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python requests encode url

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 1 min read

Python Requests Encode URL

Python Requests is a popular library that allows developers to send HTTP requests using Python. When sending a request with a URL, it's important to properly encode the URL in order to avoid errors and ensure that the server can properly handle the request. In this article, we'll explore how to encode URLs using Python Requests.

What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding is the process of converting characters in a URL to a format that can be transmitted over the internet. URLs may contain characters that are not allowed or have special meanings in certain contexts. For example, spaces in a URL can cause issues since they are not allowed in URLs. URL encoding replaces these characters with a percent symbol followed by their ASCII value in hexadecimal.

How to Encode a URL with Python Requests

Python Requests makes it easy to send HTTP requests with properly encoded URLs. Here's an example:


import requests

url = 'http://example.com/?q=query with spaces'
encoded_url = requests.utils.quote(url)

print(encoded_url)
# Output: http://example.com/%3Fq%3Dquery%20with%20spaces

In this example, we define a URL with a query parameter that contains spaces. We then use the requests.utils.quote() method to encode the URL. The encoded URL is returned and printed to the console.

Alternative Ways to Encode a URL

There are other ways to encode URLs in Python besides using the requests.utils.quote() method. Here are a few examples:

  • urllib.parse.quote(): This method is similar to requests.utils.quote(), but is part of the built-in Python urllib library. Here's an example:

import urllib.parse

url = 'http://example.com/?q=query with spaces'
encoded_url = urllib.parse.quote(url)

print(encoded_url)
# Output: http%3A//example.com/%3Fq%3Dquery%20with%20spaces
  • urlencode(): This method is useful for encoding query parameters. Here's an example:

import urllib.parse

params = {'q': 'query with spaces'}
encoded_params = urllib.parse.urlencode(params)

url = 'http://example.com/?' + encoded_params

print(url)
# Output: http://example.com/?q=query+with+spaces
  • Manual Encoding: It's also possible to manually encode a URL by replacing each special character with its encoded value. Here's an example:

url = 'http://example.com/?q=query with spaces'
encoded_url = url.replace(' ', '%20')

print(encoded_url)
# Output: http://example.com/?q=query%20with%20spaces
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