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HTTP Redirects

Zero-dependency Python snippets for handling HTTP redirects using the standard library.

6 snippets available in this sub-category.

Simple

Default redirect handling (automatic)

http get redirect follow web

HTTP GET with default redirect handling

import urllib.request

def http_get_follow_redirects(url):
    """HTTP GET request (follows redirects by default)."""
    with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
        return response.read().decode("utf-8")

# Example usage
# url = "http://httpbin.org/redirect/2"  # Redirects twice
# result = http_get_follow_redirects(url)
# print(result)

Notes

  • urllib follows up to 10 redirects by default
  • Most requests handle redirects automatically

Disable redirects (block all)

http get redirect disable handler web

HTTP GET with redirects disabled

import urllib.request

class NoRedirectHandler(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
    def redirect_request(self, req, fp, code, msg, headers, newurl):
        return None

def http_get_no_redirect(url):
    """HTTP GET request (does not follow redirects)."""
    opener = urllib.request.build_opener(NoRedirectHandler)
    try:
        with opener.open(url) as response:
            return response.read().decode("utf-8")
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        print(f"HTTP error: {e.code} {e.reason}")
        print(f"Redirect location: {e.headers.get('Location')}")
    return None

# Example usage
# url = "http://httpbin.org/redirect/1"
# result = http_get_no_redirect(url)
# print(result)

Notes

  • Raises HTTPError for 3xx responses
  • Useful for manual redirect handling

Complex

Custom redirect handler (limit number of redirects)

http get redirect limit handler web

HTTP GET with limited redirects

import urllib.request

class LimitedRedirectHandler(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
    def __init__(self, max_redirects=3):
        super().__init__()
        self.max_redirects = max_redirects
        self.redirect_count = 0
    def redirect_request(self, req, fp, code, msg, headers, newurl):
        self.redirect_count += 1
        if self.redirect_count > self.max_redirects:
            raise urllib.error.HTTPError(newurl, code, "Too many redirects", headers, fp)
        return super().redirect_request(req, fp, code, msg, headers, newurl)

def http_get_limited_redirects(url, max_redirects=3):
    """HTTP GET with a custom limit on redirects."""
    handler = LimitedRedirectHandler(max_redirects)
    opener = urllib.request.build_opener(handler)
    try:
        with opener.open(url) as response:
            return response.read().decode("utf-8")
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        print(f"HTTP error: {e.code} {e.reason}")
    return None

# Example usage
# url = "http://httpbin.org/redirect/5"
# result = http_get_limited_redirects(url, max_redirects=2)
# print(result)

Notes

  • Raises HTTPError if redirect limit is exceeded
  • Customizable for different use cases

Capture redirect chain (history)

http get redirect history handler web

HTTP GET with redirect chain capture

import urllib.request

class CaptureRedirectHandler(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        self.redirects = []
    def redirect_request(self, req, fp, code, msg, headers, newurl):
        self.redirects.append((code, newurl))
        return super().redirect_request(req, fp, code, msg, headers, newurl)

def http_get_with_redirect_history(url):
    """HTTP GET and capture the full redirect chain."""
    handler = CaptureRedirectHandler()
    opener = urllib.request.build_opener(handler)
    with opener.open(url) as response:
        body = response.read().decode("utf-8")
    return handler.redirects, body

# Example usage
# url = "http://httpbin.org/redirect/3"
# redirects, result = http_get_with_redirect_history(url)
# print("Redirect chain:", redirects)
# print(result)

Notes

  • Stores (code, newurl) for each redirect
  • Useful for debugging and analytics

POST/PUT/DELETE with redirects

http post redirect follow web

HTTP POST with redirect following

import urllib.request

def http_post_follow_redirect(url, data):
    """HTTP POST that follows redirects (default behavior)."""
    req = urllib.request.Request(url, data=data.encode("utf-8"), method="POST")
    with urllib.request.urlopen(req) as response:
        return response.read().decode("utf-8")

# Example usage
# url = "http://httpbin.org/redirect-to?url=/post"
# result = http_post_follow_redirect(url, "test")
# print(result)

Notes

  • urllib will change POST to GET on 302/303 by default (per RFC)
  • For strict POST/PUT/DELETE, use custom handlers

Edge Cases

Redirect loop and too many redirects

http get redirect loop error edge-case web

Edge cases: redirect loop and too many redirects

import urllib.request

# Edge case: Redirect loop
try:
    url = "http://httpbin.org/absolute-redirect/20"  # 20 redirects
    with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
        print(response.read().decode("utf-8"))
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

# Edge case: Manual detection with custom handler (see above)

Notes

  • urllib raises HTTPError for too many redirects (default 10)
  • Custom handlers can set stricter or looser limits

🔗 Cross-References

🏷️ Tags

http, redirect, handler, limit, history, error, edge-case, web, post, get

📝 Notes

  • Most HTTP libraries follow redirects by default
  • For security, always validate final destination URL
  • For advanced redirect logic, use custom handlers
  • For async or batch requests, consider asyncio or third-party libraries