requests-cache
requests-cache is an extension to the popular requests package and it provides easy request/response caching.
This can be very useful in web scraper development as it'll speed up all requests. requests-cache can also be used for programs that integrate web scrapers as it's an easy caching layer for the most time consuming part of web scraping - http connections.
Some features:
- Ease of use
Keep using the requests library you're already familiar with. Add caching with a drop-in replacement for requests.Session, or install globally to add transparent caching to all requests functions. - Performance
Get sub-millisecond response times for cached responses. When they expire, you still save time with conditional requests. - Persistence
Works with several storage backends including SQLite, Redis, MongoDB, and DynamoDB; or save responses as plain JSON files, YAML, and more - Expiration
Use Cache-Control and other standard HTTP headers, define your own expiration schedule, keep your cache clutter-free with backends that natively support TTL, or any combination of strategies - Customization
Works out of the box with zero config, but with a robust set of features for configuring and extending the library to suit your needs - Compatibility
Can be combined with other popular libraries based on requests
Example Use
import requests_cache
# to use requests_cache just replace requests.Session with requests_cache.CachedSession
session = requests_cache.CachedSession('demo_cache')
for i in range(60):
session.get('https://httpbin.org/delay/1')
# or patch global requests
requests_cache.install_cache('demo_cache')
requests.get('https://httpbin.org/delay/1')
# there are various configuration options:
session = CachedSession(
'demo_cache',
use_cache_dir=True, # Save files in the default user cache dir
cache_control=True, # Use Cache-Control response headers for expiration, if available
expire_after=timedelta(days=1), # Otherwise expire responses after one day
allowable_codes=[200, 400], # Cache 400 responses as a solemn reminder of your failures
allowable_methods=['GET', 'POST'], # Cache whatever HTTP methods you want
ignored_parameters=['api_key'], # Don't match this request param, and redact if from the cache
match_headers=['Accept-Language'], # Cache a different response per language
stale_if_error=True, # In case of request errors, use stale cache data if possible
)