How to Pull Data from an API using Python Requests (2024)

FAQs

How to extract API data in Python? ›

get() method since we are sending a GET request. The two arguments we pass are URL and the parameters dictionary. Now, in order to retrieve the data from the response object, we need to convert the raw response content into a JSON-type data structure. This is achieved by using json() method.

REST APIs provide access to web service data through public web URLs. This URL allows you to access information about a specific GitHub user. You access data from a REST API by sending an HTTP request to a specific URL and processing the response.

With the Fetch API, you make a request by calling fetch() , which is available as a global function in both window and worker contexts. You pass it a Request object or a string containing the URL to fetch, along with an optional argument to configure the request.

In JavaScript, use fetch or XMLHttpRequest to make the request. Then, extract the response data from the returned object. Example code: fetch(url). then(response => response.

Transforming a JSON API Response Into a Python Dictionary

urlopen() peforms the API call and returns an HTTPResponse object. Its read() method is then used to get the response body body_json, which contains the API response as a JSON string. Finally, that string can be parsed into a Python dictionary through json.

To read JSON data, you can use the built-in json module (JSON Encoder and Decoder) in Python. The json module provides two methods, loads and load, that allow you to parse JSON strings and JSON files, respectively, to convert JSON into Python objects such as lists and dictionaries.

How do you pull data into Python? ›

Load Data With Built-In Python Functions

To both read from and write to a file, you can use the built-in function open() , which takes in two parameters: file name and mode. File name: the directory path to the file that you want to read or write to. Mode: the mode you want to use for the file.

What is the limit of GET method? The GET method typically has a limitation on the length of the URL, often around 2048 characters, depending on the browser and server. This includes the length of the entire URL, including the query string parameters.

API is present on the server side and allows communication and sharing of information or data between two programs or softwares. To get a desired information from the server, you as the client would send a request, which is a combination of URL and HTTP methods.

API scraping is the process of extracting data from an API that provides access to web applications, databases, and other online services. Unlike extracting from a website's visual components, this method uses simple API calls to interact with a service's backend, ensuring more structured and dependable data retrieval.