Uploading files using Python requests module

Question

I need to load a file using a soap endpoint url...When I use the below code to load it the files are getting loaded but they are not in a readable format...When I load using SOAPUI tool it loads properly...

import requests

xml = '''<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
                xmlns:v1="http://s.sa.com/services/Attachment/v1.0">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <v1:attachment>
         <filename>FUZZY.csv</filename>
         <data>cid:138641430598</data>
      </v1:attachment>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>'''
target_url =  'https://s.sa.com:443/soatest/FileAttachmentService'
headers = {'Content-Type': 'text/xml','charset':'utf-8'}
r = requests.post(target_url,data=xml,headers=headers,auth=('3user1',''))
print 'r.text = ', r.text
print 'r.content = ', r.content
print 'r.status_code = ', r.status_code

New changes:-

files = {'file':open('./FUZZY.csv','rb')}
print files
r = requests.post(target_url,files=files,data=xml,headers=headers,auth=('p3user1',''))

Error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "soapcall_python.py", line 18, in <module>
    r = requests.post(target_url,files=files,data=xml,headers=headers,auth=('p3user1',''))
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/api.py", line 88, in post
    return request('post', url, data=data, **kwargs)
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/api.py", line 44, in request
    return session.request(method=method, url=url, **kwargs)
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/sessions.py", line 418, in request
    prep = self.prepare_request(req)
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/sessions.py", line 356, in prepare_request
    hooks=merge_hooks(request.hooks, self.hooks),
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/models.py", line 297, in prepare
    self.prepare_body(data, files)
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/models.py", line 432, in prepare_body
    (body, content_type) = self._encode_files(files, data)
  File "/opt/python2.7/lib/python2.7/site-packages/requests-2.3.0-py2.7.egg/requests/models.py", line 109, in _encode_files
    raise ValueError("Data must not be a string.")
ValueError: Data must not be a string.

When "they are not in a readable format", what are they? What arrives on the other side, and what did you want to arrive on the other side? — abarnert
– abarnert, Commented Sep 8, 2014 at 19:34
I see some non printable characters with only 1 line...The FUZZY.csv is a huge file with some valid data content... — user1050619
– user1050619, Commented Sep 8, 2014 at 19:36
Meanwhile, you don't seem to be sending the body of FUZZY.csv anywhere, just an attachment reference to something that doesn't actually exist. What you probably want to do here is send a multipart encoded message, which you can do like this. — abarnert
– abarnert, Commented Sep 8, 2014 at 19:36

abarnert · Accepted Answer · 2014-09-08 19:42:52Z

4

You aren't sending the contents of the file anywhere. You're just sending a reference to a file that doesn't exist anywhere that the server can see.

As the docs for SOAP references to attachments explains, the way you do this is to send a MIME-multipart message. If you're using the CID reference mechanism, that cid isn't some arbitrary string, it has to match the Content-ID header of a message in the MIME envelope.

The requests docs for POST a Multipart-Encoded File explain how to send the contents of a file as a message within a MIME request; briefly:

with open('FUZZY.csv', 'rb') as f:
    files = {'file': f}
    r = requests.post(target_url,
                      data=xml, headers=headers, auth=('3user1',''), 
                      files=files)

However, this simple method doesn't give you access to the Content-ID that will be generated under the covers for your message. So, if you want to use the CID reference mechanism, you will need to generate the MIME envelope manually (e.g., by using email.mail.MIMEMultipart) and sending the entire thing as a data string.

answered Sep 8, 2014 at 19:42

abarnert

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2 Comments

user1050619 Over a year ago

Thanks abarnett..I added your new changes but get an error "Data must be a string"...I have added the contents in the main message above...

abarnert Over a year ago

@user1050619: Ah, I guess you can't send string data and files at the same time… But anyway, if you read my answer, it explains that this simple method will not work for you anyway, so why are you expecting it to work? You will need to either use a different reference mechanism, or generate the MIME envelope manually.

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