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Python Code Samples

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

16 matches
Files & data easy

Automatically Detect Corrupted Files Using SHA-256 Checksums in Python

Compute SHA-256 checksums of files and compare them to detect corruption in Python.

checksum file-integrity hashlib
Python
import hashlib
import os

def compute_sha256(filepath: str) -> str:
    """Compute SHA-256 checksum of a file."""
    sha256 = hashlib.sha256()
    with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b''):
            sha256.update(chunk)
    return sha256.hexdigest()

def validate_file_int…
57 1 Open
Files & data medium

How to Compare Two Files by Content Hash Equality in Python

Compares two files by hashing their contents with SHA-256, skipping the hash if file sizes differ, and returns whether they are identical.

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

def file_hash(path: Path, chunk_size: int = 8192) -> str:
    sha256 = hashlib.sha256()
    with path.open("rb") as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(chunk_size), b""):
            sha256.update(chunk)
    return sha256.hexdigest()

def files_are_identical(file_a: Pat…
13 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 Find Duplicate Files by Size and Hash in Python

Recursively scan a directory, group files by size, then hash candidates to identify exact duplicate files.

deduplication filesystem hashlib
Python
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path

def hash_file(path, chunk_size=8192):
    hasher = hashlib.md5()
    with open(path, 'rb') as f:
        while chunk := f.read(chunk_size):
            hasher.update(chunk)
    return hasher.hexdigest()

def find_duplicates(directory):
    size_map = {}
    for path in Path(dir…
16 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns easy

How to hash a prompt with SHA-256 in Python

Create a SHA-256 hex fingerprint of a prompt string, with a short-prefix variant for quick references.

hashlib sha256 fingerprint
Python
import hashlib

def prompt_hash_fingerprint(prompt: str) -> str:
    """Return the full SHA-256 hex digest of the prompt."""
    return hashlib.sha256(prompt.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()

def short_fingerprint(prompt: str, length: int = 12) -> str:
    """Return a short prefix of the SHA-256 digest for quick reference…
13 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Build a Python Utility That Verifies Backup Integrity Automatically

Automatically compute and verify SHA-256 checksums of backup files using a JSON manifest to detect missing or corrupted data.

sha256 backup integrity
Python
import hashlib
import os
import json

def compute_checksum(filepath, algorithm='sha256'):
    """Compute checksum for the given file."""
    hash_func = hashlib.new(algorithm)
    with open(filepath, 'rb') as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(4096), b''):
            hash_func.update(chunk)
    return hash_f…
51 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Hash Duplicate Photos and Delete Copies in Python

This script hashes image files in a directory using SHA-256 and deletes duplicate copies while keeping the first occurrence, ideal for cleaning up photo libraries.

hashlib deduplication file-automation
Python
from pathlib import Path
import hashlib

def file_hash(path, chunk_size=8192):
    hasher = hashlib.sha256()
    with open(path, "rb") as f:
        for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(chunk_size), b""):
            hasher.update(chunk)
    return hasher.hexdigest()

def delete_duplicate_photos(directory):
    directory …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Scan Files Against a Malware Hash List in Python

Compare a file's SHA-256 hash against a known malware hash set and report whether it's clean or infected.

hashlib file-scanning security
Python
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path

# Mock file content (in real usage, read from disk)
MOCK_FILE_CONTENT = b"print('hello world')"

KNOWN_MALWARE_HASHES = {
    "8d969eef6ecad3c29a3a629280e686cf0c3f5d5a86aff3ca12020c923adc6c92",
    "5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773603d0d6aabbdd62a11ef721d1542d8",
}

def sha25…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to shard output by primary key hash mod N in Python

This code computes a consistent shard index for any primary key string using an MD5 hash mod the number of shards, enabling stable key-based data distribution.

hashing sharding hashlib
Python
import hashlib

def shard_id(primary_key: str, num_shards: int) -> int:
    """Return the shard index for a primary key using MD5 hash mod N."""
    digest = hashlib.md5(primary_key.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
    hash_int = int(digest, 16)
    return hash_int % num_shards

if __name__ == "__main__":
    keys = ["use…
11 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")
…
14 0 Open
API design & gRPC medium

Verify Webhook HMAC Signatures in Python

Create and verify HMAC-SHA256 signatures for webhook payloads using Python's hmac module, protecting against tampering.

webhooks hmac security
Python
import hashlib
import hmac
import json

SECRET = b"super-secret-webhook-key"

def create_signature(payload: bytes) -> str:
    return hmac.new(SECRET, payload, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()

def verify_signature(payload: bytes, signature: str) -> bool:
    expected = create_signature(payload)
    return hmac.compare_dig…
12 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Build a Bloom Filter to Reduce Cache Misses in Python

Implement a probabilistic Bloom filter in Python that lets a cache quickly determine which keys are definitely not present, reducing expensive source lookups on cache misses.

bloom-filter caching probabilistic
Python
import hashlib
import random

class BloomFilter:
    def __init__(self, size=100, num_hashes=3):
        self.size = size
        self.num_hashes = num_hashes
        self.bit_array = [0] * size

    def _hashes(self, item):
        result = []
        for i in range(self.num_hashes):
            hash_value = int(hash…
14 0 Open
Big data & Spark easy

Partition Data by Hash Key Mod N in Python

Returns a partition index for a string key by hashing it with MD5 and taking modulo N, then groups sample keys into partitions.

hashing partitioning hashlib
Python
import hashlib


def partition_key(key: str, num_partitions: int) -> int:
    """Return partition index for key using MD5 hash mod N."""
    digest = hashlib.md5(key.encode()).hexdigest()
    return int(digest, 16) % num_partitions


if __name__ == "__main__":
    keys = ["alice", "bob", "carol", "dave", "eve"]
    nu…
12 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Create and Verify HMAC SHA256 API Signatures in Python

Generate and verify HMAC-SHA256 signatures for API requests using Python's hmac, hashlib, and base64 modules.

hmac sha256 authentication
Python
import hmac
import hashlib
import base64
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone

def create_api_signature(secret_key: str, method: str, path: str, timestamp: str, body: dict = None) -> str:
    """Create HMAC-SHA256 signature for API request."""
    payload = {
        "method": method.upper(),
        "p…
14 0 Open
Auth & security at scale easy

How to Generate and Verify HMAC Signatures in Python

Create and validate HMAC-SHA256 signatures with a shared secret key using Python's hmac and hashlib modules.

hmac security cryptography
Python
import hashlib
import hmac

SECRET_KEY = b"pepper-secret-2024"

def generate_hmac(message: str) -> str:
    return hmac.new(SECRET_KEY, message.encode("utf-8"), hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()

def verify_hmac(message: str, received_hmac: str) -> bool:
    expected = generate_hmac(message)
    return hmac.compare_digest(e…
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale easy

How to Salt Passwords per User in Python

Hash each user's password with a unique random salt using hashlib, and verify logins with timing-safe comparison.

password-hashing security authentication
Python
import hashlib
import secrets

def hash_password(password: str, salt: str | None = None) -> tuple[str, str]:
    """Hash a password with a random salt (or provided salt).

    Returns:
        (salt_hex, password_hash_hex)
    """
    if salt is None:
        salt = secrets.token_hex(16)
    salted = (salt + password)…
14 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

  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.