API design & gRPC
REST best practices, protobuf, API versioning, and backward-compatible service contracts.
Build a Bulk Array POST Mock Server in Python
Creates an HTTP mock server that accepts POST requests with a JSON array and returns incremental IDs for each item.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from urllib.parse import urlparse
class MockHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_POST(self):
if urlparse(self.path).path != "/bulk":
self.send_response(404)
self.end_headers()
return
cont…
Build a Mock REST API with PUT and GET in Python
A minimal mock REST server implementing idempotent PUT for resource replacement and GET for retrieval, built with Python's http.server module.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
import json
from urllib.parse import urlparse
mock_db = {}
class MockAPIHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_PUT(self):
parsed = urlparse(self.path)
resource_id = parsed.path.strip("/").split("/")[-1]
content_length = int(self.…
How to Build a Batch Operations Multi-Status 207 Mock Server in Python
Build a mock HTTP server that accepts a batch of operations and returns HTTP 207 Multi-Status with per-operation status codes in JSON.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
import json
class BatchHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_POST(self):
if self.path != "/batch":
self.send_response(404)
self.end_headers()
return
content_length = int(self.headers.get("Content-Leng…
How to Build a Mock REST GET Endpoint Handler in Python
Create a lightweight mock REST GET server in Python using the standard library, with a dict-based route registry that maps paths to handler functions and returns JSON responses with proper HTTP status codes.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
import json
# Mock API handler registry
def handle_users():
return {"status": "ok", "data": [{"id": 1, "name": "Alice"}, {"id": 2, "name": "Bob"}]}
def handle_products():
return {"status": "ok", "data": [{"id": 101, "name": "Laptop", "price": 999.99}…
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.
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() …
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.
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")
…
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.
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…
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 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 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 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 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…
How to mock Server-Sent Events (SSE) in Python
A minimal HTTP server that streams Server-Sent Events to clients, perfect for testing and development.
from http.server import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
import threading
import time
MESSAGES = iter([
"data: Hello world\n\n",
"data: Second message\n\n",
"event: custom\n",
"data: Custom event payload\n\n",
"data: Final message\n\n"
])
class SSEHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET…
How to mock a REST POST endpoint in Python
Create a simple mock REST server that responds to POST requests with a 201 status and a JSON body.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class MockHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_POST(self):
content_length = int(self.headers.get("Content-Length", 0))
body = self.rfile.read(content_length) if content_length else b"{}"
try:
data = json…
Serve Swagger UI with Python's built-in HTTP server
Hosts a self-contained Swagger UI with a mock OpenAPI spec using only Python's standard library HTTP server.
from http.server import HTTPServer, SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
import os
import tempfile
SWAGGER_HTML = """<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Mock Swagger UI</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/swagger-ui-dist@4/swagger-ui.css">
</head>
<body>
<div id="swagger-ui"></div>
<script src…
Version API by Accept Header with Vendor Media Types in Python
Build a mock HTTP server that routes to API versions by parsing vendor-specific Accept headers in Python.
from http.client import HTTPMessage
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class VendorVersionHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET(self):
accept = self.headers.get("Accept", "")
version = "v1"
if "application/vnd.myapi.v2+json" in accept:
version = "…
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