Saving a byte stream PDF as file in python

Question

via requests I receive the following PDF document, that I want to save:

b'{"data":"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 ..... and much more


wOTgzMjYgMDAwMDAgbiAKMDAwMDA5ODM2NyAwMDAwMCBuIAowMDAwMDk4NTUyIDAwMDAwIG4gCnRyYWlsZXIKPDwvSW5mbyA0MiAwIFIvSUQgWzw4MWNmZjFlOWRjZjlmMzcxZjJkYzNmZTllYWY0MTI1MD48NjNmN2EzMTViNjk5MDBiY2YzZDcxOTUzY2MzZDFmNWQ+XS9Sb290IDQxIDAgUi9TaXplIDQzPj4Kc3RhcnR4cmVmCjk4NTk5CiUlRU9GCg==","documentTemplateType":1459425196590,"mimeType":"application/pdf","title":"title of the pdf"}'

I tried saving it via:

response = requests.get(url, headers=self.get_authentication_header(path=path, method="GET"))
with open("my_file.pdf", 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)
    f.close()

which works, but the pdf is corrupt. How do I save this PDF?

(it looks like base64 inside JSON. Do you know how to decode those 2 types?) — user202729
– user202729, Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 12:54
The response.content is the whole JSON. And you probably only need the value under the "data" key. So convert it to the dictionary and get the value. — Yevhen Kuzmovych
– Yevhen Kuzmovych, Commented Jan 27, 2021 at 12:54

Daweo · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-27 16:01:14Z

4

It seems like base64-encoded (described in RFC 3548) data inside JSON, try following:

import base64
...
data = response.json()["data"]
with open("my_file.pdf", 'wb') as f:
    f.write(base64.b64decode(data))

As side note: you do not need to close file explicitly if you use with open...

edited Jan 27, 2021 at 16:01

answered Jan 27, 2021 at 12:58

Daweo

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Comments

Elvin Jafarov · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-27 13:06:13Z

3

You try to write json to a file. You should parse your json and write something like

data = response.json()["data"]
with open("my_file.pdf", 'wb') as f:
    f.write(base64.b64decode(data))

answered Jan 27, 2021 at 13:06

Elvin Jafarov

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