Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

15 matches
Files & data easy

Convert All Markdown Files in a Folder to HTML in Python

Batch convert every .md file in a folder to .html using the `markdown` library with the 'extra' extensions.

markdown html batch-conversion
Python
import os
import markdown
from pathlib import Path

def convert_md_folder_to_html(input_folder="markdown_files", output_folder="html_pages"):
    input_path = Path(input_folder)
    output_path = Path(output_folder)
    output_path.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    
    for md_file in input_path.glob("*.md"):
        with open…
54 0 Open
Files & data medium

Find Duplicate Web Pages by Content Similarity in Python

Compute SHA-256 hashes of file contents to detect and report duplicate HTML pages or any files in a directory.

duplicate-detection hashing sha256
Python
import hashlib
import os
from collections import defaultdict

def get_file_hash(filepath):
    """Compute SHA-256 hash of file contents."""
    sha256 = hashlib.sha256()
    with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b''):
            sha256.update(chunk)
    return sha256.hexdiges…
46 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Build a CSV Comparison Tool That Highlights Every Changed Cell in Python

Read two CSV files with DictReader, compare cell by cell, and return a list of dictionaries describing each changed cell using only the standard library.

csv comparison diff
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path

def csv_cell_diff(file_a: str, file_b: str) -> list[dict]:
    rows_a = list(csv.DictReader(Path(file_a).open('r', newline='')))
    rows_b = list(csv.DictReader(Path(file_b).open('r', newline='')))
    if not rows_a or not rows_b:
        return []
    columns = list(rows_a[0].key…
40 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Compute File SHA256 Hash with hashlib in Python

Compute the SHA256 hash of a file by reading it in chunks with hashlib and Path.open.

hashlib sha256 file-hash
Python
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path

def sha256_file(file_path: Path) -> str:
    sha256_hash = hashlib.sha256()
    with file_path.open("rb") as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b""):
            sha256_hash.update(chunk)
    return sha256_hash.hexdigest()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    demo_fi…
16 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Merge Sorted Chunk Files in Python

Merge multiple sorted text files into one sorted output file using a heap for efficient k-way merging.

heapq merge-sort external-sort
Python
import heapq


def merge_sorted_chunks(chunks, output_path):
    """Merge multiple sorted iterables into single sorted output file."""
    with open(output_path, "w") as out_f:
        # Open all chunk files
        handles = [open(chunk, "r") for chunk in chunks]
        try:
            # Heap of (value, index) tupl…
14 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Stream Large CSV Files in Python

Process a large CSV file in memory-efficient chunks using Python's csv module, yielding batches of rows instead of loading everything at once.

csv streaming memory-efficient
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path

def process_csv_in_chunks(file_path, chunk_size=1000):
    """Yield rows from a large CSV file in chunks without loading all into memory."""
    with open(file_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        chunk = []
        for row in reader:
            …
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

Normalize CSV Column Names to snake_case in Python

Convert CSV header names to snake_case using a regular expression and write the updated file in place.

csv regex snake-case
Python
import csv
import re
import sys


def to_snake_case(header):
    header = re.sub(r"(?<=[a-z0-9])(?=[A-Z])", "_", header)
    header = re.sub(r"[^a-zA-Z0-9]+", "_", header).strip("_").lower()
    return header


def normalize_csv_headers(input_path, output_path=None):
    with open(input_path, newline="", encoding="utf…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Parse Fixed Width Data File by Column Slices in Python

Extract fields from fixed-width text by slicing each line at defined column offsets, with a dictionary describing the boundaries.

fixed-width string-slicing parsing
Python
from pathlib import Path


def parse_fixed_width(data: str, slices: dict[str, tuple[int, int]]) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
    lines = data.strip().splitlines()
    records = []
    for line in lines:
        record = {}
        for name, (start, end) in slices.items():
            record[name] = line[start:end].strip()…
13 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Automatically Generate Charts from CSV Files with One Command

Read a CSV file with headers, extract the first two numeric columns, and save a matplotlib line chart as a PNG image.

csv matplotlib charting
Python
import csv
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def generate_chart(csv_path: str) -> None:
    """Read a CSV file with headers and plot the first two numeric columns."""
    data = []
    with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
        reader = csv.reader(f)
        headers = next(re…
64 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Build a Simple argparse CLI in Python

Create a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that reads a file, optionally uppercases its lines, and prints a configurable number of lines.

argparse cli automation
Python
import argparse

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="Automate file processing with a simple CLI tool."
    )
    parser.add_argument("filename", help="Path to the input file")
    parser.add_argument("--uppercase", action="store_true", help="Convert text to uppercase")
    parser.add…
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Split PDF Pages into Ranges in Python

Simulates splitting a PDF into page ranges by validating and returning structured range splits for automation workflows.

pdf automation file-processing
Python
import os

def split_pdf_ranges(pdf_name, num_pages, ranges):
    """
    Simulates splitting a PDF by returning the page ranges that would be split.

    Args:
        pdf_name (str): Name of the PDF file.
        num_pages (int): Total number of pages in the PDF.
        ranges (list of tuple): List of (start, end) …
12 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Watch a Folder and Convert New Images in Python

Watch a folder for new files and mock-convert images by copying and renaming them in an output directory.

folder-watching automation pathlib
Python
import time
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime

def mock_convert_image(source: Path, dest_dir: Path) -> Path:
    """Mock image conversion: copy bytes and add .converted suffix."""
    dest = dest_dir / f"{source.stem}.converted{source.suffix}"
    dest.write_bytes(source.read_bytes(…
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

ETL in Python: Extract CSV, Transform Dict, Load JSON

Build a simple ETL pipeline in Python that reads a CSV file, transforms each row (stripping whitespace and converting numeric fields), and writes the result to JSON.

etl csv json
Python
import csv
import json
from pathlib import Path

def extract_csv(file_path):
    """Read CSV file and return list of row dictionaries."""
    with Path(file_path).open('r', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        return list(reader)

def transform_dicts(rows):
    """Transform ro…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Build Data Processing Functions in Python

Create reusable helper functions to load, filter, transform, and aggregate CSV data in Python.

csv pipeline etl
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path


def load_data(filepath):
    """Load CSV data into a list of dicts."""
    with open(filepath, "r", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
        return list(csv.DictReader(f))


def filter_rows(rows, column, value):
    """Keep rows where column equals value."""
    return [row for…
11 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

How to Stream a Large JSONL File Line by Line in Python

Process a large JSON-lines file incrementally using streaming techniques to avoid loading the entire file into memory.

streaming jsonl large-files
Python
import json

def process_large_file(filepath, chunk_size=8192):
    """
    Stream a large JSON-lines file line by line, processing each record
    without loading the entire file into memory.
    """
    total_count = 0
    total_sum = 0
    
    with open(filepath, 'r') as f:
        while True:
            chunk = …
13 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.