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accept header in python requests

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 1 min read

Understanding the Accept Header in Python Requests

As a developer, you may have come across HTTP requests, and the Accept header is an essential part of any HTTP request. When we talk about HTTP requests, we can break them down into two parts - headers and body. The Accept header allows the client to specify the media types that are acceptable for the response.

The Accept Header Syntax

The Accept header is made up of the following syntax:

Accept: type/subtype

The type refers to the general category of the media type, while the subtype is a more specific type within that category. Both the type and subtype are strings that are separated by a forward slash (/). The Accept header can also include parameters that modify the media type.

The Use of Accept Header in Python Requests

When using Python's requests library to make HTTP requests, you can pass the Accept header as a parameter in the request:


import requests

url = "https://example.com/api/data"
headers = {'Accept': 'application/json'}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

print(response.content)

In the above example, we are making a GET request to the URL https://example.com/api/data and specifying that we only accept JSON responses by passing the Accept header with the value 'application/json'.

Multiple Ways to Specify Accept Header in Python Requests

There are multiple ways to specify the Accept header in Python Requests:

  • Passing a dictionary of headers with the Accept key-value pair:

import requests

url = "https://example.com/api/data"
headers = {'Accept': 'application/json'}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

print(response.content)
  • Passing the Accept header as a parameter:

import requests

url = "https://example.com/api/data"
response = requests.get(url, headers={'Accept': 'application/json'})

print(response.content)
  • Using the Request object and passing the Accept header:

import requests

url = "https://example.com/api/data"
headers = {'Accept': 'application/json'}
request = requests.Request('GET', url, headers=headers)
response = requests.Session().send(request.prepare())

print(response.content)

Conclusion

The Accept header is an essential part of any HTTP request, and it allows the client to specify the media types that are acceptable for the response. When using Python Requests to make HTTP requests, there are multiple ways to pass the Accept header, and you can choose the one that works best for your use case.

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