Build a Python CLI to Fetch 12306 Train Tickets in Seconds

Everyone has used the 12306 website; this guide shows how to write a Python program that returns train ticket information from the command line.

1. Interface Design

The small application is called tickets . Users only need to provide a departure station, a destination station, and a date. Example usage: $ tickets from to date With optional flags, e.g.:

$ tickets -gdtkz from to date

2. Development Environment

Create an isolated Python 3 environment with virtualenv and activate it:

$ virtualenv -p /usr/bin/python3 venv

$ . venv/bin/activate

3. Argument Parsing

Use the docopt library for simple command‑line parsing. Install it first:

$ pip3 install docopt

docopt

reads the usage pattern defined in the script’s docstring and extracts the arguments automatically.

4. Fetching Data

Query the 12306 API with a URL such as:

https://kyfw.12306.cn/otn/lcxxcx/query?purpose_codes=ADULT&queryDate=2016-07-01&from_station=SHH&to_station=BJP

Station codes are obtained from the JavaScript file station_name.js and saved locally as stations.html for lookup.

5. Displaying Results

Install prettytable to format the output like a MySQL table: $ pip3 install prettytable The final output shows the train schedule in a neatly aligned table.