Скачать или смотреть Resolving 403 Forbidden Errors: How to Make HTTP Requests Work in Python just like curl

Learn how to solve the `403 Forbidden` error when making HTTP requests using Python's requests library, by mimicking curl behavior.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/77650021/ asked by the user 'kovac' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/5387794/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/77651018/ provided by the user 'Mahboob Nur' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2727843/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Resolving 403 Forbidden Errors: How to Make HTTP Requests Work in Python just like curl

When working on downloading content from the web, you might run into a frustrating situation where your HTTP request works perfectly with curl, but throws a 403 Forbidden error when using Python's requests library. This can be particularly perplexing, especially when both requests aim to reach the same endpoint. In this guide, we’ll dive into why this happens and how you can resolve it.

Understanding the Problem

The problem arises when attempting to access an RSS feed from "https://www.straitstimes.com/news/sin..." using a Python script. Despite the script running without errors, the server responds with:

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This generally indicates that the server understands the request but refuses to authorize it. When the same URL is requested via curl, however, the XML content is returned successfully.

What Causes a 403 Error?

A 403 Forbidden error can occur for several reasons:

User-Agent Restrictions: Some servers block requests that don't specify a user-agent header or specific ones deemed suspicious.

Malformed Requests: Missing or modified headers that the server expects can result in access denial.

Security Protocols: Advanced security configurations on the server can prevent automated requests from scripts.

The Solution

In order to resolve this issue, you can adjust your Python script to match the request profile that curl uses. Here’s a structured approach:

Step 1: Import Necessary Library

You need to have the requests library installed, which is a powerful, user-friendly library for making HTTP requests in Python.

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Step 2: Create Custom Headers

To mimic the curl request successfully, you will need to configure custom headers for your Python request. Specifically, you should define empty strings for both the User-Agent and Accept headers.

Here’s how you can set it up:

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Step 3: Make the Request

Now that you have your headers set, you can proceed to send a GET request using the correct URL:

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Step 4: Check the Response

It's important to check the status code of the response to confirm if your request was successful:

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Full Example Script

Here's the complete version of the script that you would use:

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Conclusion

By understanding the nuances of how HTTP headers function, and by tailoring your requests to mimic those that work in curl, you can troubleshoot 403 Forbidden errors effectively. This enables you to harness the full power of the Python requests library and overcome similar hurdles in the future.

Give this approach a try the next time you encounter a 403 Forbidden issue, and you might just find that your Python script can access resources seamlessly!