An Introduction
The Official MyAnimeList API needs lots of work and is pretty annoying to use. Here are some of the many issues:
- Some of the documentation is just straight up incorrect (perhaps it was correct sometime ago).
- There are MySQL bugs on MAL's end that must be circumvented.
- There are severe limitations in what the API allows you to do, forcing the programmer's hand to write ugly scraping code.
- Some of the ways to do simple things like updating an anime on a user's list requires an esoteric knowledge of MAL URLs/queries that are no where on the documentation.
- The Official MAL API fails to provide consistent behavior.
- e.g. When sending too many requests, the Official MAL API has unpredictable behavior.
Work and/or further development on it seems like a lost cause, since the developer(s) have far more pressing concerns with the site.
This API aims to provide an easy to use Python API that wraps around MAL's REST-API so that you don't have to experience any headaches.
Name inspired by Horo/Holo from Spice and Wolf.
API inspired by other attempts (which made their own REST API wrapper, while this one uses a pure Python implementation), such as crobert22's Railgun and chuyeow's myanimelist-api.
Install
$ pip install spice_apiHere's How to Use It
import spice_api as spice
def main():
creds = spice.load_auth_from_file('auth') #or spice.init_auth(username, pw)
search_results = spice.search('Spice and Wolf', spice.get_medium('anime'), creds)
print(results[0].title) # > Ookami to Koushinryou
saw_id = results[0].id # > 2966
#mal sees everything as anime or manga, so novels are considered manga.
saw_novel = spice.search_id(saw_id, spice.get_medium('manga'), creds)
print(saw_novel.title) # > Ookami to Koushinryou
print(saw_novel.chapters) # > 0
print(saw_novel.volumes) # > 18
#get a fresh anime data object to fill in, and then push to your list
saw_data = spice.get_blank(spice.get_medium('anime'))
saw_data.episodes = 10 #you've watched 10 eps
saw_data.status = spice.get_status('watching') #you're still watching
saw_data.score = 9 #your rating
saw_data.tags = ['Holo is the best.'] #tags
#there are many other fields you can fill in, but this is enough.
spice.update(saw_data, saw_id, spice.get_medium('anime'), creds) #update your list.
your_list = spice.get_list(spice.get_medium('anime'), creds) #get your list (no args)
other_anime_list = spice.get_list(spice.get_medium('anime'), 'Pickleplatter', creds) #someone else's list
print(your_list.avg_score()) # > mean
print(your_list.p_var()) # > variance
# there are A LOT more methods for analyzing lists. Check them out in the source code in objects.py!
print(your_list.get_num_status(spice.get_status_num('watching'))) #number of shows you're watching
print(your_list.compatibility(other_anime_list)) # > you and your friend's compatibility score
What's Left
- Add more information to Anime() and Manga() objects through webscraping.
- Add more list comparison methods.
- Make some documentation for christ's sake.
- Make README even more pretty.
