Automation & scripting
CLI tools, scheduled jobs, filesystem tasks, and glue scripts that save time.
How to Automatically Download Every Favicon from a List of Websites in Python
Download each website's favicon.ico file by constructing its URL, making a GET request, and saving the binary content locally.
import requests
from urllib.parse import urlparse
import os
websites = [
"https://www.google.com",
"https://www.github.com",
"https://www.stackoverflow.com"
]
def download_favicon(url):
parsed = urlparse(url)
favicon_url = f"{parsed.scheme}://{parsed.netloc}/favicon.ico"
response = requests.g…How to Batch Resize Images in Python with pathlib and Pillow
Batch resize all JPG images from a source folder and save to a destination folder using pathlib and Pillow.
from pathlib import Path
from PIL import Image
def batch_resize_images(src_dir: str, dest_dir: str, size: tuple[int, int] = (800, 600)) -> None:
src_path = Path(src_dir)
dest_path = Path(dest_dir)
dest_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
for img_path in src_path.glob("*.jpg"):
if not …How to Build a CLI with argparse in Python
Create a beginner-friendly command-line tool in Python that processes multiple filenames with optional flags for verbose output and uppercase conversion.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="A simple CLI to process files with optional verbose mode."
)
parser.add_argument("filenames", nargs="+", help="Files to process")
parser.add_argument("-v", "--verbose", action="store_true", help="Print extra details")
…How to Build a Cryptocurrency Price Tracker in Python
A continuous Python script that fetches real-time cryptocurrency prices from the CoinGecko API and displays them on a loop.
import requests
import time
def get_crypto_prices(coin_ids=["bitcoin", "ethereum", "solana"]):
url = "https://api.coingecko.com/api/v3/simple/price"
params = {
"ids": ",".join(coin_ids),
"vs_currencies": "usd"
}
try:
response = requests.get(url, params=params, timeout=10)
…How to Build a Mock Route53 DNS API in Python
Create a mock DNS API server in Python that simulates Route53 record lookups and updates using the standard library.
import json
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qs
class DNSUpdateHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
records = {"example.com": "1.2.3.4"}
def do_GET(self):
domain = parse_qs(urlparse(self.path).query).get("domain", [""])[0]
if dom…How to Build a Python Tool That Finds Trending Open Source Projects Daily
A Python script that queries the GitHub Search API to fetch the top 5 trending repositories created in the last day, sorted by stars, with optional language filtering.
import requests
import json
import datetime
def fetch_trending_projects(language: str = "", since: str = "daily"):
url = "https://api.github.com/search/repositories"
date_limit = (datetime.date.today() - datetime.timedelta(days=1)).isoformat()
query = f"created:>{date_limit} language:{language}" if langua…How to Build a Simple Python CLI with argparse
Create a friendly command-line greeting tool with argparse that accepts a positional name and optional flags for custom greetings and uppercase output.
import argparse
def greet(name, greeting="Hello", uppercase=False):
message = f"{greeting}, {name}!"
return message.upper() if uppercase else message
if __name__ == "__main__":
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="A simple greeting tool to demonstrate argparse basics."
)
parser.…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.
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…How to Build a Simple argparse CLI in Python
Build a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that greets a user, with optional greeting text and uppercase output.
import argparse
def greet(name, greeting="Hello", uppercase=False):
message = f"{greeting}, {name}!"
if uppercase:
message = message.upper()
return message
if __name__ == "__main__":
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Simple CLI greeting tool")
parser.add_argument("name", help=…How to Build an argparse CLI That Filters File Lines by Keyword in Python
This Python script is a command-line tool built with argparse that reads a text file and prints only the lines that contain (or don't contain) a given keyword.
import argparse
import sys
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Filter lines from a file by keyword.")
parser.add_argument("input", type=str, help="File to read")
parser.add_argument("keyword", type=str, help="Keyword to filter lines")
parser.add_argument("--contains", action="sto…How to Build an argparse Command-Line Tool in Python
Create a simple file-info CLI with argparse that counts lines and prints file size, with optional verbose and output flags.
import argparse
import os
from pathlib import Path
def process_file(filepath, verbose=False):
"""Read a file and report its size and line count."""
path = Path(filepath)
if not path.exists():
raise FileNotFoundError(f"File not found: {filepath}")
content = path.read_text()
lines = conten…How to Bump Version in pyproject.toml Using Regex in Python
Updates the version field in a pyproject.toml file using a regex substitution with the Python standard library.
import re
from pathlib import Path
def bump_version(pyproject_path: str, new_version: str) -> None:
"""Update version in pyproject.toml using regex."""
path = Path(pyproject_path)
content = path.read_text()
# Match version = "x.y.z" (simple or PEP 440 with pre-release)
pattern = r'^version\s*=\s*…How to Check SSL Certificate Expiry in Python
Connect to a host over TLS, extract the certificate's expiry date, and report days remaining using only the Python standard library.
import socket
import ssl
from datetime import datetime
def check_cert_expiry(hostname, port=443):
context = ssl.create_default_context()
with socket.create_connection((hostname, port), timeout=10) as sock:
with context.wrap_socket(sock, server_hostname=hostname) as tls_sock:
cert = tls_soc…How to Check Website Status Codes in Python
This script checks the HTTP status codes of multiple URLs concurrently using a thread pool and prints the results.
import requests
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
URLS = [
"https://www.google.com",
"https://www.python.org",
"https://www.nonexistent-site-12345.com",
"https://www.github.com",
]
def check_status(url):
try:
response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
return url, resp…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 Compare Two GitHub Repositories and Highlight Differences in Python
Fetch metadata from two GitHub repositories using the GitHub API and compare key attributes like stars, forks, license, and language, printing any differences.
import requests
import json
from pathlib import Path
def fetch_repo_data(owner, repo_name):
"""Fetch repository metadata from GitHub API."""
url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo_name}"
response = requests.get(url)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()
def compare_repos(…How to Compress a Folder in Python While Preserving Directory Structure
A Python function that uses zipfile to recursively compress a folder, maintaining the original directory hierarchy inside the zip archive.
import os
import zipfile
from pathlib import Path
def compress_folder(source_dir: str, output_zip: str):
"""
Compress a folder into a zip file, preserving the directory structure.
Args:
source_dir: Path to the source directory to compress
output_zip: Path for the output zip file
"…How to Create a File Organizer That Sorts Files Automatically in Python
A Python script that scans a given folder, categorizes files by extension (Images, Documents, Audio, Video, Archives, Misc), and moves them into subfolders automatically.
import os
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
FILE_CATEGORIES = {
"Images": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".bmp"],
"Documents": [".pdf", ".docx", ".txt", ".csv", ".xlsx"],
"Audio": [".mp3", ".wav", ".flac", ".aac"],
"Video": [".mp4", ".mkv", ".avi", ".mov"],
"Archives": [".zip", ".tar", ".g…How to Create a Link Graph Visualization for Any Website in Python
A Python script that crawls a website's internal links, builds a directed graph of parent-child URL relationships, and prints the graph to the console.
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from collections import defaultdict
from urllib.parse import urljoin, urlparse
import sys
def get_links(url, max_links=20):
try:
response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, 'html.parser')
base_url = f"{urlparse(u…How to Create a Mock Docker Registry Auth Token Server in Python
Build a mock Docker Registry token authentication server that issues signed JWT-like tokens for push and pull access using Python's standard library.
import base64
import hashlib
import hmac
import json
import time
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
class TokenAuthHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
"""Mock Docker Registry token authentication server."""
SECRET_KEY = b"mock-secret-key"
def generate_token(self, username: str, pas…How to Create a Mock Headless Browser Screenshot Stub in Python
This code provides a deterministic stub that simulates capturing webpage screenshots with a headless browser, returning formatted output without real browser dependencies.
import subprocess
import sys
def mock_screenshot_webpage(url: str, width: int = 1280, height: int = 800) -> str:
"""Stub that simulates taking a screenshot of a webpage using headless browser."""
# In real implementation, you would use playwright/selenium/headless chrome
result = {
"url": url,
…How to Create a Password Protected Zip Archive in Python
Generate a password-protected zip archive and verify password correctness using the standard library zipfile module.
import zipfile
import tempfile
import os
def create_password_protected_zip(zip_path, password: str, files: dict):
"""
Create a zip archive with password protection (mock encryption).
Args:
zip_path: Path where the zip file will be created
password: Password for the archive
files:…How to Create a Simple Python CLI with argparse
Build a beginner-friendly command-line tool with argparse that accepts positional and optional arguments to greet users flexibly.
import argparse
def greet(name, greeting="Hello", uppercase=False):
message = f"{greeting}, {name}!"
return message.upper() if uppercase else message
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="A simple CLI tool that greets users."
)
parser.add_argument(
"name",
…How to Decrypt a GPG File with a Passphrase in Python
Decrypt a GPG-encrypted file using a passphrase via the gpg CLI wrapped in a reusable Python function.
import subprocess
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path
def decrypt_gpg_file(input_file: str, passphrase: str) -> str:
"""Decrypt a GPG file using a passphrase and return the plaintext."""
result = subprocess.run(
["gpg", "--batch", "--yes", "--passphrase", passphrase, "--decrypt", input_file],
…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.