Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

1685 matches
API design & gRPC easy

How to Build a Simple gRPC-Style Data Service in Python

Create a beginner-friendly gRPC-style service with dataclasses to simulate GetUser and CreateUser RPCs.

grpc dataclasses api-design
Python
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Optional


@dataclass
class User:
    id: int
    name: str
    email: str


class UserService:
    """Simple gRPC-style service contract for beginner learners."""

    def get_user(self, user_id: int) -> Optional[User]:
        """Simulated gRPC GetUser RPC."""
   …
15 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

How to Build a WebSocket Echo Server in Python with asyncio

Create a simple WebSocket echo server using the websockets library and asyncio to handle concurrent connections.

websockets asyncio server
Python
import asyncio
import websockets

async def echo(websocket):
    async for message in websocket:
        await websocket.send(f"Echo: {message}")

async def main():
    async with websockets.serve(echo, "localhost", 8765):
        print("WebSocket server started on ws://localhost:8765")
        await asyncio.Future() …
18 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

How to Build an Idempotency-Key POST Handler in Python

Python HTTP server mock that accepts POST requests and deduplicates them using an Idempotency-Key header, returning the same response for repeated calls.

http-server idempotency api-mock
Python
import hashlib
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from urllib.parse import urlparse


class MockAPI(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    responses = {}

    def do_POST(self):
        length = int(self.headers.get("Content-Length", 0))
        body = self.rfile.read(length).decode("utf-8")
…
17 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

How to Create an RFC 7807 Error JSON in Python

Construct a structured error response using the RFC 7807 Problem Details format with a reusable function.

rfc7807 json error-handling
Python
import json
from typing import Dict


def create_rfc7807_error(
    type_: str,
    title: str,
    status: int,
    detail: str,
    instance: str,
    extra_fields: Dict[str, object] | None = None,
) -> str:
    """
    Build a JSON string following RFC 7807 Problem Details format.
    """
    problem = {
        "t…
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

How to Decode Basic Auth Credentials in Python

Decode username and password from a Basic Auth header string using base64 and standard string operations.

base64 authentication api
Python
import base64

def decode_basic_auth(header_value):
    """
    Decode credentials from a Basic Auth header value.
    
    Expected format: "Basic base64encoded(username:password)"
    Returns a tuple (username, password).
    """
    if not header_value.startswith("Basic "):
        raise ValueError("Invalid Basic A…
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

How to Expand Related Resources with a Mock Embed in Python

Simulate API response embedding by attaching mock embedded data to each related resource in a list using a simple Python class.

api embed mock
Python
import json

class EmbedMock:
    def __init__(self, resources):
        self.resources = resources

    def expand(self):
        for resource in self.resources:
            resource["embedded"] = self._generate_embed()

    def _generate_embed(self):
        return {
            "id": 1,
            "type": "mock",
…
17 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

How to Handle Retry-After Header in Python

Parse the Retry-After header from rate-limited API responses and implement retry logic with proper delays in Python.

retry-after api rate-limiting
Python
```python
import time
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


class RetryAfterHandler:
    def __init__(self, max_retries=3):
        self.max_retries = max_retries

    def get_retry_after_seconds(self, response_headers):
        retry_after_value = response_headers.get("Retry-After")
        if retry_after_value …
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

How to Implement Content Negotiation with JSON and XML in Python

Build an HTTP server that returns JSON or XML responses based on the client's Accept header, with a 406 response for unsupported formats.

http-server content-negotiation json
Python
import json
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer


class RequestHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        data = {"message": "Hello, world!"}
        accept_header = self.headers.get("Accept", "")

        if "application/json" in accept_hea…
14 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

How to Implement ETag Optimistic Concurrency in Python

Build a lightweight in-memory resource store that uses MD5 hash ETags to prevent lost updates via optimistic concurrency control.

etag concurrency hashing
Python
import hashlib
import json

class ResourceStore:
    def __init__(self):
        self.data = {}
        self.etags = {}

    def get(self, resource_id):
        if resource_id not in self.data:
            return None, None
        return self.data[resource_id], self.etags[resource_id]

    def put(self, resource_id, …
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

decorator rbac permissions
Python
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):
          …
17 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

api jsonapi sparse-fieldsets
Python
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…
12 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

http rest dict-merge
Python
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…
15 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

http-server rest mock
Python
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 …
13 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

http mocking regex
Python
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…
19 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

http caching mock-server
Python
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)
        …
13 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

oauth2 security middleware
Python
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…
17 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

http rate-limit server
Python
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)
…
17 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

api mock-server http
Python
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…
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

http streaming chunked
Python
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…
18 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

graphql mock resolver
Python
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…
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

webhook http-server mock
Python
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…
19 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

api authentication http
Python
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…
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

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.

multipart cgi form-data
Python
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)
    
   …
16 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

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.

grpc protobuf api
Python
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,
               …
17 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.