Reference library

Python Code Samples

Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.

432 matches
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Merge Multiple Data Sources in Python

A beginner-friendly helper that merges lists of dictionaries from multiple sources into one combined list using key filtering.

merge pipelines dicts
Python
import json

def merge_pipeline_data(*data_sources, keys=()):
    """Merge multiple data sources (list of dicts) into a single list of merged dicts.
    
    Args:
        *data_sources: One or more lists of dictionaries.
        keys: Tuple of keys to include from each source (empty means all keys).
    Returns:
    …
16 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Reduce Aggregate Counts from Mapped Chunks in Python

Combine a list of mapped chunk dictionaries into a single aggregated count dictionary using functools.reduce.

reduce aggregation dictionary
Python
from functools import reduce
from collections import defaultdict

def aggregate_chunks(mapped_chunks):
    """Combine mapped chunk counts into a single aggregate dict."""
    return reduce(
        lambda acc, chunk: {
            **acc,
            **{k: acc.get(k, 0) + v for k, v in chunk.items()}
        },
       …
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Sort a List of Dictionaries by Key in Python

A reusable helper function that sorts a list of dictionaries by a specified key, with optional descending order support.

sorting dictionaries data-pipelines
Python
from typing import List

def sort_records(records: List[dict], key: str, descending: bool = False) -> List[dict]:
    """Sort a list of dictionaries by a specified key."""
    return sorted(records, key=lambda record: record[key], reverse=descending)


def demonstrate_sorting() -> None:
    users = [
        {"name": …
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Validate Data in a Python Pipeline

A helper module to validate common record types — email, positive integer, and non-empty string list — before processing data in a pipeline.

data-validation pipelines type-checking
Python
from typing import Any, Iterable


def is_valid_email(email: str) -> bool:
    """Basic email check: one '@', no spaces, dot after '@'."""
    if "@" not in email or " " in email:
        return False
    local, _, domain = email.partition("@")
    return bool(local) and "." in domain


def is_positive_int(value: Any)…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to detect anomalies in a column using z-score in Python

Detect outliers in a list of numbers using z-score statistics, flagging values that deviate significantly from the mean.

anomaly-detection z-score statistics
Python
import random

def z_score_anomaly_detection(data, threshold=2.0):
    """
    Detect anomalies in a list of numbers using z-score.
    """
    mean = sum(data) / len(data)
    variance = sum((x - mean) ** 2 for x in data) / len(data)
    std_dev = variance ** 0.5
    
    if std_dev == 0:
        return []
    
    a…
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to route late-arriving data to a side output in Python

Separate late-arriving events from a streaming data batch into a dead-letter side output list using a timestamp threshold.

data pipelines streaming dead-letter
Python
from collections import defaultdict

def late_arriving_side_output(events, late_threshold_ts):
    """
    Mock a streaming pipeline that separates late-arriving data events
    into a side output list (e.g., for dead-letter analysis).

    events: list of (timestamp, data) tuples, timestamps as ints.
    late_thresho…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

Pivot long to wide transformation dict

Transform a list of dictionaries from long format to wide format by pivoting on a key column and aggregating values, using pure Python.

pivot transformation data-cleaning
Python
def pivot_long_to_wide(rows, key_col, value_col, id_cols=None):
    """
    Convert long-format data (list of dicts) to wide format.
    
    Args:
        rows: List of dicts in long format
        key_col: Column name to pivot on (becomes new column headers)
        value_col: Column name whose values become the cel…
13 0 Open
Git + Python easy

Bisect Good Bad Automation Script in Python

This Python script implements a binary search to find the first bad version in a list, simulating an automation script for git bisect.

bisect binary-search git
Python
import bisect

def find_first_bad(versions):
    """Given a list of version objects with .is_bad(), find first bad version."""
    lo, hi = 0, len(versions)
    while lo < hi:
        mid = (lo + hi) // 2
        if versions[mid].is_bad():
            hi = mid
        else:
            lo = mid + 1
    return lo

clas…
21 0 Open
Git + Python easy

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.

mock-api github testing
Python
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…
21 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"},
    {"…
16 0 Open
Git + Python easy

How to List Changed Files in the Last Git Commit with Python

Runs `git diff --name-only HEAD~1 HEAD` via subprocess to list the names of files changed in the most recent commit.

git subprocess automation
Python
import subprocess

def list_changed_files():
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["git", "diff", "--name-only", "HEAD~1", "HEAD"],
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=True
    )
    files = result.stdout.strip().splitlines()
    return files

if __name__ == "__main__":
    changed = list_cha…
15 0 Open
Git + Python easy

How to Parse git status --porcelain Output in Python

This code runs `git status --porcelain` and parses its output into a list of dictionaries with file paths and status descriptions.

git subprocess parsing
Python
import subprocess

def parse_git_status_porcelain():
    try:
        output = subprocess.check_output(
            ["git", "status", "--porcelain"], 
            text=True, 
            stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL
        )
    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
        return []

    entries = …
15 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…
13 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…
15 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Create a Cloud Storage Helper Class in Python

Build a simple local file-based helper class that mimics cloud storage operations like save, load, and list JSON objects.

cloud-storage json file-io
Python
import datetime
import json
from pathlib import Path


class CloudDataHelper:
    """Simple helper for reading/writing JSON files in a cloud-style folder."""

    def __init__(self, base_dir: str = "cloud_storage"):
        self.base_dir = Path(base_dir)
        self.base_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

    def save_json(se…
19 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Generate Mock CloudFormation Stack Events in Python

Generate a list of mock AWS CloudFormation stack events with random resources, statuses, and timestamps, and print them as JSON.

cloudformation mock aws
Python
import json
import random
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def generate_mock_stack_events(stack_name="MyTestStack", num_events=10):
    """Generate a list of mock CloudFormation stack events."""
    resources = [
        ("AWS::S3::Bucket", "MyBucket"),
        ("AWS::EC2::Instance", "MyInstance"),
        ("…
19 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Check an SCP Deny List in Python

Load a JSON SCP policy file, extract the deny_list, and check if a target ARN is denied.

aws scp json
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path


def evaluate_scp_deny_list(policy_path: Path, target_path: str) -> bool:
    policy = json.loads(policy_path.read_text())
    deny_list = policy.get("deny_list", [])
    return target_path in deny_list


if __name__ == "__main__":
    policy_file = Path("scp_policy.json")
    pol…
16 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Create a Mock STS AssumeRole Credentials Dict in Python

Build a realistic AWS STS AssumeRole response dict with temporary credentials, expiry time, and assumed role ARN for local testing.

aws sts mocking
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone


def mock_sts_credentials(role_arn, session_name, duration=3600):
    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
    expiration = now + timedelta(seconds=duration)

    credentials = {
        "Credentials": {
            "AccessKeyId": "ASIAEXAMPLEACCESSKEY",
    …
17 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Mock CloudFront Invalidation Paths in Python

Build a sorted, deduplicated list of CloudFront invalidation paths from a set of file paths, adding implicit index.html entries.

cloudfront aws cli
Python
import argparse

def build_invalidation_paths(files, include_index=True):
    """
    Create CloudFront invalidation paths from a list of files.
    Converts file names to root-relative paths and optionally adds /index.html.
    """
    paths = []
    for f in files:
        f = f.strip()
        if not f:
           …
17 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Mock GCP Cloud Functions HTTP Events in Python

Simulate a GCP Cloud Functions HTTP event with a Python mock handler that constructs a realistic event payload and returns a JSON response.

gcp cloud-functions mock
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone


def mock_http_event(data):
    """Simulate a GCP Cloud Function HTTP event."""
    event = {
        "event_id": "mock-event-12345",
        "timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
        "event_type": "google.cloud.functions.http",
        "resource"…
15 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Paginate a List with a Generator in Python

Define a generator that yields list items in fixed-size pages, simulating pagination for cloud resource APIs.

generator pagination cloud
Python
from typing import List, Iterator

def paginate_generator(items: List[str], page_size: int = 3) -> Iterator[List[str]]:
    """Yield items in fixed-size chunks with a mock pagination pattern."""
    for i in range(0, len(items), page_size):
        yield items[i:i + page_size]

if __name__ == "__main__":
    resources…
14 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Validate AWS Security Group Ingress Rules in Python

Validates AWS security group ingress rules (protocol, port ranges, CIDR, description) and returns a list of errors or OK.

aws security-groups validation
Python
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import List, Optional

@dataclass
class SecurityGroupRule:
    protocol: str
    port_range: tuple
    cidr: str
    description: str = ""

def validate_ingress_rule(rule: SecurityGroupRule) -> List[str]:
    """Validate a security group ingress rule against common AWS pat…
11 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Validate Data Fields and Types in Python

Validate required fields and type correctness in a Python dictionary with small helper functions, returning a list of clear error messages.

validation data dict
Python
import json
from typing import Any, Dict, List


def validate_data(data: Dict[str, Any], required_fields: List[str]) -> List[str]:
    """Check required fields exist and are non-empty. Return list of errors."""
    errors = []
    for field in required_fields:
        value = data.get(field)
        if value is None o…
14 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to mock EC2 describe-instances tag filtering in Python

Simulate AWS EC2 describe-instances with tag-based filtering using a mock dataset and conditional list comprehension.

ec2 mock aws
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone


def mock_describe_instances(tag_key: str, tag_value: str) -> list[dict]:
    """Simulate EC2 describe-instances with tag filtering."""
    all_instances = [
        {"InstanceId": "i-0abc123", "State": "running", "Tags": [{"Key": "Name", "Value": "web-server"}, {"K…
17 0 Open

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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.