micawber: A Python Library for Extracting Rich Content from URLs

Introduction

micawber is a lightweight Python library developed by coleifer designed to simplify the extraction of rich content from various URLs. It leverages the oEmbed standard to retrieve metadata and embed codes for links to services like YouTube, Flickr, and many others. This makes it ideal for applications that need to display embedded media or rich previews from external sources.

Installation

To get started with micawber, you can easily install it using pip:

pip install micawber

Examples

The library provides straightforward methods for requesting oEmbed data and parsing text or HTML to automatically embed content.

Here's a quick example of how to use micawber to retrieve information for a YouTube video:

import micawber

# Load up rules for some default providers, such as YouTube and Flickr
providers = micawber.bootstrap_basic()

# Request data for a specific URL
data = providers.request('http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54XHDUOHuzU')
print(data)
# Expected output (dictionary containing video metadata and HTML embed code):
# {
#     'author_name': 'pascalbrax',
#     'author_url': 'http://www.youtube.com/user/pascalbrax',
#     'height': 344,
#     'html': '',
#     'provider_name': 'YouTube',
#     'provider_url': 'http://www.youtube.com/',
#     'title': 'Future Crew - Second Reality demo - HD',
#     'type': 'video',
#     'thumbnail_height': 360,
#     'thumbnail_url': 'http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/54XHDUOHuzU/hqdefault.jpg',
#     'thumbnail_width': 480,
#     'url': 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54XHDUOHuzU',
#     'width': 459,
#     'version': '1.0',
# }

You can also parse text or HTML to automatically replace URLs with their embedded content:

# Parse text
parsed_text = providers.parse_text('this is a test:\nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54XHDUOHuzU')
print(parsed_text)
# Expected output:
# this is a test:
# 

# Parse HTML
parsed_html = providers.parse_html('
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54XHDUOHuzU
')
print(parsed_html)
# Expected output:
# 

Why Use micawber?

micawber simplifies the complex task of integrating rich media from external services into your applications. By abstracting the oEmbed protocol, it allows developers to quickly add features like video embedding, image previews, and rich link summaries with minimal code. Its ability to parse both plain text and HTML makes it versatile for various content management and display scenarios.

Links

For more detailed information, documentation, and to contribute, visit the official GitHub repository:

• micawber GitHub Repository