Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

71 matches
Automation & scripting medium

How to Scan Configuration Files for Security Issues in Python

Automatically scan configuration files for common security mistakes using regex rules in Python.

security config regex
Python
import re
import os
from pathlib import Path

SECURITY_RULES = [
    (r'^#\s*INSECURE_', 'Insecure comment starts with # INSECURE_'),
    (r'password\s*=\s*("|\\\')?[^"\\\'"\s]+("|\\\')?$', 'Hardcoded password'),
    (r'debug\s*=\s*True', 'Debug mode enabled'),
    (r'[Pp]ermit[Rr]ootLogin\s+yes', 'PermitRootLogin ena…
48 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Scan Open Ports on a Host with Python

A Python function that uses socket.connect_ex to check for open TCP ports on a given host within a range and returns a list of open ports.

socket network port-scanning
Python
import socket

def scan_ports(host, start_port, end_port):
    open_ports = []
    for port in range(start_port, end_port + 1):
        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
        sock.settimeout(0.5)
        result = sock.connect_ex((host, port))
        if result == 0:
            open_ports.app…
42 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Send an Email with smtplib and a Mock Server in Python

Send an email using smtplib and verify it with a local aiosmtpd mock SMTP server — perfect for testing without a real mail server.

smtplib email aiosmtpd
Python
import smtplib
from email.message import EmailMessage
import aiosmtpd.controller as controller
import threading


def handle_message(server, session, envelope):
    print(f"Mock server received message:")
    print(f"From: {envelope.mail_from}")
    print(f"To: {envelope.rcpt_tos}")
    print(f"Subject: {envelope.cont…
12 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Track GitHub Stars, Forks, and Watchers in Python

Automatically fetch and track stars, forks, and watchers for multiple GitHub repositories, saving snapshots locally as JSON files for historical analysis.

github api automation
Python
import os
import time
import json
import requests
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime

REPOS = [
    "psf/requests",
    "python/cpython",
    "pallets/flask",
]
DATA_DIR = Path("github_metrics")

def fetch_repo_stats(repo):
    url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{repo}"
    resp = requests.get(ur…
39 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Validate SSL Certificates for Multiple Domains in Python

A Python utility that checks SSL certificate expiry dates for a list of domains using the standard library ssl and socket modules.

ssl certificate validation
Python
import ssl
import socket
from datetime import datetime

def check_ssl_certificate(hostname: str, port: int = 443) -> dict:
    """Validate SSL certificate for a given hostname."""
    context = ssl.create_default_context()
    with socket.create_connection((hostname, port), timeout=5) as sock:
        with context.wra…
45 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to apply Kubernetes YAML files from a folder in Python

Uses the Kubernetes Python client to apply all YAML manifests in a directory, with sorted processing and per-file error handling.

kubernetes yaml automation
Python
import os
import yaml
from kubernetes import client, config
from kubernetes.utils import create_from_yaml

def apply_yaml_folder(folder_path):
    """Apply all YAML files in a folder using the Kubernetes mock client."""
    # Load mock configuration
    config.load_kube_config()
    k8s_client = client.ApiClient()

  …
12 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to check Python files for common coding mistakes

Walks a directory tree parsing each .py file with ast, reporting empty functions, bare try blocks, too many parameters, and empty classes.

ast linting code-quality
Python
import ast
import os
import sys

def check_file(filepath):
    try:
        with open(filepath) as f:
            code = f.read()
        tree = ast.parse(code, filename=filepath)
    except SyntaxError as e:
        print(f"{filepath}: SyntaxError: {e.msg}")
        return
    
    issues = []
    for node in ast.wal…
42 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Mount ISO Loop Device Mock Script in Python

Simulate ISO mounting with a loop device using a mock class — useful for testing scripts that depend on mount/unmount without actual system privileges.

iso loop-device mock
Python
import os
import tempfile
from dataclasses import dataclass
from pathlib import Path

@dataclass
class LoopDevice:
    path: str
    iso_path: str
    mounted: bool = False

    def mount(self, mount_point: str):
        if self.mounted:
            raise RuntimeError(f"Loop device {self.path} already mounted")
      …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Python: Archive Old Logs by Compressing Gzip by Age

A Python script that finds .log files older than a specified age and compresses them into .gz archives while removing the originals.

gzip log-rotation automation
Python
import gzip
import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path


def archive_logs(log_dir: str, max_age_days: int) -> list[str]:
    """Compress log files older than max_age_days into .gz archives.
    
    Returns a list of compressed file paths.
    """
    cutoff = time.time() - max_age_days * 86400
    compressed = …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Track File Changes with Version History in Python

A Python utility that monitors a file for changes, creating versioned backups with SHA-256 hashing to detect modifications and store a local JSON history.

file-monitoring versioning automation
Python
import hashlib, json, os, shutil, time
from pathlib import Path

class FileTracker:
    def __init__(self, history_file="file_history.json"):
        self.history_file = Path(history_file)
        self.history = self._load_history()

    def _load_history(self):
        if self.history_file.exists():
            retur…
37 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Track Internet Connectivity and Downtime Automatically in Python

Monitors internet connectivity by pinging a remote host and logs any downtime events with timestamps and duration.

internet connectivity monitoring
Python
import time
import subprocess
from datetime import datetime

def check_internet(host="8.8.8.8", timeout=3):
    """Returns True if internet is reachable via ping."""
    try:
        subprocess.run(
            ["ping", "-c", "1", "-W", str(timeout), host],
            capture_output=True,
            timeout=timeout …
39 0 Open
Git + Python medium

Generate CHANGELOG from Conventional Commits in Python

Parse your git log for conventional commits (feat, fix) and produce a simple Markdown CHANGELOG with grouped features and bug fixes.

git changelog automation
Python
import subprocess
import re
import sys
from collections import OrderedDict

CONVENTIONAL_COMMIT = re.compile(
    r"^(?P<type>feat|fix|chore|docs|refactor|perf|test|build|ci|style)(?:\((?P<scope>[^)]+)\))?: (?P<description>.+)"
)


def get_git_log():
    return subprocess.run(
        ["git", "log", "--format=%s"],
  …
14 0 Open
Git + Python medium

Generate Release Notes Markdown from PR Titles in Python

Generate structured Markdown release notes from a list of pull request titles using conventional commit types.

release-notes git pr-titles
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone

PRS = [
    {"title": "feat: add user login", "number": 12, "merged_at": "2025-01-10"},
    {"title": "fix: resolve payment timeout", "number": 13, "merged_at": "2025-01-11"},
    {"title": "chore: bump dependencies", "number": 14, "merged_at": "2025-01-12"},
    {"…
15 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to Format Git Patch Series as an MBOX File in Python

Generate a patch-series mbox file from commit metadata with numbered [PATCH nnn/nnn] subjects and a Git-style footer.

git mbox patch-series
Python
import re
from pathlib import Path


def format_patch_series_mbox(commits, output_path="series.mbox"):
    entries = []
    for idx, commit in enumerate(commits, start=1):
        subject = commit["subject"]
        author = commit["author"]
        email = commit["email"]
        date = commit["date"]
        body = …
13 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to Generate Release Notes from Git Commit Messages in Python

This script fetches recent Git commit messages using conventional commit prefixes (feat, fix, etc.), categorizes them, and prints formatted release notes with today's date.

git release-notes automation
Python
import subprocess
import re
from datetime import datetime

def get_git_log(since_tag="HEAD~10", format_str="%s"):
    """Retrieve commit messages from git log."""
    try:
        result = subprocess.run(
            ["git", "log", f"--since={since_tag}", f"--format={format_str}"],
            capture_output=True,
   …
49 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to Mock Git Stash and Pop in Python

Mock Git stash, apply, and pop operations using unittest.mock so you can test Git automation without touching a real repository.

git mock gitpython
Python
import git
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch

def stash_and_pop(repo):
    """Mock a stash operation and then pop it back."""
    repo.git.stash("save", "WIP: temp changes")
    stashed_output = repo.git.stash("list")
    
    # Simulate the stash was applied, then pop
    repo.git.stash("apply", "stash@{0}")
    …
14 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to generate and parse an interactive rebase TODO list in Python

Generate a Git interactive rebase TODO list from commit data and parse it back into structured records.

git rebase automation
Python
import re
from collections import namedtuple

Commit = namedtuple("Commit", ["hash", "subject"])

def generate_rebase_todo(commits, action="pick"):
    todo_lines = []
    for i, commit in enumerate(commits):
        if i == 0 and action == "reword":
            todo_lines.append(f"reword {commit.hash} {commit.subject…
11 0 Open
Git + Python medium

Python Script to Rotate a Leaked API Key

A checklist-driven Python script that scans a codebase for a leaked API key, replaces it with a new one, and prints a step-by-step rotation checklist.

security secrets file-scanning
Python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Checklist for rotating a leaked API key across a codebase."""

import re
from pathlib import Path


CHECKLIST = [
    "Identify all files containing the leaked key",
    "Generate a new key with sufficient entropy",
    "Update the secret storage/CI environment variables",
    "Replace the ol…
14 0 Open
Git + Python medium

Show Blame Line Author with subprocess in Python

This Python script runs git blame --line-porcelain via subprocess and counts how many lines each author owns in a file.

git subprocess blame
Python
import subprocess
from collections import Counter

def get_blame_authors(file_path):
    """Extract author names from git blame output using subprocess."""
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["git", "blame", "--line-porcelain", file_path],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=True,
    )
   …
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 a semantic-release Changelog in Python

This Python code simulates a semantic-release changelog generator, grouping commits by type and formatting them into a markdown changelog.

semantic-release changelog automation
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime


class SemanticReleaseChangelog:
    def __init__(self, version, commits):
        self.version = version
        self.commits = commits
        self.release_date = datetime.now().isoformat()

    def generate_changelog(self):
        grouped = {}
        for commit in self.c…
15 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
Production deployment patterns medium

Automate Semantic Versioning with Conventional Commits in Python

Automatically bump a semantic version based on conventional commit messages (feat, fix, BREAKING CHANGE) and write the new version to a file.

semantic-versioning conventional-commits automation
Python
import re
from pathlib import Path


def get_next_version(current: str, commit_messages: list[str]) -> str:
    """Return the next semantic version based on conventional commit messages."""
    major, minor, patch = map(int, current.split("."))
    if any(msg.startswith("BREAKING CHANGE") for msg in commit_messages):
…
15 0 Open

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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

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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.