Automation & scripting
CLI tools, scheduled jobs, filesystem tasks, and glue scripts that save time.
Build a Network Ping Monitor in Python
A Python script that continuously pings a remote host using subprocess and reports connectivity status with timestamps and latency.
import subprocess
import time
def ping_host(host, count=4):
"""Ping a host and return the results."""
try:
# Platform-independent ping command
cmd = ["ping", "-c", str(count), host]
result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10)
return result.stdout, r…Create a Simple HTTP File Server in Python
This code creates a simple HTTP file server that serves files from the current working directory on port 8000 using Python's built-in http.server module.
import http.server
import socketserver
import os
PORT = 8000
DIRECTORY = os.getcwd()
class CustomHandler(http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super().__init__(*args, directory=DIRECTORY, **kwargs)
def log_message(self, format, *args):
print(f"[{self.log…How to Detect Network Interface Changes in Python
Monitor active network interfaces and print a message when an interface is added or removed using psutil and socket.
import socket
import psutil
import time
def get_network_interfaces():
"""Return a set of currently active interface names."""
active_ifaces = set()
for iface, addrs in psutil.net_if_addrs().items():
for addr in addrs:
if addr.family == socket.AF_INET: # IPv4 address present
…How to Map Network Drive Paths to Local Paths in Python
Convert mock SMB network drive paths (like 'S:\reports\q1.xlsx') to local placeholder paths and back using a simple mapping dictionary in Python.
"""Map mock SMB network drive paths to local placeholder paths."""
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass(frozen=True)
class NetworkDrive:
letter: str
remote_path: str
DRIVES = {
"S:": NetworkDrive("S", r"\\server01\shares\sales"),
"M:": NetworkDrive("M", r"\\server02\media\movies"),
"X:": …How to Perform a DNS Lookup for A Records in Python
Resolve a hostname to IPv4 A records using Python's built-in socket.getaddrinfo and return a sorted list of addresses.
import socket
def get_a_records(hostname):
"""Fetch A records (IPv4 addresses) for a given hostname."""
try:
# getaddrinfo with family AF_INET restricts to IPv4 (A records)
infos = socket.getaddrinfo(hostname, None, socket.AF_INET)
# Each info tuple: (family, type, proto, canonname, so…How to Ping Multiple Hosts in Parallel with Python ThreadPoolExecutor
A parallel host-pinging script using ThreadPoolExecutor and subprocess to check connectivity across multiple addresses concurrently.
import subprocess
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
from pathlib import Path
HOSTS = [
"google.com",
"github.com",
"stackoverflow.com",
"nonexistent.invalid",
"localhost",
]
def ping_host(host: str) -> str:
"""Ping a single host and return a status string."""
result = subp…How to Scan Open Ports on a Host with Python
A Python function that uses socket.connect_ex to check for open TCP ports on a given host within a range and returns a list of open ports.
import socket
def scan_ports(host, start_port, end_port):
open_ports = []
for port in range(start_port, end_port + 1):
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.settimeout(0.5)
result = sock.connect_ex((host, port))
if result == 0:
open_ports.app…How to Simulate a Traceroute in Python
This Python script simulates a network traceroute by generating mock hop IPs, random delays, and a destination reach condition, useful for testing network scripts.
import random
import time
def simulate_traceroute(destination, max_hops=30):
"""Simulate a traceroute to a destination with mock hop delays."""
print(f"Traceroute to {destination} ({max_hops} hops max):")
for hop in range(1, max_hops + 1):
# Mock IP address for the hop
mock_ip = f"10.0.{ra…How to Validate SSL Certificates for Multiple Domains in Python
A Python utility that checks SSL certificate expiry dates for a list of domains using the standard library ssl and socket modules.
import ssl
import socket
from datetime import datetime
def check_ssl_certificate(hostname: str, port: int = 443) -> dict:
"""Validate SSL certificate for a given hostname."""
context = ssl.create_default_context()
with socket.create_connection((hostname, port), timeout=5) as sock:
with context.wra…Port Scan Localhost Common Ports in Python
Scan common localhost ports (HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, FTP, and more) with a fast socket-based Python script that prints an open/closed status table.
import socket
from datetime import datetime
COMMON_PORTS = {
80: "HTTP",
443: "HTTPS",
22: "SSH",
21: "FTP",
25: "SMTP",
3306: "MySQL",
5432: "PostgreSQL"
}
def scan_port(port):
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.settimeout(0.1)
try:
resu…Toggle VPN Mock Network Manager Script in Python
Simulate a VPN manager with connect, disconnect, toggle, and status methods for testing or demo workflows.
import time
class MockVPNManager:
def __init__(self):
self.is_connected = False
self.servers = ["us-west", "eu-central", "asia-east"]
self.active_server = None
def toggle(self):
if self.is_connected:
self.disconnect()
else:
self.connect()
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Automation & scripting — Python code examples
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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.