301 and 302 redirects in Rest API - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Handling 301 and 302 Redirects in a REST API

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple REST API server that handles URL redirects. Some URLs should permanently redirect to a new location (301), while others should temporarily redirect (302).

🎯 Goal: Create a Python REST API using Flask that returns 301 or 302 redirects based on the requested URL.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a dictionary called redirects with URLs as keys and tuples as values. Each tuple contains the target URL and the redirect type (301 or 302).

Create a variable called default_redirect that holds the default redirect URL and type.

Write a Flask route /redirect/<path> that checks if the path is in redirects and returns the correct redirect response.

If the path is not found, redirect to default_redirect URL with its redirect type.

Print the redirect status code and target URL in the response.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Web servers and APIs often need to redirect old URLs to new ones, either permanently (301) or temporarily (302). This helps users and search engines find the right pages.

💼 Career

Understanding how to implement redirects is important for backend developers, web developers, and DevOps engineers managing web traffic and SEO.

1

Create the redirects dictionary

Create a dictionary called redirects with these exact entries: 'old-home': ('/new-home', 301), 'temp-page': ('/temporary', 302), and 'old-contact': ('/contact-us', 301).

Rest API

# Create the redirects dictionary with exact entries
# Your code here

Hint

Use a Python dictionary with keys as strings and values as tuples containing the target URL and redirect code.

2

Add the default redirect variable

Create a variable called default_redirect and set it to the tuple ('/home', 302).

Rest API

redirects = {
    'old-home': ('/new-home', 301),
    'temp-page': ('/temporary', 302),
    'old-contact': ('/contact-us', 301)
}

# Create the default_redirect variable
# Your code here

Hint

Set default_redirect to a tuple with the URL '/home' and redirect code 302.

3

Create the Flask route for redirects

Import Flask and create an app. Write a route @app.route('/redirect/<path>') with a function redirect_url(path) that checks if path is in redirects. If yes, get the target URL and code from redirects[path]. Otherwise, use default_redirect. Return a Flask redirect response with the target URL and status code.

Rest API

redirects = {
    'old-home': ('/new-home', 301),
    'temp-page': ('/temporary', 302),
    'old-contact': ('/contact-us', 301)
}

default_redirect = ('/home', 302)

# Import Flask and create app
# Write the /redirect/ route
# Your code here

Hint

Use Flask's redirect() function with the target URL and status code.

4

Print redirect details on each request

Inside the redirect_url(path) function, before returning, add a print statement that outputs exactly: Redirecting to {target} with status {code} using an f-string.

Rest API

from flask import Flask, redirect

app = Flask(__name__)

redirects = {
    'old-home': ('/new-home', 301),
    'temp-page': ('/temporary', 302),
    'old-contact': ('/contact-us', 301)
}

default_redirect = ('/home', 302)

@app.route('/redirect/')
def redirect_url(path):
    if path in redirects:
        target, code = redirects[path]
    else:
        target, code = default_redirect
    # Print redirect details
    # Your code here
    return redirect(target, code)

Hint

Use an f-string inside print() to show the target and code.

Practice

1. What does a 301 redirect indicate in a REST API?

easy

A. The resource has been deleted.

B. The resource is temporarily unavailable.

C. The resource has moved permanently to a new URL.

D. The resource requires authentication.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of 301 redirect

   A 301 redirect means the resource has moved permanently to a new location.

2. Step 2: Compare with other options

   Other options describe different HTTP statuses, not 301 redirect.

3. Final Answer:

   The resource has moved permanently to a new URL. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   301 redirect = permanent move [OK]

Hint: 301 means permanent move, 302 means temporary move [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 301 with 302 redirect
• Thinking 301 means resource deleted
• Assuming 301 is for authentication

2. Which HTTP status code is used for a temporary redirect?

easy

A. 301

B. 302

C. 404

D. 500

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify status codes for redirects

   302 is the standard status code for temporary redirects.

2. Step 2: Eliminate other codes

   301 is permanent redirect, 404 is not found, 500 is server error.

3. Final Answer:

   302 -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Temporary redirect = 302 [OK]

Hint: 302 means temporary redirect, not 301 [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing 301 and 302 codes
• Choosing 404 or 500 by mistake
• Not knowing redirect codes

3. What will be the HTTP status code returned by this REST API snippet?

return Response(status=301, headers={'Location': 'https://newsite.com'})

medium

A. 301 Moved Permanently

B. 302 Found

C. 200 OK

D. 404 Not Found

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the status code in the response

   The code explicitly sets status=301, which means permanent redirect.

2. Step 2: Check the Location header

   The Location header points to the new URL, confirming redirect behavior.

3. Final Answer:

   301 Moved Permanently -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Status 301 with Location = permanent redirect [OK]

Hint: Status 301 with Location header means permanent redirect [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming 200 OK without checking status
• Confusing 301 with 302
• Ignoring Location header

4. Identify the error in this code snippet for a temporary redirect:

return Response(status=301, headers={'Location': 'https://temp.example.com'})

medium

A. Location header is missing.

B. Headers should not include Location.

C. Status code 301 is correct for temporary redirect.

D. Status code should be 302 for temporary redirect.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check status code for temporary redirect

   Temporary redirects require status code 302, not 301.

2. Step 2: Verify headers

   Location header is present and correct, so no error there.

3. Final Answer:

   Status code should be 302 for temporary redirect. -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Temporary redirect = 302, not 301 [OK]

Hint: Use 302 status for temporary redirects, not 301 [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 301 instead of 302 for temporary redirects
• Omitting Location header
• Misunderstanding redirect status codes

5. You want to permanently redirect old API endpoints to new ones but keep temporary redirects for beta features. Which status codes should you use for each case?

hard

A. 301 for old endpoints, 302 for beta features

B. 302 for old endpoints, 301 for beta features

C. 404 for old endpoints, 302 for beta features

D. 500 for old endpoints, 301 for beta features

Solution

1. Step 1: Determine redirect type for old endpoints

   Old endpoints moved permanently, so use 301 status code.

2. Step 2: Determine redirect type for beta features

   Beta features are temporary, so use 302 status code.

3. Final Answer:

   301 for old endpoints, 302 for beta features -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Permanent = 301, Temporary = 302 [OK]

Hint: Permanent redirect = 301, temporary redirect = 302 [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping 301 and 302 codes
• Using error codes instead of redirects
• Not distinguishing permanent vs temporary