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Requests Library in Python

Introduction

The requests library in Python is a powerful and user-friendly HTTP library for sending HTTP/1.1 requests. It abstracts the complexities of making requests and handling responses, making it easier to work with web APIs and HTTP communication.

Installation

To use the requests library, install it using the following command:

uv add requests

Making HTTP Requests

The requests library allows you to send various types of HTTP requests:

1. Sending a GET Request

A GET request retrieves data from a specified URL.

import requests

response = requests.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1")
print(response.json())  # JSON response

Explanation:

  • requests.get(url): Sends a GET request.
  • .json(): Converts the response to JSON format.

2. Sending a POST Request

A POST request is used to send data to a server.

import requests

data = {"title": "foo", "body": "bar", "userId": 1}
response = requests.post("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts", json=data)
print(response.json())

Explanation:

  • requests.post(url, json=data): Sends a POST request with JSON data.
  • .json(): Parses the JSON response.

3. Sending a PUT Request

A PUT request updates an existing resource.

import requests

data = {"title": "updated title", "body": "updated body", "userId": 1}
response = requests.put("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1", json=data)
print(response.json())

Explanation:

  • requests.put(url, json=data): Sends a PUT request to update a resource.

4. Sending a DELETE Request

A DELETE request removes a resource.

import requests

response = requests.delete("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1")
print(response.status_code)  # 200 indicates success

Explanation:

  • requests.delete(url): Sends a DELETE request.
  • .status_code: Returns the HTTP status code.

Handling Response Objects

The requests library provides response objects with useful attributes:

response = requests.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1")

print(response.status_code)  # HTTP status code
print(response.headers)  # Response headers
print(response.text)  # Raw response text
print(response.json())  # JSON response

Sending Custom Headers

Custom headers can be included in a request:

headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer my_token"}
response = requests.get("https://api.example.com/data", headers=headers)

Handling Timeouts

Timeouts prevent hanging requests:

response = requests.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts", timeout=5)  # 5 seconds timeout

Handling Exceptions

To handle request failures, use exception handling:

import requests

try:
    response = requests.get("https://invalid-url.com", timeout=5)
    response.raise_for_status()
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

Summary

  • requests.get(), requests.post(), requests.put(), requests.delete() for HTTP requests.
  • Response objects contain status codes, headers, text, and JSON data.
  • Custom headers can be included in requests.
  • Timeouts and exception handling improve reliability.

Refer to the Technical Notes Guidelines for formatting and best practices.