Files & data
Read and write files safely; parse JSON, CSV, and common text formats.
Build a Secure Local Password Vault with Encrypted Storage in Python
A Python class that stores and retrieves passwords in an encrypted JSON file using Fernet symmetric encryption from the cryptography library.
import json
import os
import base64
import hashlib
from cryptography.fernet import Fernet
from getpass import getpass
class PasswordVault:
def __init__(self, vault_file="vault.json", key_file="vault.key"):
self.vault_file = vault_file
self.key_file = key_file
self.key = self._load_or_creat…
Download Files from Internet with Progress Bar in Python
Download a file from the internet while displaying a text progress bar in the terminal.
import urllib.request
import sys
def download_with_progress(url, filename):
"""Download a file with a simple text progress bar."""
def report_hook(block_count, block_size, total_size):
downloaded = block_count * block_size
if total_size > 0:
percent = min(100, int(downloaded * 100 …
Extract Hyperlinks from Word Documents in Python
Parses a .docx file using Python's standard library to extract every hyperlink's display text and target URL.
import zipfile
from pathlib import Path
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def extract_hyperlinks_from_docx(filepath: str) -> list[dict]:
"""
Extract all hyperlinks from a .docx file.
Returns a list of dicts with 'text' and 'target' keys.
"""
hyperlinks = []
with zipfile.ZipFile(Path(filepath)…
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.
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…
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.
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:
…
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.
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…
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.
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(…
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.
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)
…
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.
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…
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.
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…
How to Load Pickle Files Safely in Python
This code demonstrates how to load pickle files safely in Python by using a restricted unpickler that only allows specific, trusted classes, preventing arbitrary code execution from untrusted pickles.
import pickle
# Default pickle.load is unsafe: it executes arbitrary code when unpickling.
class Unsafe:
def __reduce__(self):
return (eval, ("open('/tmp/pickle_demo.txt', 'w').write('pwned')",))
# Create a malicious payload (simulating untrusted source)
malicious_data = pickle.dumps(Unsafe())
# Safe ap…
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.
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,…
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.
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…
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.
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…
How to Scrape Headlines from a News Website Using Beautiful Soup in Python
Scrape headline text from a news website using requests and Beautiful Soup with a CSS selector.
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
def scrape_headlines(url: str, selector: str) -> list:
"""
Scrape headlines from a news website using Beautiful Soup.
Args:
url: The URL of the news website.
selector: CSS selector for headline elements.
Returns:
List of h…
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.
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…
Join two CSV files on shared key column in Python
Merge rows from two CSV files by a common key column, outputting combined records to a new file.
import csv
def join_csv(file1, file2, key, output="joined.csv"):
# Read first CSV into dict keyed by the join column
with open(file1, newline="") as f1:
reader1 = csv.DictReader(f1)
data1 = {row[key]: row for row in reader1}
# Read second CSV and merge matching rows
with open(file2, n…
Parameterize SQL queries in Python to prevent SQL injection
Safely fetch users from a SQLite database using parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks.
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…
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.
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()…
Reassemble File Parts into Original File Bytes in Python
Read sorted part files from a directory and concatenate their bytes into the original file.
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:
…
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.
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…
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