Python HTTP GET Request with custom Headers Example

Python urllib3 : Exercise-2 with Solution

Write a Python program that makes a GET request with custom headers, such as User-Agent and Authorization.

Sample Solution:

Python Code :

# Import the urllib3 library
import urllib3

# Create a PoolManager instance to manage HTTP connections
http = urllib3.PoolManager()

# Define the API endpoint URL
api_url = 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1'

# Define custom headers
custom_headers = {
    'User-Agent': 'MyCustomUserAgent',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YourAccessTokenHere'
}

# Make a GET request with custom headers
response = http.request('GET', api_url, headers=custom_headers)

# Check if the request was successful (status code 200)
if response.status == 200:
    # Print the response data (decoded as UTF-8)
    print("Response Data:")
    print(response.data.decode('utf-8'))
else:
    # Print an error message if the request was not successful
    print(f"Error: Unable to fetch data. Status Code: {response.status}")

Sample Output:

Response Data:
{
  "userId": 1,
  "id": 1,
  "title": "sunt aut facere repellat provident occaecati excepturi optio reprehenderit",
  "body": "quia et suscipit\nsuscipit recusandae consequuntur expedita et cum\nreprehenderit molestiae ut ut quas totam\nnostrum rerum est autem sunt rem eveniet architecto"
}

Explanation:

Here's a brief explanation of the above Python urllib3 library code:

• Import Library:
• Import the urllib3 library, which is used for HTTP requests.
• Create PoolManager:
• Create a PoolManager instance named 'http'. This manager is responsible for handling HTTP connections.
• Define API Endpoint URL:
• Set the URL of the public API endpoint. In this example, it's set to a specific resource (a post with ID 1) on JSONPlaceholder.
• Define Custom Headers:
• Create a dictionary (custom_headers) to store custom headers like 'User-Agent' and 'Authorization'. These headers may include information about the client and an authorization token.
• Make a GET Request:
• Use the http.request method to make a GET request to the specified API endpoint (api_url) with the custom headers.
• Check Response Status:
• Check if the response status code is 200, which indicates a successful request.
• Print Response Data or Error Message:
• If the request is successful (status code 200), print the decoded content of the response (UTF-8).
• If the request is not successful, print an error message along with the HTTP status code.

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor :

Have another way to solve this solution? Contribute your code (and comments) through Disqus.

Previous: Python HTTP GET Request to Public API example.
Next: Python HTTP GET Request with Query parameters example.