Reference library

Files & data

Read and write files safely; parse JSON, CSV, and common text formats.

15 matches
Files & data easy

Extract a Single Member from a ZIP Archive in Python

Extract one specific file from a ZIP archive to an output directory using the standard zipfile and pathlib modules.

zipfile zip extraction
Python
import zipfile
from pathlib import Path

def extract_single_member(zip_path: str, member_name: str, output_dir: str = ".") -> Path:
    """Extract a single member from a zip archive to the output directory."""
    with zipfile.ZipFile(zip_path, "r") as archive:
        archive.extract(member_name, output_dir)
    retu…
20 0 Open
Files & data easy

Generate Timesheet Reports from Daily Logs in Python

Aggregate daily log entries by project and produce a formatted timesheet report using Python's standard library.

timesheet reporting aggregation
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path
from collections import defaultdict

def generate_timesheet_report(daily_logs: list[dict]) -> str:
    """
    Generate a timesheet report from daily log entries.
    
    Args:
        daily_logs: List of dicts with 'date', 'project', 'hours', 'task' keys
    
    Returns:
       …
46 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Archive Old Files by Age in Python

Move files older than a specified number of days from a source directory to an archive directory using Python's pathlib and shutil modules.

file-archiving pathlib shutil
Python
import os
import shutil
import time
from pathlib import Path

def archive_old_files(source_dir: str, archive_dir: str, days_old: int) -> None:
    cutoff_time = time.time() - (days_old * 86400)  # 86400 seconds in a day
    archive_path = Path(archive_dir)
    archive_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    for i…
48 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Convert Images Between Formats in Python

Use the Pillow library to open an image from one file format and save it to another, with error handling for missing files or conversion issues.

pillow image conversion file i/o
Python
from PIL import Image
import sys

def convert_image_format(input_path, output_path):
    try:
        img = Image.open(input_path)
        img.save(output_path)
        print(f"Converted {input_path} to {output_path}")
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"Error: File {input_path} not found")
        sys.exit(…
41 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Extract IP Address Counts from Access Logs in Python

Read a web server access log, count occurrences of each IP address using regex and Counter, and print the ranked results.

regex access log counter
Python
import re
from collections import Counter
from pathlib import Path

def extract_ip_counts(log_file_path):
    ip_pattern = r'^(\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3})'
    ip_counter = Counter()
    
    with open(log_file_path, 'r') as file:
        for line in file:
            match = re.match(ip_pattern, line)
       …
17 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Extract Text from PDF Files in Python

Extract all readable text from a PDF file using PyPDF2, iterating over each page and concatenating the content.

pdf text-extraction pypdf2
Python
import PyPDF2

def extract_text_from_pdf(pdf_path):
    text = ""
    with open(pdf_path, "rb") as file:
        reader = PyPDF2.PdfReader(file)
        for page in reader.pages:
            text += page.extract_text() + "\n"
    return text.strip()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    pdf_path = "sample.pdf"
    extracted…
53 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Fetch Weather Data from a Public API in Python

Fetches and parses weather data from a free public API using only the Python standard library.

api json weather
Python
import urllib.request
import json

def get_weather(city):
    base_url = f"https://wttr.in/{city}?format=j1"
    with urllib.request.urlopen(base_url) as response:
        data = json.loads(response.read().decode())
    current = data["current_condition"][0]
    temp = current["temp_C"]
    desc = current["weatherDesc…
92 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Merge Dicts from Two JSON Files Like a Pro

This helper reads two JSON files that contain dicts, merges them with the second file overriding duplicate keys, and saves the result to a new file.

json dict merge
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path


def merge_json_files(file1: str, file2: str, output: str = "merged.json") -> dict:
    """Merge two JSON files containing dicts, with file2 overriding file1."""
    data1 = json.loads(Path(file1).read_text())
    data2 = json.loads(Path(file2).read_text())

    merged = {**data1,…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Parse INI Config Files in Python with configparser

Load and read settings from an INI file using Python's built-in configparser module, with type-safe value access.

configparser ini configuration
Python
import configparser
from pathlib import Path

# Create a sample INI file for demonstration
sample_content = """
[Database]
host = localhost
port = 5432
user = admin
password = secret123

[Logging]
level = INFO
file = app.log
max_size = 10MB
"""

config_file = Path("sample_config.ini")
config_file.write_text(sample_con…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Record Audio from Your Microphone in Python

Record audio from your default microphone using PyAudio and save it as a WAV file with a simple reusable function.

audio pyaudio microphone
Python
import pyaudio
import wave

def record_audio(filename: str, duration: int = 5, sample_rate: int = 44100, chunk: int = 1024):
    """Record audio from default microphone and save as WAV file."""
    audio_format = pyaudio.paInt16  # 16-bit resolution
    channels = 1  # Mono
    
    p = pyaudio.PyAudio()
    
    stre…
48 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Transcode a File from Latin-1 to UTF-8 in Python

Read a latin1-encoded text file and rewrite it as UTF-8 using Python's pathlib and encoding parameters.

encoding utf8 latin1
Python
from pathlib import Path

def transcode_to_utf8(input_path, output_path):
    """Read a latin1-encoded file and write it as UTF-8."""
    source = Path(input_path)
    target = Path(output_path)
    
    with source.open(encoding='latin1') as infile:
        content = infile.read()
    
    with target.open('w', encod…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Parameterize SQL queries in Python to prevent SQL injection

Safely fetch users from a SQLite database using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks.

sqlite3 sql injection parameterized query
Python
import sqlite3

def get_users_by_name(name):
    """Fetch users safely using parameterized query."""
    conn = sqlite3.connect(':memory:')
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    
    # Create sample table and data
    cursor.execute('CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER, name TEXT)')
    cursor.executemany('INSERT INTO users (name…
15 0 Open
Files & data easy

Parse Fixed Width Data File by Column Slices in Python

Extract fields from fixed-width text by slicing each line at defined column offsets, with a dictionary describing the boundaries.

fixed-width string-slicing parsing
Python
from pathlib import Path


def parse_fixed_width(data: str, slices: dict[str, tuple[int, int]]) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
    lines = data.strip().splitlines()
    records = []
    for line in lines:
        record = {}
        for name, (start, end) in slices.items():
            record[name] = line[start:end].strip()…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Reassemble File Parts into Original File Bytes in Python

Read sorted part files from a directory and concatenate their bytes into the original file.

file handling binary byte concatenation
Python
import os
import sys
from pathlib import Path

def reassemble_parts(parts_dir: Path, output_path: Path) -> int:
    """
    Reassemble file parts into the original file.

    Args:
        parts_dir: Directory containing the part files
        output_path: Path where the reassembled file will be written

    Returns:
…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

Sync only changed files between two folders in Python

This code compares two folders and copies only the new or modified files from source to destination, skipping unchanged ones by comparing SHA-256 hashes.

files sync hashing
Python
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path
import shutil

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

def sync_files(src: s…
16 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Files & data — Python code examples

What you will find here

This page collects files & data 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.