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python requests token

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 2 min read

Python Requests Token

If you are working with APIs or web services, you may need to authenticate your requests with a token. This token is usually obtained by sending a request to the authentication server with your credentials and receiving a response containing the token. In Python, you can use the requests library to send HTTP requests and obtain tokens.

Using the Requests Library

To send a request using the requests library, you first need to import it:


import requests

Then, you can send a request to the authentication server to obtain a token. The exact process for obtaining a token may vary depending on the server, but it usually involves sending a POST request with your credentials:


url = 'https://example.com/auth/token'
data = {'username': 'myusername', 'password': 'mypassword'}
response = requests.post(url, data=data)

The response object contains the server's response, including the token. To access the token, you can use the json() method to convert the response to a JSON object:


token = response.json()['token']

You can then use the token to make authenticated requests to the API or web service:


url = 'https://example.com/api/data'
headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {token}'}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

The headers parameter includes the token in the request headers using the Bearer authentication scheme.

Using the Requests-OAuthlib Library

If you are working with an OAuth 2.0 authentication server, you may find it easier to use the requests-oauthlib library. This library provides a set of OAuth 2.0 authentication flows that can simplify the process of obtaining and refreshing tokens.

To use the library, you first need to install it:


!pip install requests-oauthlib

Then, you can create an OAuth 2.0 client and use it to obtain a token:


from requests_oauthlib import OAuth2Session

client_id = 'myclientid'
client_secret = 'myclientsecret'
authorization_base_url = 'https://example.com/auth/authorize'
token_url = 'https://example.com/auth/token'

oauth = OAuth2Session(client_id, redirect_uri='https://localhost')
authorization_url, state = oauth.authorization_url(authorization_base_url)
print('Please go to %s and authorize access.' % authorization_url)
authorization_response = input('Enter the full callback URL: ')

token = oauth.fetch_token(token_url, authorization_response=authorization_response, client_secret=client_secret)

The OAuth2Session class encapsulates the OAuth 2.0 authentication flow, including redirecting the user to the authorization server and exchanging the authorization code for a token. The fetch_token() method sends a POST request to the token endpoint with the authorization code and client credentials and returns the token.

You can then use the token to make authenticated requests to the API or web service:


url = 'https://example.com/api/data'
headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {token.get("access_token")}'}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

The access_token attribute of the token object contains the token value.

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