Question 1

Should I use Requests or httpx for my Python project?

Accepted Answer

Use Requests for simplicity and reliability in synchronous applications, as it has a mature API. Choose httpx if you need async support, HTTP/2, or more modern features, but note that httpx might have a steeper learning curve for some.

Question 2

How do I handle timeouts in Requests to avoid hanging requests?

Accepted Answer

Set timeouts using the `timeout` parameter in request methods, e.g., `requests.get(url, timeout=5)`. This prevents indefinite blocking by raising an exception if the server doesn't respond within the specified seconds.

Question 3

How can I use sessions in Requests to persist cookies across requests?

Accepted Answer

Create a session object with `requests.Session()`, then use it for multiple requests. Sessions automatically handle cookies, headers, and connection pooling, improving efficiency for repeated calls to the same host.

Question 4

Does Requests support asynchronous requests?

Accepted Answer

No, Requests is synchronous by design. For async, you can use libraries like `aiohttp` or `httpx`, which are built for async/await patterns, or wrap Requests in threads, but this adds complexity.

Question 5

How to download a large file with Requests without running out of memory?

Accepted Answer

Use streaming by setting `stream=True` in the request, then iterate over the response content in chunks. For example, `for chunk in r.iter_content(chunk_size=8192):` processes the file incrementally.

Question 6

What's the best way to handle authentication with Requests for a REST API?

Accepted Answer

Pass credentials directly in the `auth` parameter for basic/digest auth, or use session objects for token-based auth by setting headers. Requests also supports OAuth via additional libraries, but built-in support is limited to basic methods.

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