Practice Arena

Python Coding Challenges

Write real Python in the browser. Instant feedback. From beginner to expert.

925 challenges 556 easy 323 medium 46 hard
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Protocol definition

Parse a simple wire protocol string into a structured dictionary.

parsing protocol strings
+10 pts 15m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Config Parser Reader

Parse a simple INI-style configuration text into a nested dictionary.

parsing strings config
+10 pts 15m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Generate CSV row

Implement a function that converts a list of values into a single CSV row with correct quoting and escaping.

csv escaping strings
+8 pts 12m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Parse email header

Write a function that parses a raw email header string and returns sender, recipient, and subject.

parsing strings email
+10 pts 12m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Encode Base64 String

Write a function that encodes a UTF-8 string into a base64 string without using the base64 module.

base64 encoding strings
+8 pts 15m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Parse CSV Row

Implement a robust function that parses a single CSV line into a list of fields, handling double quotes and escaped quotes.

csv parsing strings
+10 pts 15m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Parse Apache log line

Write a function that parses a single Apache access log line into a dictionary with IP, timestamp, request, status, and size.

parsing strings regex
+8 pts 10m
Data Formats & Parsing easy

Parse table rows

Implement a function that converts a simple text table into a list of dictionaries.

parsing strings csv
+10 pts 15m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

SHA256 Hash String

Write a function that returns the SHA256 hexadecimal digest of a given string.

hashing sha256 hashlib
+5 pts 5m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

Compute SHA-1 Hash String

Write a function that returns the SHA-1 hash of a string as a 40-character hex string.

sha1 hashlib hashing
+10 pts 15m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

Constant Time Compare

Write a function that compares two strings without leaking length or content via timing.

constant-time security comparison
+10 pts 15m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

SHA1 Hash String

Implement a function that returns the SHA1 hexadecimal digest of an input string.

sha1 hashlib hashing
+10 pts 15m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

XOR Cipher Encode

Implement the XOR cipher: encode a string by XORing each character with a key character.

xor encryption strings
+10 pts 10m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

Constant time compare

Write a function that compares two strings in constant time to avoid timing attacks.

timing-safe security strings
+8 pts 10m
Cryptography & Hashing easy

Compute SHA256 Hash String

Implement a function that returns the SHA-256 hex digest of a given input string.

sha256 hashing hashlib
+8 pts 10m

Showing 145–159 of 159 challenges · easy

Guide: free Python coding challenges

Practice Python by solving problems

PythonSkillset challenges are hands-on coding exercises from beginner to advanced. Open a challenge, read the problem, write Python in the split-pane editor, and run tests with Pyodide — no install required.

How to use the arena

  1. Pick a category — basics, algorithms, strings, and more
  2. Open a challenge, read the statement, and edit the starter code
  3. Run tests, fix failures, then try a related quiz or tutorial lesson

Challenges vs tutorials and quizzes

Challenges test what you can build under constraints. For guided teaching, use our Python tutorials. For quick checks, try quizzes or copy snippets from code samples.