The Requests Library

The requests library is Python's most popular HTTP library. It makes sending HTTP requests simple and intuitive.

Installing Requests

First, install the library:

pip install requests

Making GET Requests

Response Object

The response object contains everything about the server's reply:

Adding Headers

Custom headers help you appear more like a real browser:

Query Parameters

Pass parameters cleanly using the params argument:

Handling Different Response Types

HTML Response

JSON Response

Making POST Requests

Session Management

Sessions persist cookies across requests:

Handling Errors

Timeouts

Always set timeouts to avoid hanging:

Complete Example

Key Takeaways

• requests.get() fetches pages, requests.post() submits data
• Always set custom headers, especially User-Agent
• Use params for query parameters
• Use response.text for HTML, response.json() for JSON
• Sessions maintain cookies across requests
• Always set timeouts and handle errors