Python 3.7 TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'

Question

I have these two strings:

client_id = "id_str"
client_secret = "secret_str"

And I must pass them like so:

def getToken(code, client_id, client_secret, redirect_uri):
    body = {
        "grant_type": 'authorization_code',
        "code" : code,
        "redirect_uri": redirect_uri,
        "client_id": client_id,
        "client_secret": client_secret
    }

    encoded = base64.b64encode("{}:{}".format(client_id, client_secret))
    headers = {"Content-Type" : HEADER, "Authorization" : "Basic {}".format(encoded)} 

    post = requests.post(SPOTIFY_URL_TOKEN, params=body, headers=headers)
    return handleToken(json.loads(post.text))

but when I do so I get the error:

    encoded = base64.b64encode("{}:{}".format(client_id, client_secret))
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.7/base64.py", line 58, in b64encode
    encoded = binascii.b2a_base64(s, newline=False)
TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'

How do I fix this encoding/formatting for Python 3.7?

ps: I don't see this answer adressing formatting {} as well as encoding.

Does this answer your question? [Why do I need 'b' to encode a string with Base64?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8908287/why-do-i-need-b-to-encode-a-string-with-base64) — mkrieger1, Mar 15 '20 at 02:35

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Change the line

encoded = base64.b64encode("{}:{}".format(client_id, client_secret))

to

encoded = base64.b64encode("{}:{}".format(client_id, client_secret).encode())

According to the documentation:

base64.b64encode(s, altchars=None)

Encode the bytes-like object s using Base64 and return the encoded bytes.

Regarding your objection:

the linked answer does not address formatting

Actually your problem has nothing to do with formatting, because format() just returns a string, but b64encode requires a bytes-like object, not a string.

Python 3.7 TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'

1 Answers1