Extracting name from a message using Python in Zapier

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1

I’m trying to get a name from a message in Zapier using Python. Here’s what the message looks like:

_id: 123abc456def789
actions: []
authorId: 987zyx654wvu321
name: Fluffy Penguin
received: 1598765432.0
role: appUser
source: {u'type': u'mobile'}
text: Hey there

I’m using this code to extract the name:

import re
name_match = re.search('(?<=name:)(.*?)(?=received)', message_input)
result = {
    'extracted_name': name_match.group(1).strip() if name_match else 'not found'
}

But it’s not working. The result is always ‘not found’. What am I doing wrong? Is there a better way to get the name from this message format?

2

The issue with your current approach is that you’re treating the message as a single string, but it appears to be a structured format, possibly a dictionary or JSON object. Instead of using regex, you should parse the message into a dictionary first. Here’s a more reliable method:

import ast

# Assuming message_input is your input string
message_dict = ast.literal_eval(message_input)
extracted_name = message_dict.get('name', 'not found')

result = {
    'extracted_name': extracted_name
}

This code uses ast.literal_eval() to safely convert the string representation of the dictionary into an actual Python dictionary. Then, we can simply use the get() method to retrieve the ‘name’ value. This approach is more robust and will work even if the order of the fields in the message changes.

3

hey, have u tried using json? looks like ur message might be in that format. u could do smthing like:

import json
msg = json.loads(message_input)
name = msg.get(‘name’, ‘not found’)

that should work better than regex for this kinda stuff

4

I’ve dealt with similar issues in Zapier before. Your message looks like a Python dictionary, so treating it as a string won’t work well. Here’s what I’d suggest:

import ast

message_dict = ast.literal_eval(message_input)
extracted_name = message_dict['name']

result = {
    'extracted_name': extracted_name
}

This approach assumes the message is always in the correct format. If it’s not guaranteed, you might want to add some error handling. Also, make sure the message_input is properly formatted - sometimes Zapier can mess with the formatting, especially with newlines. If you’re still having trouble, double-check how Zapier is passing the message to your Python code.