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How to Mock FFmpeg subprocess Calls in Python
Compress a video with ffmpeg while mocking subprocess.run to test the command construction without executing the actual encoder.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
def compress_video(input_path: str, output_path: str, crf: int = 23) -> None:
"""Compress a video using ffmpeg with a given CRF (quality) value."""
command = [
"ffmpeg",
"-i", input_path,
"-c:v", "libx264",
"-crf", str(cr…
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.
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…
How to Recover Deleted .txt Files from a Backup in Python
A Python function that searches a backup directory recursively and copies all .txt files to a destination folder, printing each recovered file name and a total count.
import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
def recover_deleted_txt_files(source_backup_dir: str, destination_dir: str) -> None:
"""Recover .txt files from backup directory."""
backup_path = Path(source_backup_dir)
dest_path = Path(destination_dir)
dest_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
…
How to automatically organize your Downloads folder by file type in Python
This script scans the Downloads folder and moves files into sub-folders based on their extensions (e.g., Images, Documents, Videos).
import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
def organize_downloads_folder(downloads_path=None):
if downloads_path is None:
downloads_path = str(Path.home() / "Downloads")
if not os.path.exists(downloads_path):
print(f"Path {downloads_path} does not exist.")
return
fi…
How to rename music files by ID3 tags in Python
Renames MP3 files in a folder using artist and title extracted from ID3 tags, with a mock fallback that parses filenames.
import os
import re
from pathlib import Path
def sanitize_filename(name: str) -> str:
return re.sub(r'[<>:"/\\|?*]', '_', name).strip()
def rename_mp3_from_id3(path: Path) -> None:
for f in path.glob("*.mp3"):
# Mock ID3 extraction: derive artist/title from filename
stem = f.stem
if "…
How to stage and commit all changes with Git in Python
Run git add -A and git commit from Python using subprocess to automate staging and committing all file changes in one step.
import subprocess
from pathlib import Path
def stage_and_commit_all(commit_message: str) -> None:
"""Stage all changes and create a commit with the given message."""
repo_root = Path.cwd()
if not (repo_root / ".git").exists():
raise RuntimeError("Not inside a Git repository")
subprocess.run([…
Mock Certbot Renewal in Python for Testing
Simulates a Let's Encrypt certificate renewal by writing a mock certificate file and printing realistic certbot CLI output, without calling the actual certbot.
import subprocess
import sys
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from pathlib import Path
def renew_cert(domain: str, output_dir: str = "certs") -> str:
"""Simulate a Let's Encrypt renewal with mock certbot output."""
out = Path(output_dir)
out.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
cert_path = out…
Mock a Helm Upgrade Install Command in Python
Use unittest mock to simulate a Helm upgrade --install call for testing automation scripts without a real cluster.
from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
class HelmClient:
def upgrade_install(self, release, chart, namespace="default"):
# Simulates the helm upgrade --install command
return f"Release {release} upgraded/installed in {namespace} using chart {chart}"
@patch("helm_client.HelmClient.upgrade_in…
Monitor Website Uptime with Python
Periodically check if a website is reachable and its HTTP status is 200, logging the status with timestamps.
import requests
import time
def check_website(url):
try:
response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
if response.status_code == 200:
return True
else:
return False
except requests.ConnectionError:
return False
except requests.Timeout:
return Fals…
Rename Files in Folder with Numeric Prefix in Python
Renames all files in a folder by adding a sequential numeric prefix (e.g., 01_, 02_) to each filename using pathlib.
from pathlib import Path
def rename_with_numeric_prefix(folder_path):
folder = Path(folder_path)
for index, file_path in enumerate(folder.iterdir(), start=1):
if file_path.is_file():
new_name = f"{index:02d}_{file_path.name}"
new_path = file_path.with_name(new_name)
…
Stress CPU Threads with a Mock Compute in Python
Simulates CPU-intensive work across multiple threads to test how Python schedules parallel compute.
import threading
import time
def stress_cpu(iterations: int):
result = 0
for i in range(iterations):
result += i * i % 1000
return result
def run_mock_stress(thread_count: int, iterations: int):
threads = []
for tid in range(thread_count):
t = threading.Thread(target=lambda: str…
Create Data Helper Functions in Python for Beginners
Build reusable Python helper functions to load, filter, sort, summarize, and save JSON data — a beginner-friendly starting point for small data pipelines.
import json
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any, Dict, List
def load_json_file(filepath: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""Load JSON data from a file."""
with Path(filepath).open("r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
return json.load(file)
def filter_by_key(
data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str,…
Enrich Events with Geo IP Data in Python
Returns a copy of each event dictionary, enriched with a geo-location dict from a mock IP-to-geo lookup table, with a fallback for unknown IPs.
import ipaddress
GEO_IP_DB = {
"192.168.1.10": {"country": "US", "city": "New York", "lat": 40.7128, "lon": -74.0060},
"10.0.0.5": {"country": "DE", "city": "Berlin", "lat": 52.5200, "lon": 13.4050},
"172.16.0.8": {"country": "JP", "city": "Tokyo", "lat": 35.6762, "lon": 139.6503},
}
EVENTS = [
{"id…
How to Hash Email Addresses in a PII Masking Pipeline in Python
Replaces every email address in a text string with its SHA-256 hash to protect personally identifiable information (PII).
import hashlib
import re
def hash_email(email: str) -> str:
"""Mask an email address by hashing it with SHA-256."""
normalized = email.strip().lower()
return hashlib.sha256(normalized.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
def mask_pii_emails(text: str) -> str:
"""Replace all email addresses in text with their…
How to Safely Coerce Strings to Numbers in Python
A safe conversion function that turns strings into integers or floats, returning a fallback value when conversion fails.
import math
def to_number(value, fallback=None):
"""Safely coerce a string to int or float, returning fallback on failure."""
if isinstance(value, (int, float)):
return value
try:
# Try int first for clean whole numbers
return int(value)
except (ValueError, TypeError):
…
Parallel Extract Multiple Sources with Threads in Python
Extract data from multiple sources in parallel using ThreadPoolExecutor and verify results match sequential processing.
import threading
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
def extract_from_source(source):
"""Simulate extracting data from a source."""
return f"Data from {source}"
def main():
sources = ["source_a", "source_b", "source_c", "source_d"]
# Sequential extraction for comparison
sequent…
Bump Semantic Version Git Tag in Python
Automatically find the latest Git tag and compute the next patch release using semantic versioning (semver) in Python.
from re import match
from subprocess import run
SEMVER_PATTERN = r"^v(?P<major>0|[1-9]\d*)\.(?P<minor>0|[1-9]\d*)\.(?P<patch>0|[1-9]\d*)(?:-(?P<prerelease>[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?(?:\+(?P<buildmetadata>[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*))?$"
def get_latest_tag() -> str:
result = run(["git", "describe…
Create a Mock GitHub Release API in Python for Testing gh CLI
Build an in-memory GitHub Releases API mock that mimics create_release and list_releases for unit testing gh CLI stubs without network calls.
import json
from unittest.mock import patch, Mock
class GitHubReleaseAPI:
"""Mock GitHub Releases API for testing gh CLI stub behavior."""
def __init__(self):
self.releases = {}
self.counter = 1
def create_release(self, repo, tag, name=None, notes=None):
release_id = self…
How to Create a Git Branch if it Doesn't Exist in Python
Utility script that checks if a Git branch exists locally and either creates it or checks it out, with error handling.
import subprocess
import sys
def ensure_branch(branch_name):
"""Create a Git branch if it doesn't exist, otherwise checkout it."""
try:
# Check if the branch exists locally
result = subprocess.run(
["git", "branch", "--list", branch_name],
capture_output=True,
…
How to Make a Shallow Clone of an Object in Python
Demonstrates using copy.copy() to create a shallow clone of a Python object, showing how nested mutable data is shared while top-level attributes are independent.
import copy
class Config:
def __init__(self):
self.settings = {"volume": 50}
self.user = "admin"
def demonstrate_shallow_copy():
original = Config()
shallow = copy.copy(original)
# Mutating nested object is visible in both (shallow copy share it)
shallow.settings["volume"] = 90…
How to Mock Git Clean Dry Run in Python
Simulate the output of `git clean -n` in Python to preview which untracked files would be removed without actually deleting them.
import subprocess
import sys
def mock_git_clean_dry_run(untracked_files):
"""Simulate `git clean -n` for a given list of untracked files."""
if not untracked_files:
print("No untracked files to remove.")
return
print("Would remove:")
for file in untracked_files:
print(f" {fil…
How to Mock Git Worktree Creation in Python
Create a mock Git worktree setup with parallel branch directories and state files for testing or simulation.
import os
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path
def create_mock_worktree(base_dir: Path, branches: list[str]) -> dict[str, Path]:
"""
Mock Git worktree creation: creates parallel directories for each branch
under the base directory, simulating independent worktrees.
"""
worktrees = {}
for b…
How to Push Git Tags to a Remote with Python
Push specified git tags (or all tags) to a remote repository using Python's subprocess module with error handling.
import subprocess
import sys
def push_tags_to_remote(remote: str = "origin", tags: list[str] | None = None) -> None:
"""
Push git tags to a remote repository.
If no tags are given, push all local tags.
"""
if tags:
subprocess.run(["git", "push", remote, *tags], check=True)
else:
…
How to Stage All Modified Files with git add -u in Python
Runs git add -u from Python to stage all modified and deleted tracked files, then prints the short status.
import subprocess
def stage_all_modified_files(repo_path="."):
"""Run git add -u to stage all modified and deleted tracked files."""
result = subprocess.run(
["git", "add", "-u"],
cwd=repo_path,
capture_output=True,
text=True,
)
if result.returncode != 0:
print…
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