Reference library

Python Code Samples

Easy snippets you can copy, study, and run in the browser editor.

146 matches
Automation & scripting easy

How to Create a File Organizer That Sorts Files Automatically in Python

A Python script that scans a given folder, categorizes files by extension (Images, Documents, Audio, Video, Archives, Misc), and moves them into subfolders automatically.

file organization automation pathlib
Python
import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path

FILE_CATEGORIES = {
    "Images": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".bmp"],
    "Documents": [".pdf", ".docx", ".txt", ".csv", ".xlsx"],
    "Audio": [".mp3", ".wav", ".flac", ".aac"],
    "Video": [".mp4", ".mkv", ".avi", ".mov"],
    "Archives": [".zip", ".tar", ".g…
45 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Create a Mock Headless Browser Screenshot Stub in Python

This code provides a deterministic stub that simulates capturing webpage screenshots with a headless browser, returning formatted output without real browser dependencies.

mock headless screenshot
Python
import subprocess
import sys

def mock_screenshot_webpage(url: str, width: int = 1280, height: int = 800) -> str:
    """Stub that simulates taking a screenshot of a webpage using headless browser."""
    # In real implementation, you would use playwright/selenium/headless chrome
    result = {
        "url": url,
   …
13 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Create a Password Protected Zip Archive in Python

Generate a password-protected zip archive and verify password correctness using the standard library zipfile module.

zipfile password encryption
Python
import zipfile
import tempfile
import os


def create_password_protected_zip(zip_path, password: str, files: dict):
    """
    Create a zip archive with password protection (mock encryption).

    Args:
        zip_path: Path where the zip file will be created
        password: Password for the archive
        files:…
13 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Create a Simple Python CLI with argparse

Build a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that accepts positional and optional arguments to greet users flexibly.

argparse cli command-line
Python
import argparse

def greet(name, greeting="Hello", uppercase=False):
    message = f"{greeting}, {name}!"
    return message.upper() if uppercase else message

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="A simple CLI tool that greets users."
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "name",
   …
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Cross Post Markdown to dev.to API in Python

A Python function that POSTs markdown content to the dev.to API and handles HTTP or URLError exceptions with mock API testing.

api dev.to markdown
Python
import json
from urllib import request, error


def cross_post_to_devto(markdown_content, api_key, devto_api_url="https://dev.to/api/articles"):
    """
    Mock cross-posting of markdown content to the dev.to API.
    Returns the API response or an error message.
    """
    payload = json.dumps({
        "article": …
11 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Deploy a Static Site Build to an Nginx Directory in Python

Copy a static site build directory into an Nginx web root using Python's shutil and pathlib modules.

automation deployment shutil
Python
import shutil
import os
from pathlib import Path

SRC_DIR = Path("build")
DEST_DIR = Path("/var/www/html")

def deploy_site(src: Path, dest: Path) -> None:
    if not src.exists():
        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Build directory not found: {src}")

    dest.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    for item in src.ite…
16 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Download a List of URLs to a Directory in Python

This script downloads a list of URLs into a specified directory, creating the folder if needed and keeping original filenames.

urllib download file-io
Python
import urllib.request
from pathlib import Path

def download_urls(url_list, directory):
    """Download each URL in url_list into directory, keeping original filenames."""
    save_dir = Path(directory)
    save_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    
    for url in url_list:
        filename = url.rstrip('/').spl…
16 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Filter Docker Containers for Pruning in Python

Simulate Docker's container prune by filtering a JSON list for exited containers older than a cutoff, returning pruned IDs and space freed.

docker json datetime
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def parse_docker_ps(json_output: str, older_than_hours: int = 24) -> list:
    containers = json.loads(json_output)
    cutoff = datetime.now() - timedelta(hours=older_than_hours)
    return [
        c for c in containers
        if datetime.fromisoformat(c["crea…
13 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Find Stale GitHub Issues in Python

Filter a list of GitHub issues to find those not updated within a configurable number of days using Python datetime arithmetic.

github issues automation
Python
import os
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
import re

# Simulated GitHub issue data structure
SAMPLE_ISSUES = [
    {"number": 101, "title": "Login button not working", "updated_at": "2025-06-01T12:00:00Z", "assignee": "alice"},
    {"number": 102, "title": "Fix database migration error", "updated_at…
36 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Generate a QR Code in Python

Generate a QR code image from a URL string using the qrcode library and save it as a PNG file.

qrcode automation image-generation
Python
import qrcode

# Data to encode
data = "https://www.example.com"

# Create QR code instance
qr = qrcode.QRCode(
    version=1,
    error_correction=qrcode.constants.ERROR_CORRECT_L,
    box_size=10,
    border=4,
)

# Add data to QR code
qr.add_data(data)
qr.make(fit=True)

# Create an image from the QR code
img = qr.…
38 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Generate a cloud-init User Data Mock in Python

Generate a cloud-init user data mock for a VM using a dataclass and JSON in Python.

cloud-init automation dataclasses
Python
import json
from dataclasses import dataclass, asdict

@dataclass
class VMConfig:
    hostname: str
    cpus: int
    memory_mb: int
    ssh_key: str

def generate_cloud_init_mock(config: VMConfig) -> str:
    """Build a cloud-init user-data mock for a VM."""
    user_data = {
        "hostname": config.hostname,
    …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Generate an Inventory CSV of Installed pip Packages in Python

This script uses subprocess and csv to list all installed pip packages and write their names and versions into a CSV inventory file.

pip csv subprocess
Python
import subprocess
import csv

def get_installed_packages():
    """Return a list of (name, version) tuples for installed pip packages."""
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["pip", "list", "--format=freeze"],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=True
    )
    packages = []
    for line in r…
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Hash Duplicate Photos and Delete Copies in Python

This script hashes image files in a directory using SHA-256 and deletes duplicate copies while keeping the first occurrence, ideal for cleaning up photo libraries.

hashlib deduplication file-automation
Python
from pathlib import Path
import hashlib

def file_hash(path, chunk_size=8192):
    hasher = hashlib.sha256()
    with open(path, "rb") as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(chunk_size), b""):
            hasher.update(chunk)
    return hasher.hexdigest()

def delete_duplicate_photos(directory):
    directory …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Implement argparse CLI Command in Python

Build a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that accepts positional and optional arguments, flags, and prints a customizable greeting.

argparse cli command-line
Python
import argparse


def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="A simple CLI tool to greet users.")
    parser.add_argument("name", help="Your name")
    parser.add_argument("-g", "--greeting", default="Hello", help="Greeting word (default: Hello)")
    parser.add_argument("--uppercase", action="store_…
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Import Users from CSV into LDAP-like Dicts in Python

Reads a CSV of user records and converts each row into an LDAP-style dictionary with standard attributes using Python's csv module.

csv ldap import
Python
import csv
import io
from pathlib import Path


def mock_ldap_import(csv_path):
    """
    Reads a CSV file with user data and returns a list of LDAP-like user dicts.
    Adds standard LDAP attributes that would come from directory schema.
    """
    with open(csv_path, newline="", encoding="utf-8") as csvfile:
    …
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Kill Zombie Processes Matching a Name in Python

Scans running processes with ps, finds zombies whose command name matches a pattern, and attempts to kill them with SIGKILL.

subprocess process automation
Python
import subprocess
import re
import signal


def find_zombies(name_pattern):
    """Find PIDs of zombie processes matching the given pattern."""
    result = subprocess.run(["ps", "-eo", "pid,stat,comm"], capture_output=True, text=True)
    zombies = []
    for line in result.stdout.splitlines()[1:]:  # Skip header
   …
11 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Map Network Drive Paths to Local Paths in Python

Convert mock SMB network drive paths (like 'S:\reports\q1.xlsx') to local placeholder paths and back using a simple mapping dictionary in Python.

network path-mapping smb
Python
"""Map mock SMB network drive paths to local placeholder paths."""
from dataclasses import dataclass

@dataclass(frozen=True)
class NetworkDrive:
    letter: str
    remote_path: str

DRIVES = {
    "S:": NetworkDrive("S", r"\\server01\shares\sales"),
    "M:": NetworkDrive("M", r"\\server02\media\movies"),
    "X:": …
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Merge PDFs in Python (Mock pypdf Stub)

Merge PDF files by concatenating their raw byte content using a simple stubbed class that mimics the pypdf interface.

pdf merge mock
Python
import io
from hashlib import sha256


class PdfStub:
    def __init__(self, data: bytes, name: str):
        self.data = data
        self.name = name

    def get_content_bytes(self) -> bytes:
        return self.data


def merge_pdfs_mock(pdf_stubs) -> bytes:
    merged = io.BytesIO()
    for stub in pdf_stubs:
   …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Mock an Ansible Inventory in Python

Load an Ansible-style inventory JSON file into Python and simulate a playbook run across hosts and groups.

ansible inventory automation
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path


class InventoryMock:
    def __init__(self, inventory_file: str):
        self.inventory_file = Path(inventory_file)
        self.hosts = {}

    def load(self):
        if not self.inventory_file.exists():
            raise FileNotFoundError(f"Inventory file {self.inventory_file…
12 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Mock subprocess Calls in Python with unittest.mock

A Python script that wraps Vagrant up/destroy commands using subprocess, with tests that mock the subprocess call to simulate outputs and errors.

subprocess unittest.mock vagrant
Python
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import patch, Mock


def run_vagrant(action: str) -> str:
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["vagrant", action],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=False,
    )
    return result.stdout.strip()


def vagrant_wrapper(action: str) -> str:
    if action n…
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Monitor Domain Expiration Dates in Python

A Python script that checks domain expiration dates using the python-whois library and warns when a domain is expiring soon.

whois domain automation
Python
import whois
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import time

def check_domain_expiry(domain_name):
    """Check when a domain expires and warn if soon."""
    try:
        w = whois.whois(domain_name)
        expiry = w.expiration_date
        # Handle list or single date
        if isinstance(expiry, list):
   …
36 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Parse CLI Arguments in Python with argparse

Build a beginner-friendly CLI with argparse that accepts optional --name, --greeting, and --uppercase flags, then prints a customizable greeting.

argparse cli command-line
Python
import argparse

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Greet a user with optional customization.")
    parser.add_argument("--name", default="world", help="Name to greet")
    parser.add_argument("--greeting", default="Hello", help="Greeting word")
    parser.add_argument("--uppercase", action=…
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Parse Terraform Plan Output in Python

Parse mock Terraform plan output text into structured add, change, and destroy lists using Python.

terraform parsing automation
Python
import json
from typing import Dict, List

def parse_terraform_plan_output(plan_output_text: str) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
    """
    Parses a mock Terraform plan output text into a structured dictionary.
    """
    parsed: Dict[str, List[str]] = {"add": [], "change": [], "destroy": []}

    for line in plan_output_…
11 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Quarantine Suspicious Files in Python

Move files with suspicious extensions to a quarantine folder using pathlib and shutil for safe isolation.

file-organization security automation
Python
import shutil
import os
from pathlib import Path

def quarantine_files(source_dir, quarantine_dir, suspicious_extensions):
    """
    Move files with suspicious extensions to a quarantine folder.
    Returns list of moved files.
    """
    source_path = Path(source_dir)
    quarantine_path = Path(quarantine_dir)
   …
11 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Guide: free Python code samples library

Copy-ready Python snippets for learners and developers

PythonSkillset code samples are short, focused examples organised by topic and difficulty. Every snippet is server-rendered HTML — readable by search engines and easy to copy. Open any sample, read the notes, copy the code, then press Try in editor to run it in the browser with Pyodide.

How to use this library

  1. Pick a topic section — strings, lists, files, functions, and more
  2. Open a sample, read How it works, and copy the code block
  3. Run it in the IDE, tweak values, then take a related quiz or tutorial lesson

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.