Python Requests Module URL Encode
If you are working with APIs, you might come across URL encoding. URL encoding is the process of converting a string into a format that is safe to be used as a URL parameter. Python Requests module provides an easy way to encode your URLs.
Using the requests module's built-in function
The requests module provides a built-in function called quote
to encode URLs. The quote
function encodes the given string by replacing special characters with their corresponding percent-encoded values.
import requests
# URL that needs to be encoded
url = "https://example.com/some path with spaces"
# Encode the URL
encoded_url = requests.utils.quote(url)
print(encoded_url)
In the above code, we first import the requests module. We then define a URL that needs to be encoded. Next, we call the quote
function of the requests.utils
module to encode the URL. Finally, we print the encoded URL.
Using urllib.parse module's urlencode function
The urllib.parse module provides a function called urlencode
to encode query strings. We can use this function to encode URLs as well.
import urllib.parse
# URL that needs to be encoded
url = "https://example.com/some path with spaces"
# Encode the URL
encoded_url = urllib.parse.urlencode({"url": url})
print(encoded_url.split("=")[1])
In the above code, we first import the urllib.parse module. We then define a URL that needs to be encoded. Next, we call the urlencode
function of the urllib.parse
module to encode the URL. Finally, we print the encoded URL.
Conclusion
Both the requests module and urllib.parse module provide an easy way to encode URLs in Python. The choice between the two depends on your use case and personal preference.