mf2py: Microformats Parser

2.0.1 · active · verified Thu Apr 16

mf2py is a Python library for parsing Microformats data from HTML documents. It provides full support for microformats2, offers backwards-compatible support for microformats1, and includes experimental support for metaformats. The library is actively maintained, with version 2.0.1 being the latest release, and is part of the broader IndieWeb ecosystem.

Common errors

```
TypeError: Parser.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'img_with_alt'
```
cause Attempting to use the `img_with_alt` argument which was removed in mf2py 2.0.

fix Remove the `img_with_alt` parameter from `mf2py.parse()` or `mf2py.Parser()` calls. Image alt parsing is now enabled by default.
```
python: command not found
```
cause The `python` command is not in your system's PATH, or you intend to use `python3` specifically.

fix Use `python3 -m pip install mf2py` or ensure `python` correctly points to your desired Python 3 interpreter.
```
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'mf2py'
```
cause The `mf2py` library is not installed in the current Python environment.

fix Run `pip install mf2py` to install the library.

Warnings

breaking mf2py 2.0 officially dropped support for Python versions lower than 3.8. Attempting to install or run on older Python versions will result in errors.
Fix: Upgrade your Python environment to 3.8 or higher. If unable, pin mf2py to a version < 2.0 (e.g., `mf2py<2.0`).
breaking The `img_with_alt` keyword argument for `parse()` and `Parser()` was removed in mf2py 2.0. Image `alt` text support is now enabled by default. Using this argument will raise an error.
Fix: Remove `img_with_alt=True` or `img_with_alt=False` from your `mf2py.parse()` or `mf2py.Parser()` calls. The functionality is now on by default.
breaking The `dict_class` option for `Parser()` was removed and replaced with the standard `dict` in mf2py 2.0. Custom dictionary classes are no longer supported.
Fix: Remove the `dict_class` argument from `mf2py.Parser()` instantiations. `mf2py` now consistently uses Python's built-in `dict`.
gotcha When parsing HTML documents, especially from untrusted sources, be aware that passing a BeautifulSoup document to `mf2py` might modify the original BeautifulSoup object.
Fix: If you need to preserve the original BeautifulSoup document, consider creating a deep copy before passing it to `mf2py.parse()` or `mf2py.Parser()`.

Install

pip install mf2py Install stable version

Imports

parse
```
from mf2py import parse
```
The primary convenience function for parsing HTML.
Parser
```
from mf2py import Parser
```
For advanced usage or when instantiating a parser object directly with specific options.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to parse an HTML string containing microformats2 markup using `mf2py.parse()`. It returns a dictionary representing the microformats found. You can also parse directly from a URL.

import mf2py

html_doc = """
<div class="h-entry">
    <h1 class="p-name">My Awesome Post</h1>
    <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-11-30T19:08:09">November 30, 2023</time>
    <a class="p-author h-card" href="https://example.com/james">James</a>
    <img class="u-photo" src="https://example.com/post-image.jpg" alt="Post illustration">
</div>
"""

mf2_data = mf2py.parse(doc=html_doc)

print(mf2_data)

# Example of parsing a URL (requires internet access)
# from mf2py import parse
# url_data = mf2py.parse(url="https://events.indieweb.org/")
# print(url_data["items"][0]["type"])

view raw JSON →