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Parse URL

Zero-dependency Python snippets for parsing URLs using the standard library.

6 snippets available in this sub-category.

Simple

Parse URL into components

url parse components urllib web

Parse URL into components

from urllib.parse import urlparse

def parse_url(url):
    """Parse a URL and return its components."""
    parsed = urlparse(url)
    return parsed

# Example usage
url = "https://user:pass@example.com:8080/path/to/page?query=python#section"
parsed = parse_url(url)
print(parsed)
# ParseResult(scheme='https', netloc='user:pass@example.com:8080', path='/path/to/page', params='', query='query=python', fragment='section')

Notes

  • Returns a ParseResult with attributes: scheme, netloc, path, params, query, fragment
  • Use dot notation to access each part

Extract individual URL components

url parse extract components web

Extract individual URL components

from urllib.parse import urlparse

url = "https://user:pass@example.com:8080/path/to/page?query=python#section"
parsed = urlparse(url)
print("Scheme:", parsed.scheme)
print("Netloc:", parsed.netloc)
print("Path:", parsed.path)
print("Params:", parsed.params)
print("Query:", parsed.query)
print("Fragment:", parsed.fragment)

Notes

  • Useful for routing, validation, and analytics

Parse query parameters from URL

url parse query params web

Parse query parameters from URL

from urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qs

url = "https://example.com/search?q=python&lang=en&lang=fr"
parsed = urlparse(url)
query_params = parse_qs(parsed.query)
print(query_params)
# {'q': ['python'], 'lang': ['en', 'fr']}

Notes

  • parse_qs returns a dict with lists of values
  • Handles repeated parameters

Complex

Handle missing scheme and relative URLs

url parse scheme relative edge-case web

Handle missing scheme and relative URLs

from urllib.parse import urlparse

# Missing scheme
url = "www.example.com/path"
parsed = urlparse(url)
print(parsed)
# ParseResult(scheme='', netloc='', path='www.example.com/path', params='', query='', fragment='')

# Relative URL
url2 = "/about/contact"
parsed2 = urlparse(url2)
print(parsed2)
# ParseResult(scheme='', netloc='', path='/about/contact', params='', query='', fragment='')

Notes

  • If scheme is missing, netloc is empty and path contains the whole string
  • Relative URLs are parsed as path only

Parse non-standard ports and user info

url parse port user password ftp web

Parse non-standard ports and user info

from urllib.parse import urlparse

url = "ftp://user:pass@ftp.example.com:2121/files"
parsed = urlparse(url)
print("Scheme:", parsed.scheme)
print("Netloc:", parsed.netloc)
print("Path:", parsed.path)

# Extract user, password, host, port manually
userinfo, hostport = parsed.netloc.split('@') if '@' in parsed.netloc else ('', parsed.netloc)
user, password = userinfo.split(':') if ':' in userinfo else (userinfo, '')
host, port = hostport.split(':') if ':' in hostport else (hostport, '')
print("User:", user)
print("Password:", password)
print("Host:", host)
print("Port:", port)

Notes

  • urlparse does not split user/pass/host/port automatically
  • Manual parsing is needed for advanced use cases

Edge Cases

Parse URL with IPv6 address

url parse ipv6 edge-case web

Parse URL with IPv6 address

from urllib.parse import urlparse

url = "http://[2001:db8::1]:8080/index.html"
parsed = urlparse(url)
print(parsed)
# ParseResult(scheme='http', netloc='[2001:db8::1]:8080', path='/index.html', params='', query='', fragment='')

Notes

  • IPv6 addresses are enclosed in square brackets
  • Port follows after colon

🔗 Cross-References

🏷️ Tags

url, parse, components, query, params, edge-case, web, ipv6, ftp

📝 Notes

  • Use urlparse for robust URL parsing
  • For joining or building URLs, see urljoin and urlunparse
  • Always validate URLs before using in production