Automation & scripting
CLI tools, scheduled jobs, filesystem tasks, and glue scripts that save time.
How to Clean Old Temp Files in Python
A Python script that scans a directory and deletes files older than a configurable age (default: one week), with safe error handling.
import os
import time
from pathlib import Path
def clean_old_temp_files(directory=".", max_age_seconds=7 * 24 * 60 * 60):
"""
Remove files in directory older than the specified age.
Args:
directory: Path to directory to clean
max_age_seconds: Maximum age in seconds (default: 1 week)
…How to Filter Docker Containers for Pruning in Python
Simulate Docker's container prune by filtering a JSON list for exited containers older than a cutoff, returning pruned IDs and space freed.
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def parse_docker_ps(json_output: str, older_than_hours: int = 24) -> list:
containers = json.loads(json_output)
cutoff = datetime.now() - timedelta(hours=older_than_hours)
return [
c for c in containers
if datetime.fromisoformat(c["crea…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.
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 …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.
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…Post a message to a Slack webhook in Python
Send a message to a Slack webhook endpoint using the standard library's urllib.request, handling the POST request and response cleanly.
import json
from urllib import request
def post_to_slack(webhook_url: str, message: str) -> dict:
payload = json.dumps({"text": message}).encode("utf-8")
req = request.Request(
webhook_url,
data=payload,
headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"},
method="POST",
)
wit…Browse by section
Each section groups closely related Python snippets.
Automation & scripting — Python code examples
What you will find here
This page collects automation & scripting snippets — short, copy-ready Python you can paste into our free online IDE and run without installing anything. Each sample includes a plain-English explanation and the full source code.
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.