How can you upload a file to an API using Python?

Question

ICSM Computer · Answer

To upload a file to an API using Python, the most common method is to use the
requests library with a 
multipart/form-data request.
Basic Example — Upload a File
import requests
url = "https://example.com/api/upload"
file_path = "C:/Users/Anna/Desktop/photo.jpg"
with open(file_path, "rb") as file:
    files = {
        "file": (file_path, file, "image/jpeg")  # (filename, file-data, MIME type)
    }
    response = requests.post(url, files=files)
print(response.status_code)
print(response.text)
Upload With Additional Form Data
If the API needs extra fields (e.g., userId, title):
import requests
url = "https://example.com/api/upload"
data = {
    "userId": "12345",
    "title": "Profile Picture"
}
with open("photo.jpg", "rb") as file:
    files = { "file": ("photo.jpg", file) }
    response = requests.post(url, data=data, files=files)
print(response.json())
Upload Using Bearer Token / Authentication
If the 
API requires authentication:
import requests
url = "https://example.com/api/upload"
token = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"
}
with open("video.mp4", "rb") as f:
    files = { "file": ("video.mp4", f) }
    resp = requests.post(url, headers=headers, files=files)
print(resp.status_code, resp.text)
Upload Multiple Files in One Request
import requests
url = "https://example.com/api/upload"
files = [
    ("files", ("image1.jpg", open("image1.jpg", "rb"))),
    ("files", ("image2.jpg", open("image2.jpg", "rb")))
]
response = requests.post(url, files=files)
print(response.json())
Important Notes
Issue
Fix
415 Unsupported Media Type
Use files=, not data= for file content
401 Unauthorized
Add token/header correctly
Upload gets corrupted
Ensure binary mode "rb" when opening the file
If API Requires JSON Instead of Multipart
Some APIs expect 
Base64 inside JSON:
import base64
import json
import requests
with open("file.pdf", "rb") as f:
    encoded = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()
payload = {
    "fileName": "file.pdf",
    "fileBase64": encoded
}
resp = requests.post("https://example.com/api/upload", json=payload)
print(resp.json())
and

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How can you upload a file to an API using Python?

Anubhav Kumar

Can you answer this question?

1 Answers

Basic Example — Upload a File

Upload With Additional Form Data

Upload Using Bearer Token / Authentication

Upload Multiple Files in One Request

Important Notes

If API Requires JSON Instead of Multipart

Liked By

Issue	Fix
`415 Unsupported Media Type`	Use `files=`, not `data=` for file content
`401 Unauthorized`	Add token/header correctly
Upload gets corrupted	Ensure binary mode `"rb"` when opening the file