Working with Query Parameters in Requests

Query parameters allow you to pass data to a URL to retrieve specific information from a server. The Requests library in Python makes handling query parameters simple and efficient.

Sending Data Using URL Parameters

To send query parameters, you can include them as a dictionary in the params argument of a requests.get() call. The library automatically encodes the parameters and appends them to the URL.

Example: Basic Query Parameters

import requests
 
# Define URL and parameters
url = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"
params = {"userId": 1}
 
# Send GET request with query parameters
response = requests.get(url, params=params)
 
# Print the URL and response
print("URL:", response.url)
print("Response JSON:", response.json())

Output

URL: https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts?userId=1
Response JSON: [
  {
    "userId": 1,
    "id": 1,
    "title": "Sample Title",
    "body": "Sample Body"
  },
  ...
]

Encoding Parameters

If your query parameters include special characters, the Requests library automatically encodes them to ensure proper formatting of the URL.

Example: Encoding Parameters

# Define parameters with special characters
params = {"search": "Python@requests", "type": "tutorial"}
 
# Send GET request with encoded parameters
response = requests.get("https://example.com/search", params=params)
 
# Print the URL
print("Encoded URL:", response.url)

Output

Encoded URL: https://example.com/search?search=Python%40requests&type=tutorial

Passing Multiple Parameters

You can pass multiple parameters in the params dictionary to refine your request further.

Example: Multiple Query Parameters

params = {"userId": 1, "completed": True}
response = requests.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos", params=params)
 
print("URL:", response.url)
print("Response JSON:", response.json())

Try It Yourself

Problem 1: Fetch Specific Users

Send a GET request to https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users to fetch users from a specific city (e.g., “Lebsackbury”).

import requests
 
# Define parameters
params = {"address.city": "Lebsackbury"}
 
# Send GET request
response = requests.get("https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users", params=params)
 
# Print response
print("URL:", response.url)
print("Response JSON:", response.json())

Problem 2: Search with Special Characters

Send a GET request to https://example.com/search with query parameters containing special characters (e.g., “Python@2024”).

import requests
 
# Define parameters
params = {"query": "Python@2024", "category": "programming"}
 
# Send GET request
response = requests.get("https://example.com/search", params=params)
 
# Print encoded URL
print("Encoded URL:", response.url)

Query parameters are a powerful way to customize API requests and retrieve targeted data. Practice encoding parameters and passing multiple values to master their usage!