HTTP Status Code Handling

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

6 snippets available in this sub-category.

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Simple

Get status code from response

http status code get response web

Get HTTP status code from response

import urllib.request

def get_status_code(url):
    """Perform a GET request and return the HTTP status code."""
    with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
        return response.status

# Example usage
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/200"
# code = get_status_code(url)
# print(code)  # 200

Notes

• response.status gives the HTTP status code (int)
• Works for all successful requests

---

Handle specific status codes (success, redirect, error)

http status code error response web

Handle specific HTTP status codes

import urllib.request
import urllib.error

def handle_status_code(url):
    """GET request and handle specific status codes."""
    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
            code = response.status
            if code == 200:
                print("Success!")
            elif code == 301:
                print("Redirected!")
            elif code == 404:
                print("Not found!")
            else:
                print(f"Status code: {code}")
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        print(f"HTTP error: {e.code} {e.reason}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")

# Example usage
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/404"
# handle_status_code(url)

Notes

• Handles 200, 301, 404, and others
• HTTPError is raised for 4xx/5xx codes

---

Complex

Custom error handling for 401, 403, 500

http status code error auth server web

Custom error handling for 401, 403, 500

import urllib.request
import urllib.error

def handle_auth_and_server_errors(url):
    """GET request and handle 401, 403, 500 errors."""
    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
            print(f"Status: {response.status}")
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        if e.code == 401:
            print("Unauthorized (401): Check credentials.")
        elif e.code == 403:
            print("Forbidden (403): Access denied.")
        elif e.code == 500:
            print("Server error (500): Try again later.")
        else:
            print(f"HTTP error: {e.code} {e.reason}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")

# Example usage
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/401"
# handle_auth_and_server_errors(url)

Notes

• Handles authentication and server errors
• Prints user-friendly messages

---

Map status codes to messages

http status code message mapping web

Map HTTP status codes to messages

import http

def status_code_message(code):
    """Map HTTP status code to standard message."""
    try:
        return http.HTTPStatus(code).phrase
    except ValueError:
        return "Unknown status code"

# Example usage
# print(status_code_message(200))  # OK
# print(status_code_message(404))  # Not Found
# print(status_code_message(418))  # I'm a teapot
# print(status_code_message(999))  # Unknown status code

Notes

• Uses http.HTTPStatus (Python 3.5+)
• Handles standard and non-standard codes

---

Check for success/failure

http status code success error web

Check for successful HTTP status codes

import urllib.request
import urllib.error

def is_successful(url):
    """Return True if GET request is successful (2xx), else False."""
    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
            return 200 <= response.status < 300
    except urllib.error.HTTPError:
        return False
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")
        return False

# Example usage
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/204"
# print(is_successful(url))  # True
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/404"
# print(is_successful(url))  # False

Notes

• 2xx codes are considered successful
• Returns False for HTTPError or exceptions

---

Edge Cases

Non-standard codes and missing status

http status code edge-case error web

Edge cases: non-standard codes and missing status

import urllib.request
import urllib.error

def get_status_code_safe(url):
    """GET request, handle missing or non-standard status codes."""
    try:
        with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as response:
            return response.status
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        return e.code  # HTTPError has .code attribute
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Unexpected error: {e}")
        return None

# Example usage
# url = "https://httpbin.org/status/418"  # I'm a teapot
# print(get_status_code_safe(url))  # 418
# url = "not-a-url"
# print(get_status_code_safe(url))  # None

Notes

• HTTPError exposes .code for error responses
• Non-standard codes may not have a standard message

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🔗 Cross-References

• Reference: See 📂 HTTP GET Request
• Reference: See 📂 HTTP POST Request
• Reference: See 📂 HTTP Redirects

🏷️ Tags

http, status, code, error, success, mapping, edge-case, web, response

📝 Notes

• Always check status codes for robust error handling
• For custom APIs, document non-standard codes
• For async or batch requests, consider asyncio or third-party libraries