Getting a 401 from requests.get, but not when logging in via the browser.

[Eli the Bearded]

In comp.lang.python,  <dcwhatthe at gmail.com> wrote:
> However, one of them immediately returns a 401.  I'm using the exact
> same credentials to check this site, as when loggin in.
> 
> Also, interestingly, it returns the 401 right away.  I tried setting the
> timeout value for a ridiculously long time, but it passes the 401 return
> immediately.

The timeout presumably is how long to wait for a reply. When the
site replies 401 immediately, it's never even bumping up to the
timeout.

> Am I misunderstanding the meaning of the timeout parameter?

What do you think it is doing?

> The line in question is 
> request = requests.get(ip_s,timeout=5000, verify = False, auth
> =HTTPBasicAuth( user_id_s, pw_s))

Are you sure the site is using HTTPBasicAuth()? Because if it's not,
that would explain how the same credentials can fail. (It could also
be something else, like a site returning "401 Unauthorized" because
it doesn't like your User-Agent.)

I use "AuthType Digest" on some of my websites. It's not great, but
it's TONS better than basic auth, which sends passwords basically
in the clear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digest_access_authentication

In my browser, Digest authentication looks the same GUI-wise as Basic
authentication. The differences are all under the hood.

Elijah
------
digest auth is not as well supported by clients or servers