Python HTTPS Requests Using requests Module

Introduction

The requests module in Python is the most popular and user-friendly HTTP library used to send HTTPS requests, consume REST APIs, and perform web data fetching. It simplifies complex HTTP calls into a few lines of code.

Installation of requests Module

If not already installed, use pip:

pip install requests

Common HTTPS Methods in Python Using requests

Method Purpose
GET Retrieve data
POST Send data to the server
PUT Update existing data
DELETE Delete a resource
HEAD Retrieve headers
PATCH Partially update data

1. Python requests.get() Example

import requests

response = requests.get('https://api.github.com')

print("Status Code:", response.status_code)
print("Headers:", response.headers['Content-Type'])
print("Content:", response.text[:100])  # Limit output

Output:

Status Code: 200
Headers: application/json; charset=utf-8
Content: {
  "current_user_url": "https://api.github.com/user",
  ...

2. Sending Query Parameters

payload = {'q': 'python requests', 'sort': 'stars'}
r = requests.get('https://api.github.com/search/repositories', params=payload)
print(r.url)

Output:

https://api.github.com/search/repositories?q=python+requests&sort=stars

3. Python requests.post() Example

url = 'https://httpbin.org/post'
data = {'username': 'admin', 'password': '123'}

response = requests.post(url, data=data)
print(response.json())

Output:

{
  "form": {
    "password": "123",
    "username": "admin"
  },
  ...

4. Sending JSON Data

import json

url = 'https://httpbin.org/post'
json_data = {'id': 1, 'title': 'Learn Python'}

response = requests.post(url, json=json_data)
print(response.json()['json'])

Output:

{'id': 1, 'title': 'Learn Python'}

5. Sending Custom Headers

headers = {'User-Agent': 'MyApp/1.0'}

response = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/headers', headers=headers)
print(response.json())

6. Handling HTTPS Response Status Codes

r = requests.get('https://api.github.com/invalid-url')

if r.status_code == 404:
    print("Page not found!")

Output:

Page not found!

7. Timeout and Error Handling

try:
    r = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/delay/5', timeout=2)
except requests.exceptions.Timeout:
    print("Request timed out")

8. Basic Authentication

from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth

response = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/basic-auth/admin/123', auth=HTTPBasicAuth('admin', '123'))
print(response.status_code)

Output:

200

9. Downloading a File Over HTTPS

url = 'https://www.example.com/sample.pdf'
response = requests.get(url)

with open('sample.pdf', 'wb') as file:
    file.write(response.content)
print("File downloaded.")

HTTPS Security Note

The requests module automatically verifies SSL certificates. To disable it (not recommended):

requests.get('https://example.com', verify=False)