SIGNBEE_API_KEY in your views. Never hardcode API keys in source files.

CSRF protection: Django's CSRF middleware protects against cross-site request forgery. For API endpoints that receive JSON (not form data), use @csrf_exempt or configure DRF's authentication classes. If your frontend sends the CSRF token, the default protection works fine.

Async support: Django 4.1+ supports async views. Replace requests.post with httpx.AsyncClient for non-blocking API calls in async Django views. This is especially valuable under high concurrency.

Celery integration: For high-volume contract sending, offload the Signbee API call to a Celery task. This returns an immediate response to the user while the contract is generated and sent in the background.

FAQs