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python requests download file

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 2 min read

Python Requests: Downloading Files

If you are working with web applications or APIs, you might need to download files using Python. Luckily, the Python Requests module makes it easy to handle the process. In this article, we will show you how to download files using Python Requests in different ways.

Method 1: Downloading a File Using URL

This method is useful when you have the URL of the file you want to download. Here's how to do it:


import requests

url = 'https://example.com/files/file.zip'
response = requests.get(url)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('file.zip', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
  • requests.get(url) sends an HTTP GET request to the specified URL and returns a response object.
  • response.status_code checks if the request was successful (status code 200).
  • response.content contains the content of the file.
  • open() creates a file in binary mode to write the downloaded content to.
  • .write() writes the content to the file.

Method 2: Downloading a File Using Session

This method is useful when you have to download multiple files from the same website. Sessions allow you to persist parameters across requests, so you don't have to specify them again and again. Here's how to do it:


import requests

session = requests.Session()

url = 'https://example.com/files/file1.zip'
response = session.get(url)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('file1.zip', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)

url = 'https://example.com/files/file2.zip'
response = session.get(url)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('file2.zip', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
  • requests.Session() creates a session object.
  • session.get(url) sends an HTTP GET request to the specified URL and returns a response object.
  • response.status_code checks if the request was successful (status code 200).

Method 3: Downloading a File Using Headers

Sometimes, you might need to send custom headers with your request. This is useful when the server requires certain headers to be present in the request. Here's how to do it:


import requests

url = 'https://example.com/files/file.zip'
headers = {'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('file.zip', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
  • headers is a dictionary containing custom headers.
  • 'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0' is a common header used to identify the client making the request.

Method 4: Downloading a Large File in Chunks

If you are downloading a large file, you might not want to load the entire file into memory at once. Instead, you can download the file in chunks. Here's how to do it:


import requests

url = 'https://example.com/files/largefile.zip'

with requests.get(url, stream=True) as r:
    r.raise_for_status()
    with open('largefile.zip', 'wb') as f:
        for chunk in r.iter_content(chunk_size=8192):
            if chunk:
                f.write(chunk)
  • stream=True tells Requests to not download the entire response content immediately.
  • r.iter_content(chunk_size=8192) iterates over the response content in chunks of 8192 bytes.
  • f.write(chunk) writes each chunk to the file as it is downloaded.

Conclusion

These are some of the methods to download files using Python Requests. You can choose the method that suits your needs best. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below!

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