CLI tools from the Python3 Standard Library

TL;DR

$ python -m http.server                           # Create a webserver serving files relative to the current directory
$ python -m http.server 8080                      # Start the webserver on port 8080
$ python -m http.server -b 127.0.0.1              # Bind the webserver to 127.0.0.1    
$ python -m http.server -d path/to/files          # Serve files relative to path/to/files  

$ echo '{"key": "value"}' | python3 -m json.tool  # Pretty-print JSON objects

$ python -m gzip data.json                        # Compress data.json    
$ python -m gzip -d data.json.gz                  # Decompress data.json.gz    

$ python -m zipfile -c archive.zip data.txt       # Create zipfile named archive.zip from source file data.txt
$ python -m zipfile -e archive.zip .              # Extract zipfile into current directory

$ python -m tarfile -c archive.tar data.txt       # Create tarfile name archive.tar from source file data.txt
$ python -m tarfile -e archive.tar .              # Extract tarfile into current directory

Table of contents

• Http Server
• JSON
• GZIP
• ZIP
• TAR

Http Server

The http.server module provides a simple command line interface to create a very basic web server.

$ python -m http.server 

This command will create a very basic web server serving files relative to the current directory.

$ python -m http.server 8080

The first positional argument will specify an alternate port.

Option	Description
--bind, -b ADDRESS	Specify alternate bind address. (Default: 0.0.0.0)
--directory, -d DIRECTORY	Specify alternative directory. (Default: current working directory)
--cgi	Run a CGI Server.

Read more in the documentation.

JSON

The json.tool module provides a simple command line interface to validate and “pretty-print” JSON objects.

$ python -m json.tool <INFILE> <OUTFILE>

If the optional infile and outfile arguments are not specified, sys.stdin and sys.stdout will be used respectively.

$ echo '{"key": "value"}' | python3 -m json.tool
{
    "key": "value"
}

$ echo '{key: "value"}' | python3 -m json.tool
Expecting property name: line 1 column 2 (char 1)

Option	Description
--sort-keys	Sort the output of dictionaries alphabetically by key.
--json-lines	Parse every input line as separate JSON object.

Read more in the documentation.

GZIP

The gzip module provides a simple command line interface to compress or decompress files just like the GNU programs gzip and gunzip would.

$ python -m gzip <FILE> 

$ python -m gzip data.json 

This command will compress the data.json.

$ python -m gzip -d data.json.gz  

This command will decompress the data.json.gz file .

Option	Description
--fast	Indicates the fastest compression method (less compression).
--best	Indicates the slowest compression method (best compression).
-d, --decompress	Decompress the given file.

Read more in the documentation.

ZIP

The zipfile module provides a simple command-line interface to interact with ZIP archives.

$ python -m zipfile -c <ZIP-FILE> <SOURCE-FILE-1> [... <SOURCE-FILE-N>]

If you want to create a new ZIP archive, specify its name after the -c option and then list the filename(s) that should be included.

$ python -m zipfile -c archive.zip data.txt 

This command will create a new ZIP archive name archive.zip that will include data.txt.

$ python -m zipfile -e <ZIP-FILE> <OUTPUT-DIR>

If you want to extract a ZIP archive into the specified directory, use the -e option.

$ python -m zipfile -e archive.zip .

This command will extract all files from archive.zip inside the current directory.

$ python -m zipfile -l <ZIP-FILE> 

For a list of the files in a ZIP archive, use the -l option.

$ python -m zipfile -l archive.zip

This command will list all files from the archive.zip ZIP archive.

Option	Description
-c, --create ZIP-FILE SOURCE-1 [... SOURCE-N]	Create zipfile from source files.
-e, --extract ZIP-FILE OUTPUT-DIR	Extract zipfile into target directory.
-l, --list ZIP-FILE	List files in a zipfile.
-t, --test ZIP-FILE	Test whether the zipfile is valid or not.

Read more in the documentation.

TAR

The tarfile module provides a simple command-line interface to interact with tar archives.

$ python -m tarfile -c <TAR-FILE> <SOURCE-FILE-1> [... <SOURCE-FILE-N>]

If you want to create a new TAR archive, specify its name after the -c option and then list the filename(s) that should be included.

$ python -m tarfile -c archive.tar data.txt 

This command will create a new TAR archive name archive.tar that will include data.txt.

$ python -m tarfile -e <TAR-FILE> <OUTPUT-DIR>

If you want to extract a TAR archive into the specified directory, use the -e option.

$ python -m tarfile -e archive.tar .

This command will extract all files from archive.tar inside the current directory.

$ python -m tarfile -l <TAR-FILE> 

For a list of the files in a TAR archive, use the -l option.

$ python -m tarfile -l archive.tar

This command will list all files from the archive.tar TAR archive.

Option	Description
-c, --create TAR-FILE SOURCE-1 [... SOURCE-N]	Create tarfile from source files.
-e, --extract TAR-FILE OUTPUT-DIR	Extract tarfile into target directory.
-l, --list TAR-FILE	List files in a tarfile.
-t, --test TAR-FILE	Test whether the tarfile is valid or not.

Read more in the documentation.