Skip to main content

Making POST requests

POST is one of the most common HTTP methods. It is used to send data to the server to create or update a resource. In this tutorial, we'll learn about making POST requests using Python's requests module.

Prerequisites​

  • Basic Python knowledge
  • Installed Python environment
  • Basic understanding of HTTP requests

The requests.post() method​

The requests.post() method is used to send a POST request to the specified URL.

import requests

response = requests.post('https://httpbin.org/post', data = {'key':'value'})

In this example, we're sending a POST request to 'https://httpbin.org/post' with the data {'key':'value'}.

Sending JSON Data​

To send JSON data, you can use the json parameter in the requests.post() method.

import requests
import json

response = requests.post('https://httpbin.org/post', json = {'key':'value'})

In this example, we're sending a POST request to 'https://httpbin.org/post' with the JSON data {'key':'value'}.

Headers​

You can add headers to your POST request using the headers parameter in the requests.post() method.

import requests

headers = {'Content-type': 'application/json'}
response = requests.post('https://httpbin.org/post', headers=headers, data = {'key':'value'})

In this example, we're sending a POST request to 'https://httpbin.org/post' with a header specifying the content type as JSON.

Response​

After making a POST request, you can get the response from the server.

import requests

response = requests.post('https://httpbin.org/post', data = {'key':'value'})

print(response.text)

In this example, we're printing the text of the response from the server.

Status Codes​

You can also check the status code of the response with the status_code property.

import requests

response = requests.post('https://httpbin.org/post', data = {'key':'value'})

print(response.status_code)

In this example, we're printing the status code of the response from the server.

Conclusion​

In this tutorial, we covered how to send POST requests using Python's requests module. We learned how to send data and headers and how to handle the response from the server. This is a fundamental skill for web scraping and API interaction, and it's a great tool to have in your programming toolkit. Practice by trying to send POST requests to different APIs and see the responses you get!

Remember, though this article is meant to stand alone, practicing and experimenting with different aspects of requests will help solidify your understanding. Happy learning!