Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

133 matches
Modern tooling medium

How to Bind and Mock structlog Context in Python

Shows how to bind persistent key-value context to a structlog logger, unbind keys, and mock the logger in tests to verify context is passed correctly.

structlog logging mocking
Python
import structlog
from unittest.mock import patch

logger = structlog.get_logger()

def demo():
    logger = structlog.get_logger()
    logger = logger.bind(user_id=42, request_id="abc123")
    logger.info("user logged in", action="login")
    
    # Unbind a key
    logger = logger.unbind("user_id")
    logger.info("r…
18 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

How to Mock CLI Output in Typer with unittest.mock

Mock and capture Typer CLI output using unittest.mock.patch and io.StringIO for testing command-line applications.

typer cli testing
Python
import typer
from unittest.mock import patch
import io

app = typer.Typer()

@app.command()
def greet(name: str, age: int = 18, uppercase: bool = False):
    """Greet a person with optional formatting."""
    message = f"Hello {name}, age {age}"
    if uppercase:
        message = message.upper()
    typer.echo(messag…
11 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

How to Mock a PEP 517 Build Backend in Python

Use unittest.mock.Mock to simulate a PEP 517 backend interface, stub build hooks, and verify calls for package build automation.

pep517 unittest.mock packaging
Python
import json
from unittest.mock import Mock

# Simulate a PEP 517 backend interface
class Pep517Backend:
    def build_wheel(self, wheel_directory, config_settings=None, metadata_directory=None):
        return f"{wheel_directory}/mock_package-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl"

    def get_requires_for_build_wheel(self, config_s…
14 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

How to Mock subprocess.run for Black Formatter in Python

Use unittest.mock to simulate subprocess.run calls in a Python function that runs the Black formatter, allowing isolated testing without executing external commands.

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

def run_black_formatter(file_path: str, check_only: bool = False) -> dict:
    """Run black formatter on a file via subprocess."""
    cmd = ["black", "--check" if check_only else "-", file_path]
    result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
 …
15 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

How to mock argparse nested subparsers in Python

Build an argparse parser with nested subparsers and test it using unittest.mock.patch for sys.argv and sys.stdout.

argparse subparsers unittest
Python
import argparse
from unittest.mock import patch
from io import StringIO

def build_parser():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog="app")
    subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", required=True)

    # Outer subparser
    outer = subparsers.add_parser("outer")
    outer_sub = outer.add_subparsers(dest…
15 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

Mock Python version with unittest.mock.patch

Use unittest.mock.patch to simulate a specific Python version and test version-dependent behavior.

unittest mock version
Python
import sys
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch

class TestPythonVersion(unittest.TestCase):
    @patch("sys.version_info", (3, 9, 0, "final", 0))
    def test_python_version_pinned(self):
        self.assertEqual(sys.version_info[:2], (3, 9))
        print(f"Pinned version: {sys.version_info.major}.{sys.ve…
13 0 Open
Modern tooling medium

Mocking loguru for Structured Logging in Python

Simulate loguru's structured logging with a custom mock that captures JSON-formatted log entries with bound context.

loguru logging mock
Python
import json
import sys
from io import StringIO
from unittest.mock import patch


def mock_loguru():
    # Simulate a structured logger with context binding
    class StructuredLogger:
        def __init__(self):
            self.context = {}

        def bind(self, **kwargs):
            logger = StructuredLogger()
  …
12 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

How to Mock anyio.run Backends (asyncio vs trio) in Python

Demonstrates how to mock anyio.run to verify backend selection (asyncio or trio) without actually running the event loop.

anyio async testing
Python
import anyio
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch


async def fetch_data():
    await anyio.sleep(0.1)
    return {"data": 42}


def run_with_backend(backend: str):
    async def main():
        result = await fetch_data()
        print(f"[{backend}] Result: {result}")

    anyio.run(main, backend=backend)


if __nam…
14 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

How to Mock asyncio.open_connection in Python

Mock asyncio.open_connection with AsyncMock to test async code without a real network connection.

asyncio testing mocking
Python
import asyncio
from unittest.mock import AsyncMock, patch


async def fetch_data(reader: asyncio.StreamReader) -> str:
    data = await reader.readline()
    return data.decode().strip()


async def main() -> None:
    # Mock asyncio.open_connection to simulate a server response
    mock_reader = AsyncMock()
    mock_…
14 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

Mocking Trio's open_nursery and spawn with asyncio.TaskGroup

Show how to mock Trio's nursery pattern using Python's asyncio.TaskGroup to simulate task spawning and completion.

asyncio taskgroup concurrency
Python
import asyncio

class MockSpawner:
    async def spawn(self, nursery):
        print("Spawning mock task...")
        await asyncio.sleep(1)
        print("Mock task completed")

async def open_nursery():
    async with asyncio.TaskGroup() as nursery:
        mock = MockSpawner()
        nursery.create_task(mock.spawn…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

Characterization Test for Legacy Python Code

Capture the exact output of a legacy Python function for known inputs, creating a characterization test that documents current behavior before refactoring.

characterization-testing legacy-code testing
Python
def legacy_behavior(value):
    """Legacy function that returns a tuple with unconventional types."""
    if value == "special":
        return None, "legacy-special"
    elif value > 100:
        return value, "large"
    elif value > 0:
        return value * 2, "positive-doubled"
    elif value == 0:
     …
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Benchmark Python Code with pytest-benchmark and mocks

Use pytest-benchmark to measure function performance while combining Mock and patch for controlled test scenarios.

pytest benchmark mock
Python
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch

import pytest
from pytest_benchmark.fixture import BenchmarkFixture


def heavy_operation(data: list[int]) -> int:
    """Simulates a CPU-bound operation."""
    return sum(x * x for x in data)


def test_heavy_operation_benchmark(benchmark: BenchmarkFixture) -> None:…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Flag Unexpected Diff Changes in Python

Compares two snapshot lists, detects unexpected differences, and returns a flag indicating whether the snapshot should be updated.

diffing snapshot-testing difflib
Python
import difflib

def snapshot_diff(before, after, intentional_changes=None):
    """Compare snapshots and flag only unexpected differences."""
    intentional_changes = intentional_changes or set()
    diff = list(difflib.unified_diff(before, after, lineterm=""))
    has_unexpected = False

    for line in diff:
      …
16 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Load Test a Local API with Locust in Python

Defines a Locust load test that simulates traffic to local endpoints, enabling manual load testing against a development server.

locust load-testing performance-testing
Python
from locust import HttpUser, task, between


class WebsiteUser(HttpUser):
    wait_time = between(1, 3)

    @task
    def home_page(self):
        self.client.get("/")

    @task(3)
    def about_page(self):
        self.client.get("/about")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    print("Run with: locust -f this_file.py --h…
16 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Mock a Factory Boy Model Instance in Python

Create a factory boy factory, then patch its Meta.model with a Mock to control instance behavior in tests.

factory-boy mocking unit-testing
Python
import factory
from dataclasses import dataclass
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
import builtins


@dataclass
class User:
    name: str
    age: int


class UserFactory(factory.Factory):
    class Meta:
        model = User

    name = "Alice"
    age = 30


def get_user_name(user):
    return user.name


def ma…
15 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Mock an Object Method in Python unittest

Mock a method on an instance or class with @patch.object, set its return value, and assert its call arguments in Python unittest.

unittest mock patch
Python
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch

class Calculator:
    def add(self, a, b):
        return a + b
    
    def multiply(self, a, b):
        return a * b

class TestCalculator(unittest.TestCase):
    def test_add_normal(self):
        calc = Calculator()
        result = calc.add(2, 3)
        self.asse…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Mock and Stub API Calls in Playwright E2E Tests with Python

This code demonstrates how to mock and stub API responses in Playwright end-to-end tests using Python's unittest.mock patch and Playwright's APIRequestContext.

playwright e2e-testing mocking
Python
import re
from unittest.mock import patch
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

def verify_api_mock(page, mock_url, mock_response):
    with patch("playwright.sync_api.APIRequestContext.get") as mock_get:
        mock_get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_response
        mock_get.return_value.status_co…
13 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Run Test Coverage with pytest-cov in Python

Run pytest with coverage reporting using pytest-cov on a temporary project and see line-by-line coverage output.

pytest coverage testing
Python
import os
import subprocess
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path


def sample_function(x: int) -> int:
    """A simple function to demonstrate coverage."""
    if x > 0:
        return x * 2
    else:
        return -x


def run_pytest_with_coverage() -> str:
    """Run pytest with coverage on a temp project and r…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Run an Integration Test with Docker Compose Mock in Python

Run a Python integration test against a docker-compose environment, using mocks to simulate service health and business logic responses.

docker integration-testing mocking
Python
import subprocess
import json
from typing import Dict

def run_integration_test() -> Dict[str, str]:
    """
    Simulates an integration test against a docker-compose environment
    using a mock service that returns canned responses.
    """
    # Mock docker-compose environment check
    env_ready = subprocess.run(…
15 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Snapshot Test JSON with Mock in Python

Use pytest-snapshot to capture the exact output of a JSON-loading function, with and without mocking json.loads, so future changes are automatically detected.

pytest snapshot mock
Python
import json
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
import pytest


def load_config(data):
    config = json.loads(data)
    return {"host": config["host"], "port": config["port"]}


def test_load_config_snapshot(snapshot):
    mock_data = json.dumps({"host": "localhost", "port": 8080, "extra": "ignored"})
    result = …
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Test Properties with Random Inputs in Python

Write a simple property-based test in Python using random string generation to verify that string invariants like reverse-twice identity and uppercase idempotence always hold.

property-based-testing random testing
Python
import random
import string


def generate_random_string(length: int) -> str:
    """Generate a random alphanumeric string of given length."""
    chars = string.ascii_letters + string.digits
    return "".join(random.choice(chars) for _ in range(length))


def reverse_twice_is_identity(s: str) -> bool:
    """Propert…
12 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Use Hypothesis Strategies for Lists of Text in Python

Generate random lists of non-empty strings with Hypothesis and verify that joining them with a comma-and-space separator meets expected length and containment invariants.

hypothesis property-based-testing strategies
Python
from hypothesis import given, strategies as st
from hypothesis import example


@given(st.lists(st.text(min_size=1, max_size=10), min_size=1, max_size=5))
def test_joined_string_length(items):
    """Each text is non-empty; a joined string should be at least as long
    as the number of items (separator adds character…
13 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Use Mock Flip Mutation Testing in Python

Demonstrates how mutation testing tools flip Boolean literals (mock flip) in Python source to verify test suite effectiveness in catching logic changes.

mutation-testing testing bool
Python
import random

# In mutation testing, a "mock flip" intentionally changes a Boolean
# constant to False (or True) to see if the test suite catches it.
# This is a common "constant mutation" applied to a source file's literals.

def is_even(n: int) -> bool:
    """Return True if n is even. Contains a Boolean literal us…
13 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Use Stubs, Fakes, Spies, and Mocks in Python Testing

Implement four types of test doubles — stubs, fakes, spies, and mocks — as subclasses of a PaymentGateway interface to replace real dependencies during testing.

testing mocks stubs
Python
class PaymentGateway:
    def charge(self, amount):
        raise NotImplementedError


class StubPaymentGateway(PaymentGateway):
    """Returns a fixed response without any logic."""
    def charge(self, amount):
        return {"success": True, "transaction_id": "stub-12345"}


class FakePaymentGateway(PaymentGatewa…
12 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.