Python GET/POST request
Python HTTP GET/POST tutorial shows how to send a GET and a POST request in Python. We use the request and urllib3 modules.
Python GET/POST request
last modified January 29, 2024
In this article we show how to send a GET and a POST request in Python. In the examples, we use the request, urllib3, and socket modules. We also show how to process a GET or POST request in Flask.
HTTP
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.
In the examples, we use httpbin.org, which is a freely available HTTP request and response service, and the webcode.me, which is a tiny HTML page for testing.
HTTP GET
The HTTP GET method requests a representation of the specified resource.
GET requests:
- should only be used to request a resource
- parameters are displayed in the URL
- can be cached
- remain in the browser history
- can be bookmarked
- should never be used when dealing with sensitive data
- have length limits
HTTP POST
The HTTP POST method sends data to the server. It is often used when uploading a file or when submitting a completed web form.
POST requests:
- should be used to create a resource
- parameters are not displayed in the URL
- are never cached
- do not remain in the browser history
- cannot be bookmarked
- can be used when dealing with sensitive data
- have no length limits
Python urllib3
The urllib3 module is a powerful, sanity-friendly HTTP client for Python.
$ pip install urllib3
We install the urllib3 module with pip.
Python requests
Requests is a simple and elegant Python HTTP library. It provides methods for accessing Web resources via HTTP. It is released under the Apache License 2.0. It is one of the most popular Python packages.
$ pip install requests
We install the request module.
Python Flask
Flask is the most popular Python micro web framework. Most of the functionality is available as extensions including validation, form handling, object-relational mappers, or authentication. Flask is based on Werkzeug WSGI toolkit and Jinja2 template engine.
$ pip install Flask
We install Flask.
Python GET request with urllib3
A GET request is created with the request method, which receives the ‘GET’ value as its first parameter.
get_req.py
#!/usr/bin/python
import urllib3
http = urllib3.PoolManager()
url = ‘http://webcode.me’
resp = http.request(‘GET’, url) print(resp.data.decode(‘utf-8’))
A GET request is sent to webcode.me.
$ ./get_req.py <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang=“en”> <head> <meta charset=“UTF-8”> <meta name=“viewport” content=“width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0”> <title>My html page</title> </head> <body>
<p>
Today is a beautiful day. We go swimming and fishing.
</p>
<p>
Hello there. How are you?
</p>
</body> </html>
Python POST request with urllib3
A POST request is created with the request method, which receives the ‘POST’ value as its first parameter.
post_req.py
#!/usr/bin/python
import urllib3 import certifi
http = urllib3.PoolManager(ca_certs=certifi.where())
url = ‘https://httpbin.org/post'
req = http.request(‘POST’, url, fields={’name’: ‘John Doe’, ‘occupation’: ‘gardener’}) print(req.data.decode(‘utf-8’))
A POST request is sent to httpbin.org/post.
$ ./post_req.py { “args”: {}, “data”: “”, “files”: {}, “form”: { “name”: “John Doe”, “occupation”: “gardener” }, “headers”: { “Accept-Encoding”: “identity”, “Content-Length”: “230”, “Content-Type”: “multipart/form-data; boundary=510415c9b680823ee5512359fa1b3d22”, “Host”: “httpbin.org”, “X-Amzn-Trace-Id”: “Root=1-5f159c14-fc386023685d681205723862” }, … “url”: “https://httpbin.org/post" }
Python GET request with requests
A GET request is generated with the get method.
get_req2.py
#!/usr/bin/python
import requests as req
resp = req.get(“http://webcode.me”)
print(resp.text)
A GET request is sent to webcode.me.
Python POST request with requests
A POST request is generated with the post method.
post_req2.py
#!/usr/bin/python
import requests as req
data = {’name’: ‘Peter’}
resp = req.post(“https://httpbin.org/post", data) print(resp.text)
A POST request is sent to httpbin.org/post.
Python process GET request in Flask
The following example shows how to process a GET request in a Flask application.
app.py
#!/usr/bin/python
from flask import Flask, request
app = Flask(name)
@app.route(’/’) def index():
return 'Home page'
@app.route(’/greet’, methods=[‘GET’]) def greet():
name = request.args.get('name', 'Guest')
msg = f'Hello {name}'
return msg, 200, {'Content-Type': 'text/plain; charset=utf-8'}
The application creates and sends a message to the client. It uses the value from the name query parameter.
@app.route(’/greet’, methods=[‘GET’]) def greet(): …
The greet function is mapped to the /greet path and the GET type request.
$ export FLASK_APP=app.py $ flask run
We run the application.
$ curl -i localhost:5000/greet?name=Lucia HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Length: 11 Server: Werkzeug/1.0.0 Python/3.8.3 Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2020 13:37:38 GMT
Hello Lucia
We create a GET request to the application using the curl tool. With the -i option, we also include the response header.
Python process POST request in Flask
The following example shows how to process a POST request in Flask.
app.py
#!/usr/bin/python
from flask import Flask, make_response
app = Flask(name)
@app.route(’/’) def hello(): return ‘Home page’
@app.route(’/users/<name>’, methods=[‘POST’]) def create_user(name):
msg = f'user {name} created'
return make_response(msg, 201)
To process a POST request, we specify the method name in the methods parameter.
$ export FLASK_APP=app.py $ flask run
We run the application.
$ curl -X POST localhost:5000/users/Peter/ user Peter created
A POST request is created.
Source
In this article we have generated basic GET and POST requests in Python.
Author
My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.
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