Downloading a picture via urllib and python

Batch downloading images

If you are dealing with a large sum of images, Python can still be your perfectly programmable photo-picker. Utilize a for loop and make sure to include a try-except block to avoid any heartache from broken links:

import urllib.request

# List of URLs as long as a CVS receipt
image_urls = ['http://example.com/image1.jpg', 'http://example.com/image2.jpg', ...]

# Directory to hold all these newfound pictures
directory = '/path/to/your/directory/'

for url in image_urls:
    # The good ol' slice and dice for file naming
    filename = directory + url.split('/')[-1]
    try:
        urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, filename)
    except Exception as e:
        # Who knew that picture didn't want to be downloaded?
        print(f'Failed to download {url}: {e}')
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This will download each image to the directory of your preference.

Scraping for downloads

When you don't have a list of images on hand but a webpage full of them instead, we mix urllib with scraping to get our photos:

import urllib.request
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import requests

# An art fortress/galery in URL form
webpage_url = 'http://example.com/gallery'

# More like "quest" am I right?
page = requests.get(webpage_url)

# BeautifulSoup to the rescue! 
soup = BeautifulSoup(page.content, 'html.parser')

# Find all tags partying as an 'img'
image_tags = soup.find_all('img')

# Where to store these masterpieces
directory = '/path/to/your/directory/'

for tag in image_tags:
    # Collect 'src' like it's PokeMon
    img_url = tag['src']
    # Really hoping there's no Picasso in this batch
    filename = directory + img_url.split('/')[-1]
    try:
        urllib.request.urlretrieve(img_url, filename)
    except Exception as e:
        # Not all works of art want to be saved 
        print(f'Failed to download {img_url}: {e}')
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Ensure to abide by the website's robots.txt rules and copyright laws in your pursuit of images.

Double-checking with requests

requests library can be your knight in shining armor with its advanced error checking features:

import requests

img_url = 'http://example.com/image.jpg'
file_path = 'local_image.jpg'

response = requests.get(img_url, stream=True)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open(file_path, 'wb') as file:
        # File writes in bite-sized chunks - adorable!
        for chunk in response.iter_content(1024):
            file.write(chunk)
else:
    # No response is bad response. Well, any response unlike 200.
    print(f'Image could not be retrieved: Status code {response.status_code}')
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stream=True saves you from memory exhaust, thanks to iter_content method dealing with large images in bite-sized chunks.