How to Create a Wikipedia CLI

How to Build a Wikipedia CLI Tool Using Python and the Wikipedia API

Creating a command-line interface (CLI) tool for Wikipedia can be a rewarding project, combining Python's simplicity with the vast knowledge base of Wikipedia. In this tutorial, we'll guide you step-by-step on how to build a CLI tool that fetches information from Wikipedia using its API.

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Requirements

Before starting, make sure you have the following:

• Python 3.7 or newer installed on your system.
• Basic knowledge of Python and working with APIs.
• An internet connection to access the Wikipedia API.

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Step 1: Understand the Wikipedia API

Wikipedia offers a RESTful API at https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php. This API allows developers to query Wikipedia for content, metadata, and more. The key endpoints we'll use include:

• action=query: To fetch general content from Wikipedia.
• list=search: To search for articles by keywords.
• prop=extracts: To retrieve article summaries.

The base URL for all API requests is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php

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Step 2: Set Up Your Python Environment

Start by creating a Python virtual environment and installing the required libraries. We'll use requests for making HTTP requests and argparse for handling CLI arguments.

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv wikipedia-cli-env

# Activate the environment
# On Windows:
wikipedia-cli-env\Scripts\activate
# On Mac/Linux:
source wikipedia-cli-env/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install requests

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Step 3: Plan the CLI Functionality

Our CLI tool will include the following features:

1. Search Wikipedia Articles: Allow the user to search for articles by keyword.
2. Fetch Article Summaries: Retrieve a brief summary of a specific article.
3. View CLI Help: Display usage instructions.

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Step 4: Implement the CLI Tool

Below is the Python code for the CLI tool:

import argparse
import requests

# Define the base URL for the Wikipedia API
WIKIPEDIA_API_URL = "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php"

def search_articles(query):
    """Search Wikipedia for articles matching the query."""
    params = {
        'action': 'query',
        'list': 'search',
        'srsearch': query,
        'format': 'json',
    }
    response = requests.get(WIKIPEDIA_API_URL, params=params)
    response.raise_for_status()  # Raise an error for bad responses
    data = response.json()

    if 'query' in data:
        return data['query']['search']
    else:
        return []

def get_article_summary(title):
    """Fetch the summary of a Wikipedia article."""
    params = {
        'action': 'query',
        'prop': 'extracts',
        'exintro': True,
        'titles': title,
        'format': 'json',
    }
    response = requests.get(WIKIPEDIA_API_URL, params=params)
    response.raise_for_status()
    data = response.json()

    pages = data.get('query', {}).get('pages', {})
    for page_id, page in pages.items():
        if 'extract' in page:
            return page['extract']
    return "No summary available."

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="A CLI tool for interacting with Wikipedia.")
    subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command")

    # Sub-command: search
    search_parser = subparsers.add_parser("search", help="Search for articles on Wikipedia.")
    search_parser.add_argument("query", help="The search query.")

    # Sub-command: summary
    summary_parser = subparsers.add_parser("summary", help="Get the summary of a specific Wikipedia article.")
    summary_parser.add_argument("title", help="The title of the Wikipedia article.")

    args = parser.parse_args()

    if args.command == "search":
        results = search_articles(args.query)
        if results:
            print("Search Results:")
            for result in results:
                print(f"- {result['title']}: {result['snippet']}")
        else:
            print("No results found.")

    elif args.command == "summary":
        summary = get_article_summary(args.title)
        print(summary)

    else:
        parser.print_help()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

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Step 5: Test the CLI Tool

Save the script as wikipedia_cli.py. You can now run the tool from your terminal:

1. Search for articles:

python wikipedia_cli.py search "Python programming"

1. Get an article summary:

python wikipedia_cli.py summary "Python (programming language)"

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Step 6: Enhance the Tool

To make the tool more robust and user-friendly, consider adding the following:

1. Error Handling: Provide detailed error messages for failed API requests.
2. Formatting: Use libraries like rich for prettier output.
3. Caching: Implement caching to avoid repetitive API calls for the same query.
4. Additional Features: Add support for fetching related articles, categories, or images.

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Conclusion

You've successfully built a CLI tool for Wikipedia using Python and its API! This tool can be a great starting point for more advanced projects, such as integrating it into other applications or creating a GUI version. Happy coding!