Python CGI returning an http status code, such as

Question

How can my python cgi return a specific http status code, such as 403 or 418?

I tried the obvious (print "Status:403 Forbidden") but it doesn't work.

Answer 1

I guess, you're looking for send_error. It would be located in http.server in py3k.

Answer 2

print 'Status: 403 Forbidden'
print

Works for me. You do need the second print though, as you need a double-newline to end the HTTP response headers. Otherwise your web server may complain you aren't sending it a complete set of headers.

sys.stdout('Status: 403 Forbidden\r\n\r\n')

may be technically more correct, according to RFC (assuming that your CGI script isn't running in text mode on Windows). However both line endings seem to work everywhere.