gitenxx / spice

spice is a pure Python API that wraps around MAL's Official API and makes it much, much better.

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_api

Here'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.