Before you begin
- Python 3.12 or newer
Set up your example
- Save the complete code as http-redirect-trace.py in a working folder.
- Save the provided sample files in that same folder; run commands from that folder.
- For the provided local HTTP examples, open another terminal in this folder and run: python -m http.server 8765 --bind 127.0.0.1. Keep it running while using the tool.
Sample files in this download:
- urls.txt
- sample.txt
- data.json
- page1.json
- page2.json
- robots.txt
- ips.txt
Download the ZIP, extract it, and open a terminal inside the extracted folder. The source file is http-redirect-trace.py.
Run the script
python "http-redirect-trace.py" --url "http://127.0.0.1:8765/sample.txt" --output "redirects.json"If your system uses python3 instead of python, use that command for Python examples. Keep paths containing spaces in quotes. Required inputs and optional settings are described in the code and setup steps.
What to expect
Record each redirect location and HTTP status until a final response or hop limit. The local fixture has one 200 entry because it does not redirect.
The complete script
#!/usr/bin/env python3
'Trace HTTP redirects step by step'
import argparse
import json
from pathlib import Path
def write_json(path, value):
data = json.dumps(value, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False, allow_nan=False) + "\n"
with Path(path).open("x", encoding="utf-8", newline="") as handle:
handle.write(data)
import urllib.request
import urllib.error
import urllib.parse
import urllib.robotparser
import socket
import ssl
import time
import re
import ipaddress
import queue
import threading
from datetime import datetime, timezone
def url(value):
parts=urllib.parse.urlsplit(value)
if parts.scheme not in {"http","https"} or not parts.hostname or parts.username is not None or parts.password is not None:
raise ValueError("Use an http(s) URL without embedded credentials.")
return value
def request(address,timeout,method="GET",headers=None,limit=1024*1024,opener=None):
url(address)
if not 0<timeout<=120: raise ValueError("Timeout must be 0..120 seconds, excluding zero.")
req=urllib.request.Request(address,method=method,headers={"User-Agent":"ScriptageLearning/1.0",**(headers or {})})
try: response=(opener.open(req,timeout=timeout) if opener else urllib.request.urlopen(req,timeout=timeout))
except urllib.error.HTTPError as exc: response=exc
with response:
data=response.read(limit+1) if limit else b""
if len(data)>limit: raise ValueError("Response exceeds the byte limit.")
return response.status,response.geturl(),{k.lower():v for k,v in response.headers.items()},data
def checked(address,timeout,**kwargs):
status,final,headers,data=request(address,timeout,**kwargs)
if not 200<=status<300: raise ValueError("HTTP status "+str(status))
return final,headers,data
def urls(path):
result=[line.strip() for line in Path(path).read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines() if line.strip()]
if len(result)>100: raise ValueError("At most 100 URLs per run.")
return result
def resolve(host,port,timeout):
result=queue.Queue()
def work():
try: result.put((True,socket.getaddrinfo(host,port,type=socket.SOCK_STREAM)))
except OSError as exc: result.put((False,str(exc)))
threading.Thread(target=work,daemon=True).start()
try: ok,value=result.get(timeout=timeout)
except queue.Empty: raise ValueError("DNS lookup timed out.")
if not ok: raise ValueError(value)
return value
def connect(host,port,timeout):
last=None
for family,kind,proto,_,address in resolve(host,port,timeout):
connection=socket.socket(family,kind,proto)
connection.settimeout(timeout)
try:
connection.connect(address)
return connection
except OSError as exc:
last=exc
connection.close()
raise OSError(str(last))
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Trace HTTP redirects step by step')
parser.add_argument("--output",required=True,help="New output file")
parser.add_argument("--timeout",type=float,default=10,help="Per-operation timeout in seconds")
parser.add_argument("--url",required=True)
parser.add_argument("--max-hops",type=int,default=8)
args = parser.parse_args()
if not 0<args.timeout<=120: raise ValueError("Timeout must be greater than zero and at most 120.")
if not 1<=args.max_hops<=20: raise ValueError("Max hops must be 1..20.")
class NoRedirect(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
def redirect_request(self,req,fp,code,msg,headers,newurl): return None
opener=urllib.request.build_opener(NoRedirect)
address=args.url
seen=set()
trace=[]
for _ in range(args.max_hops):
if address in seen: raise ValueError("Redirect loop detected.")
seen.add(address)
status,_,headers,_=request(address,args.timeout,method="HEAD",limit=0,opener=opener)
trace.append({"url":address,"status":status,"location":headers.get("location")})
if status not in {301,302,303,307,308} or "location" not in headers: break
address=urllib.parse.urljoin(address,headers["location"])
else: trace.append({"stopped":"hop limit"})
write_json(args.output,trace)
if __name__ == "__main__":
try:
main()
except (OSError, ValueError, KeyError, TypeError, ArithmeticError, IndexError, LookupError) as exc:
raise SystemExit(str(exc))
Open source as plain text · Download source and sample files
How it works
- The command names every destination explicitly and refuses an existing output.
- Automatic following is disabled; relative locations are resolved against the current URL and schemes/credentials are rechecked.
- The local fixture has one 200 entry because it does not redirect.
Make it your own
--max-hops
Set --max-hops 4 for a shorter trace.
Adapt the processing
Edit the trace record to include a response header such as server.
Change one setting at a time, run it again on sample data, and compare the output. The customization guide walks through this process.
If something goes wrong
A loop is detected.
Inspect the last redirect configuration; the tool refuses to cycle indefinitely.
The destination already exists.
Choose a new --output path. The script deliberately refuses to replace an existing result.
Reference & next steps
These official references explain the underlying tools. The Scriptage example and guide are original instructional content. See verification notes for what has been checked and the limits of those checks.
Copies a template for your own notes. It does not send anything.