:mod:`http.cookies` --- HTTP state management ============================================= .. module:: http.cookies :synopsis: Support for HTTP state management (cookies). .. moduleauthor:: Timothy O'Malley .. sectionauthor:: Moshe Zadka **Source code:** :source:`Lib/http/cookies.py` -------------- The :mod:`http.cookies` module defines classes for abstracting the concept of cookies, an HTTP state management mechanism. It supports both simple string-only cookies, and provides an abstraction for having any serializable data-type as cookie value. The module formerly strictly applied the parsing rules described in the :rfc:`2109` and :rfc:`2068` specifications. It has since been discovered that MSIE 3.0x doesn't follow the character rules outlined in those specs and also many current day browsers and servers have relaxed parsing rules when comes to Cookie handling. As a result, the parsing rules used are a bit less strict. The character set, :data:`string.ascii_letters`, :data:`string.digits` and ``!#$%&'*+-.^_`|~:`` denote the set of valid characters allowed by this module in Cookie name (as :attr:`~Morsel.key`). .. versionchanged:: 3.3 Allowed ':' as a valid Cookie name character. .. note:: On encountering an invalid cookie, :exc:`CookieError` is raised, so if your cookie data comes from a browser you should always prepare for invalid data and catch :exc:`CookieError` on parsing. .. exception:: CookieError Exception failing because of :rfc:`2109` invalidity: incorrect attributes, incorrect :mailheader:`Set-Cookie` header, etc. .. class:: BaseCookie([input]) This class is a dictionary-like object whose keys are strings and whose values are :class:`Morsel` instances. Note that upon setting a key to a value, the value is first converted to a :class:`Morsel` containing the key and the value. If *input* is given, it is passed to the :meth:`load` method. .. class:: SimpleCookie([input]) This class derives from :class:`BaseCookie` and overrides :meth:`value_decode` and :meth:`value_encode` to be the identity and :func:`str` respectively. .. seealso:: Module :mod:`http.cookiejar` HTTP cookie handling for web *clients*. The :mod:`http.cookiejar` and :mod:`http.cookies` modules do not depend on each other. :rfc:`2109` - HTTP State Management Mechanism This is the state management specification implemented by this module. .. _cookie-objects: Cookie Objects -------------- .. method:: BaseCookie.value_decode(val) Return a decoded value from a string representation. Return value can be any type. This method does nothing in :class:`BaseCookie` --- it exists so it can be overridden. .. method:: BaseCookie.value_encode(val) Return an encoded value. *val* can be any type, but return value must be a string. This method does nothing in :class:`BaseCookie` --- it exists so it can be overridden. In general, it should be the case that :meth:`value_encode` and :meth:`value_decode` are inverses on the range of *value_decode*. .. method:: BaseCookie.output(attrs=None, header='Set-Cookie:', sep='\\r\\n') Return a string representation suitable to be sent as HTTP headers. *attrs* and *header* are sent to each :class:`Morsel`'s :meth:`output` method. *sep* is used to join the headers together, and is by default the combination ``'\r\n'`` (CRLF). .. method:: BaseCookie.js_output(attrs=None) Return an embeddable JavaScript snippet, which, if run on a browser which supports JavaScript, will act the same as if the HTTP headers was sent. The meaning for *attrs* is the same as in :meth:`output`. .. method:: BaseCookie.load(rawdata) If *rawdata* is a string, parse it as an ``HTTP_COOKIE`` and add the values found there as :class:`Morsel`\ s. If it is a dictionary, it is equivalent to:: for k, v in rawdata.items(): cookie[k] = v .. _morsel-objects: Morsel Objects -------------- .. class:: Morsel Abstract a key/value pair, which has some :rfc:`2109` attributes. Morsels are dictionary-like objects, whose set of keys is constant --- the valid :rfc:`2109` attributes, which are * ``expires`` * ``path`` * ``comment`` * ``domain`` * ``max-age`` * ``secure`` * ``version`` * ``httponly`` The attribute :attr:`httponly` specifies that the cookie is only transferred in HTTP requests, and is not accessible through JavaScript. This is intended to mitigate some forms of cross-site scripting. The keys are case-insensitive. .. attribute:: Morsel.value The value of the cookie. .. attribute:: Morsel.coded_value The encoded value of the cookie --- this is what should be sent. .. attribute:: Morsel.key The name of the cookie. .. method:: Morsel.set(key, value, coded_value) Set the *key*, *value* and *coded_value* attributes. .. method:: Morsel.isReservedKey(K) Whether *K* is a member of the set of keys of a :class:`Morsel`. .. method:: Morsel.output(attrs=None, header='Set-Cookie:') Return a string representation of the Morsel, suitable to be sent as an HTTP header. By default, all the attributes are included, unless *attrs* is given, in which case it should be a list of attributes to use. *header* is by default ``"Set-Cookie:"``. .. method:: Morsel.js_output(attrs=None) Return an embeddable JavaScript snippet, which, if run on a browser which supports JavaScript, will act the same as if the HTTP header was sent. The meaning for *attrs* is the same as in :meth:`output`. .. method:: Morsel.OutputString(attrs=None) Return a string representing the Morsel, without any surrounding HTTP or JavaScript. The meaning for *attrs* is the same as in :meth:`output`. .. _cookie-example: Example ------- The following example demonstrates how to use the :mod:`http.cookies` module. .. doctest:: :options: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE >>> from http import cookies >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C["fig"] = "newton" >>> C["sugar"] = "wafer" >>> print(C) # generate HTTP headers Set-Cookie: fig=newton Set-Cookie: sugar=wafer >>> print(C.output()) # same thing Set-Cookie: fig=newton Set-Cookie: sugar=wafer >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C["rocky"] = "road" >>> C["rocky"]["path"] = "/cookie" >>> print(C.output(header="Cookie:")) Cookie: rocky=road; Path=/cookie >>> print(C.output(attrs=[], header="Cookie:")) Cookie: rocky=road >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C.load("chips=ahoy; vienna=finger") # load from a string (HTTP header) >>> print(C) Set-Cookie: chips=ahoy Set-Cookie: vienna=finger >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C.load('keebler="E=everybody; L=\\"Loves\\"; fudge=\\012;";') >>> print(C) Set-Cookie: keebler="E=everybody; L=\"Loves\"; fudge=\012;" >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C["oreo"] = "doublestuff" >>> C["oreo"]["path"] = "/" >>> print(C) Set-Cookie: oreo=doublestuff; Path=/ >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C["twix"] = "none for you" >>> C["twix"].value 'none for you' >>> C = cookies.SimpleCookie() >>> C["number"] = 7 # equivalent to C["number"] = str(7) >>> C["string"] = "seven" >>> C["number"].value '7' >>> C["string"].value 'seven' >>> print(C) Set-Cookie: number=7 Set-Cookie: string=seven