python-webfinger/README.rst

=========
webfinger
=========

A simple Python client implementation of `WebFinger RFC 7033 <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7033>`_.

WebFinger is a discovery protocol that allows you to find information about people or things in a standardized way. See the `spec <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7033>`_ or `webfinger.net <http://webfinger.net>`_ for more information.

::

    >>> from webfinger import finger
    >>> wf = finger('acct:eric@konklone.com')
    >>> wf.subject
    acct:eric@konklone.com
    >>> wf.avatar
    https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ac3399caecce27cb19d381f61124539e.jpg?s=400
    >>> wf.profile
    https://konklone.com
    >>> wf.properties.get('http://schema.org/name')
    Eric Mill


Installation
============

Available on `PyPI as webfinger <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/webfinger>`_.

  pip install webfinger


finger
======

finger(resource, rel=None)
    *finger* is a convenience method for instantiating a WebFingerClient object and making the request. The *resource* parameter is a URI of the resource about which you are querying. The optional *rel* parameter can be either a string or a list of strings that will limit the response to the specific relations. WebFinger servers are **not** required to obey the *rel* parameter, so you should handle the response accordingly.

    WebFingerClient supports additional options, so check that out if *finger* does not meet your needs.


WebFinger Client
================

WebFingerClient(timeout=None, official=False)
    Instantiates a client object. The optional *timeout* parameter specifies the HTTP request timeout. The optional *official* parameter is a boolean that determines if the client will use `unofficial endpoints`_.

finger(resource, host=None, rel=None, raw=False)
    The client *finger* method prepares and executes the WebFinger request. *resource* and *rel* are the same as the parameters on the standalone *finger* method. *host* should only be specified if you want to connect to a host other than the host in the resource parameter. Otherwise, this method extracts the host from the *resource* parameter. *raw* is a boolean that determines if the method returns a WebFingerResponse object or the raw JRD response as a dict.

    If the *host* parameter is passed to this method, unofficial endpoints are ignored. You're asking for a specific host so who am I to disagree?


WebFinger Response
==================

The WebFinger response object provides handy properties for easy access and the raw JRD response. Read the `spec for specifics of the JRD response <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7033#section-4.4>`_.


Properties
----------

subject
  The URI of the thing that the response JRD describes.

aliases
  A list of additional URIs that identify the subject.

properties
  A dict of URIs and values that provides information about the subject.

links
  A list of dicts that define external resources for the subject.

jrd
  A dict of the raw JRD response.


Methods
-------

rel(relation, attr='href')
  A convenience method that provides basic access to links. The *relation* parameter is a URI for the desired link. The *attr* parameter is the key of the returned value of the link that matches *relation*. Returns a string if *relation* and *attr* exist, otherwise *None*.

  ::

    >>> wf.rel('http://webfinger.net/rel/avatar')
    https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ac3399caecce27cb19d381f61124539e.jpg?s=400

  The response JRD may have multiple entries with the same relation URI. The *rel* method will select the first one, since order is meant to imply priority. If you need to see all of the values, you'll have to iterate over the *links* property and pull them out yourself.

  ::

    >>> rel = 'http://webfinger.net/rel/avatar'
    >>> [l.get('href') for l in rel.links if l.get('rel') == rel]

  If *attr* is None, the full dict for the link will be returned.



Relation Properties
-------------------

The following common link relation types are supported as properties of the response object:

* activity_streams: http://activitystrea.ms/spec/1.0
* avatar: http://webfinger.net/rel/avatar
* hcard: http://microformats.org/profile/hcard
* open_id: http://specs.openid.net/auth/2.0/provider
* opensocial: http://ns.opensocial.org/2008/opensocial/activitystreams
* portable_contacts: http://portablecontacts.net/spec/1.0
* profile: http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page
* webfist: http://webfist.org/spec/rel
* xfn: http://gmpg.org/xfn/11

Example::

    >>> wf.avatar
    https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ac3399caecce27cb19d381f61124539e.jpg?s=400


.. _unofficial endpoints:

Unofficial Endpoints
====================

While Facebook and Twitter do not officially support WebFinger, the `webfinger-unofficial project <https://github.com/snarfed/webfinger-unofficial>`_ provides a proxy for basic subject information. By default, python-webfinger will attempt to use the unofficial endpoints for facebook.com and twitter.com resource domains. This behavior can be disabled by passing *True* to the *official* parameter::

    >>> wf = finger('acct:konklone@twitter.com', official=True)


Dependencies
============

* `requests <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/requests>`_


License
=======

python-webfinger is distributed under the `BSD license <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BSD/>`_.

See LICENSE for the full terms.