How to Run Python Script in PowerShell

Tutorial on how to run a Python script in PowerShell

1. Installing Python

To run Python scripts, you first need to have Python installed on your system.

• Download the installer: Visit the official Python website at python.org and download the latest version.

• Run the Installer: Execute the downloaded installer. During installation, check Add Python to PATH. It’s crucial as it allows you to run Python from any command line interface, including PowerShell. Also, ensure the pip is included in the installation components.

• Verify the installation: After installation, open PowerShell and type:

python --version
pip --version

If Python is installed correctly, this command will display the Python version.

2. Creating a simple Python script

Let's create a Python script that sends a request to retrieve your IP address.

The script uses the requests library to send an HTTP GET request to https://ip.oxylabs.io and prints your public IP address.

Open your preferred text editor and install the requests library:

pip install requests

Write the code:

# ip_check.py
import requests
def get_public_ip():
    try:
        response = requests.get('https://ip.oxylabs.io')
        if response.status_code == 200:
            print(f"Your IP address: {response.text.strip()}")
        else:
            print("Failed to retrieve IP address.")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"An error occurred: {e}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
    get_public_ip()

The Python script checks if the request is successful (status code 200) and prints an error message if the request fails.

The script also catches and handles any exceptions that occur during the request and prints the error message.

Save the script file as ip_check.py in a directory of your choice.

3. Running the Python script from PowerShell

Now, let's execute the Python file using PowerShell.

In PowerShell, specify the directory where ip_check.py is located:

cd path\to\your\script

Run the script:

python ip_check.py

You should see a similar output:

Your public IP address: 124.45.65.80

Using proxies for sending HTTP requests

If you need to send HTTP requests to get content (not only a response) from a web page, the process above requires an addition – proxies.

Proxies serve as intermediaries between your scraping tool and the target website, masking your actual IP address. Such anonymity is crucial for large-scale scraping projects as websites often implement IP-based limiting or blocking mechanisms.

By rotating through multiple proxies, you can distribute requests across different IP addresses, making your scraping activities appear as regular user traffic from diverse locations.

Using proxies enables you to bypass geographical restrictions, accessing region-specific content that might otherwise be unavailable. This capability is invaluable for market research, pricing analysis, or content aggregation.

Things to note when choosing proxies

• Residential proxies are the most popular proxy type. They are suitable for most scenarios, while datacenter proxies are faster and more affordable but prone to detection by target websites.

• You can integrate proxies on Windows or any other OS through your system settings or from the web scraper’s side when sending requests for more control.

• Free proxies for smaller tasks are a good idea. However, maintaining a quality proxy pool is expensive. Therefore, the wisest approach is to look for a paid proxy service provider that also offers some free proxies.

Wrap up

By following these steps, you can run Python scripts with PowerShell. This integration lets you leverage Python commands within the Windows environment, enhancing your scripting and automation tasks.

Web scraping with PowerShell is feasible, but Python web scraping using, for example, an IDE is way more convenient. Anyway, among many Python use cases, data manipulation is its most prominent feature.