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How to Implement RBAC Permission Checks with a Route Decorator in Python
Build a reusable Python decorator that checks a user's role against allowed roles and raises a custom PermissionError when access is denied.
from functools import wraps
from enum import Enum
class Role(Enum):
ADMIN = "admin"
MODERATOR = "moderator"
USER = "user"
class PermissionError(Exception):
pass
def require_role(*allowed_roles):
def decorator(func):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(user_role, *args, **kwargs):
…
How to Implement Sparse Fieldsets in Python
A function that filters API responses by resource type, returning only requested fields plus IDs, as a sparse fieldset mock.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import Dict, List, Optional
@dataclass
class MockResponse:
data: Dict[str, object] = field(default_factory=dict)
included: List[Dict[str, object]] = field(default_factory=list)
def select_fields(
data: Dict[str, object],
sparse_fields: Optional[D…
How to Implement a PATCH Partial Update Merge Dict in Python
Implements a recursive merge function that applies HTTP PATCH-like partial updates to a nested dictionary while preserving untouched fields.
import json
def patch_merge(target: dict, patch: dict) -> dict:
"""Simulate HTTP PATCH semantic: shallow-merge patch into a copy of target."""
merged = target.copy()
for key, value in patch.items():
if isinstance(value, dict) and isinstance(merged.get(key), dict):
merged[key] = patch_m…
How to Implement a REST DELETE Mock Server Returning 204 in Python
A minimal HTTP server mock that responds to DELETE requests with 204, 404, or 403 statuses based on the resource ID.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class MockHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_DELETE(self):
if self.path.startswith("/api/resource/"):
resource_id = self.path.split("/")[-1]
if resource_id == "42":
# Successful delete: 204 …
How to Mock Content-Disposition and Extract Filename in Python
Parse and mock Content-Disposition headers in Python to extract filenames, handling both plain and RFC 5987 encoded values.
import os
from pathlib import Path
import re
from unittest.mock import patch
def get_filename_from_content_disposition(header_value):
"""
Extract filename from a Content-Disposition header value.
Supports both filename and filename* parameters (RFC 5987).
"""
if not header_value:
return No…
How to Mock HTTP 304 Responses with If-None-Match in Python
Spin up a local HTTP server that returns a 304 Not Modified when a request carries a matching ETag, useful for testing cache behavior.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from threading import Thread
import urllib.request
ETAG = '"abc123"'
BODY = b'{"status": "ok"}'
class MockServer(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET(self):
if self.headers.get('If-None-Match') == ETAG:
self.send_response(304)
…
How to Mock OAuth2 Bearer Token Auth Middleware in Python
Create a simple OAuth2 bearer token authentication middleware that verifies signed tokens and enforces scope-based access control.
import hmac
import time
import base64
import json
from functools import wraps
VALID_TOKENS = {"test_token_123": {"user": "alice", "scope": "read:posts"}}
def generate_token(username: str) -> str:
payload = {"user": username, "iat": int(time.time())}
encoded = base64.urlsafe_b64encode(json.dumps(payload).enc…
How to Mock X-RateLimit Headers in Python
This code creates a local HTTP server that mimics rate limit headers (X-RateLimit-Limit, Remaining, Reset, Update) and returns 429 responses when the limit is exceeded.
import time
import threading
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class RateLimitHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
RATE_LIMIT = 5 # max requests allowed
WINDOW_SECONDS = 60 # per time window
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
…
How to Mock a 202 Accepted Long-Running Operation in Python
Build a mock HTTP server that returns a 202 Accepted response immediately and simulates a long-running operation in the background with threading.
import time
import threading
from http.server import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
class MockHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_POST(self):
if self.path == "/long-running":
self.send_response(202)
self.send_header("Content-Type", "application/json")
self.end_h…
How to Mock a Chunked Encoding Streaming Response in Python
Build a local mock HTTP server with Python's http.server that streams a chunked-encoded response with a 0.5s delay per chunk.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, ThreadingHTTPServer
import time
class ChunkedHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
protocol_version = "HTTP/1.1"
def do_GET(self):
self.send_response(200)
self.send_header("Content-Type", "text/plain")
self.send_header("Transfer-Encoding", "c…
How to Mock a GraphQL Query Type in Python
Create a lightweight mock of a GraphQL Query type to simulate repository lookups without a server.
import json
class Query:
def __init__(self):
self.starred_repos = [
{"id": 1, "name": "graphql", "owner": "graphql"}
]
def repository(self, name):
if name == "graphql":
return {"id": 1, "name": "graphql", "stargazerCount": 85000}
return None
if __name…
How to Mock a Webhook Subscribe Callback URL in Python
Mock a webhook subscribe callback URL using Python's http.server to receive and parse POST requests sent by webhook providers.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class WebhookHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_POST(self):
content_length = int(self.headers.get('Content-Length', 0))
payload = json.loads(self.rfile.read(content_length)) if content_length else {}
print…
How to Mock an API Key Header Authentication Server in Python
A minimal HTTP server that validates requests using an X-API-Key header and returns JSON responses for authenticated and unauthenticated calls.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, ThreadingHTTPServer
API_KEYS = {"test-user": "secret-key-123"}
class AuthHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET(self):
auth = self.headers.get("X-API-Key")
if not auth or auth not in API_KEYS.values():
self.send_response…
How to Parse Multipart Form Data in Python
Parse multipart/form-data uploads using the Python standard library's cgi module to extract both regular fields and file uploads.
import cgi
from io import BytesIO
def parse_multipart_form(headers, body_bytes):
content_type = headers.get("Content-Type", "")
content_length = int(headers.get("Content-Length", len(body_bytes)))
# Create a file-like object from bytes for cgi.FieldStorage
body_file = BytesIO(body_bytes)
…
How to Parse gRPC Request Data in Python
Build a beginner-friendly gRPC service handler that parses incoming protobuf messages into Python dictionaries and starts a simple gRPC server.
from google.protobuf import json_format
import grpc
from concurrent import futures
import time
class DataParsingService:
def parse(self, request):
return {
"received_json": json_format.MessageToJson(request),
"parsed_fields": {
"name": request.name,
…
How to Poll an Operation Status Endpoint in Python
Mock a polling endpoint in Python that simulates checking an async operation's status until it completes or times out.
import time
import random
def poll_status(url: str, timeout: float = 5.0) -> dict:
"""Mock a polling endpoint that eventually returns a completed status."""
start = time.time()
while time.time() - start < timeout:
# Simulate delayed response
time.sleep(0.2)
# 80% chance to report …
How to Prefix Python API URIs with a Version Slug
Build a versioned API endpoint by optionally adding a version prefix like v1 to the URL path using the stdlib urllib module.
from urllib.parse import urlparse
BASE_URL = "https://api.example.com"
def build_uri(resource, version="v1"):
"""Mock a versioned API URI with an optional v1 prefix."""
parsed = urlparse(BASE_URL)
prefix = f"/{version}" if version else ""
return f"{parsed.scheme}://{parsed.netloc}{prefix}/{resource.l…
How to Propagate X-Request-ID in Python
Generate a unique request ID when one is missing and pass it through API calls for distributed tracing.
import uuid
def generate_request_id() -> str:
"""Generate a unique request ID similar to X-Request-ID header."""
return str(uuid.uuid4())
def propagate_request_id(request_id: str | None) -> str:
"""Return the request ID for propagation, generating one if missing."""
if request_id:
return re…
How to Serialize a Dataclass to JSON in Python
Serialize a Python dataclass instance to JSON using asdict and json.dumps for API responses or mocks.
from dataclasses import dataclass, asdict
import json
@dataclass
class UserResponse:
id: int
name: str
email: str
active: bool = True
if __name__ == "__main__":
response = UserResponse(id=42, name="Ada Lovelace", email="ada@example.com")
print(json.dumps(asdict(response), indent=2))
How to Validate Data in Python for Beginners
A beginner-friendly Python class for validating required fields, types, ranges, and allowed choices in dict payloads.
import json
from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Union
class Validator:
"""A simple validate data helper designed for beginners."""
def __init__(self, data: Union[Dict[str, Any], List[Any]]):
self.data = data
self.errors: Dict[str, str] = {}
def validate_required(self, field: s…
How to Validate JWT Claims (exp, iss, aud) in Python
This code demonstrates how to decode and validate a JWT's essential claims—expiration (exp), issuer (iss), and audience (aud)—using the PyJWT library, returning clear error messages for common validation failures.
import jwt
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
SECRET = "mock-secret"
def validate_token(token, expected_iss, expected_aud):
try:
decoded = jwt.decode(
token,
SECRET,
algorithms=["HS256"],
options={"require": ["exp", "iss", "aud"]},
…
How to Validate Request Body JSON Against a Schema in Python
Build a lightweight schema validator to check required fields, types, string lengths, allowed values, and nested objects in a JSON request body.
import json
def validate_against_schema(data, schema, path=""):
errors = []
if not isinstance(data, dict):
errors.append(f"{path}: expected object, got {type(data).__name__}")
return errors
for field, rules in schema.items():
field_path = f"{path}.{field}" if path else field
…
How to Validate a JWT Signature in Python with a Mock Secret
Validates a JWT's signature using a mock secret, decoding and handling expired or invalid tokens gracefully.
import jwt
import time
SECRET = "mock_secret_key_123"
def validate_token(token):
try:
payload = jwt.decode(token, SECRET, algorithms=["HS256"])
return f"Valid token. Payload: {payload}"
except jwt.ExpiredSignatureError:
return "Token expired"
except jwt.InvalidTokenError:
…
How to handle CORS preflight OPTIONS requests in Python
Create a mock HTTP server with a CORS preflight OPTIONS handler that returns the correct headers for browser-based API requests.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class CORSRequestHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def _send_cors_headers(self):
self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*")
self.send_header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS")
self.send_head…
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