vgde (Video Game Data Explorer)

vgde is a Python tool for quickly exploring and fetching information about video games using the RAWG Video Games Database API. Enter the name of a game, and vgde provides details such as the release date, rating, description, and more—all right from your terminal.

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Features

• Fetches Live Game Data
  Retrieves up-to-date video game information from the RAWG API.
• Rich Output
  Displays game name, release date, rating, description, and a background image URL.
• Flexible Input
  Use interactive prompts or pass the game name directly as a command-line argument.
• Robust Error Handling
  Gracefully handles network issues, SSL errors, invalid input, rate limiting, and missing API key scenarios.
• Developer Mode
  Enable detailed debug logging for troubleshooting and development.
• Clean Description Display
  Removes HTML tags for readable output; truncates lengthy descriptions.
• Configurable Timeout
  Set request timeout duration via environment variables (1-300 seconds).
• Enhanced Security
  • API key validation and sanitization
  • SSL/TLS certificate verification
  • Protection against HTML entity expansion attacks
  • Response size limits to prevent memory exhaustion
  • Secure API key handling (never logged in debug mode)
• Smart Search Suggestions
  Provides helpful suggestions when no game is found.
• Debug Mode Flag
  Run with --debug flag for detailed troubleshooting without changing environment variables.

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🛠 Requirements

• Python 3.x
• requests Python library

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🚀 Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/veddevv/vgde.git
   cd vgde

2. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

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⚡️ Usage

1. Set your RAWG API key
   Obtain a free API key from RAWG and set it as an environment variable:

   export RAWG_API_KEY='your_api_key_here'

   Note: The API key must be between 10-100 characters and will be automatically validated.

2. Run vgde

   • Interactive mode

     python vgde.py

   • Direct mode

     python vgde.py "The Witcher 3"

   • Debug mode (for troubleshooting)

     python vgde.py "Portal 2" --debug

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⚙️ Configuration

vgde can be customized via the following environment variables:

Variable	Required	Description	Default	Valid Range
RAWG_API_KEY	Yes	Your RAWG API key (10-100 characters)	—	—
DEVELOPER_MODE	No	Set to true, 1, t, yes, y, on, enable, or enabled to enable verbose debug logging	false	—
REQUEST_TIMEOUT	No	Timeout in seconds for API requests	10	1-300

Example:

RAWG_API_KEY='your_key' DEVELOPER_MODE=true REQUEST_TIMEOUT=15 python vgde.py "Portal 2"

Command-Line Options

• game_name (optional positional argument): The name of the game to search for
• --debug: Enable debug mode for the current run (overrides DEVELOPER_MODE environment variable)

Example with debug flag:

python vgde.py "Cyberpunk 2077" --debug

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📝 Example Output

==================================================
Game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
==================================================
Released: 2015-05-18
Rating: 4.67/5

Description:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a story-driven, open world adventure set in a visually stunning fantasy universe full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences...

Background Image: https://media.rawg.io/media/games/...

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🔒 Security Features

vgde implements several security measures to protect your system and data:

• API Key Validation: Validates API key format and length before use
• SSL/TLS Verification: Always verifies SSL certificates for secure connections
• Input Sanitization: Game names are validated and sanitized to prevent injection attacks
• Response Size Limits: Enforces maximum response sizes (10MB) to prevent memory exhaustion
• HTML Parsing Protection: Guards against HTML entity expansion attacks with character limits
• Timeout Bounds: Request timeouts are bounded between 1-300 seconds
• Secure Logging: API keys are never logged, even in debug mode
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error handling for network, SSL, and API errors

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🐞 Troubleshooting

• Missing API Key:
  Make sure you've set your RAWG_API_KEY environment variable.

• Invalid API Key:
  Ensure your API key is between 10-100 characters. Check for extra spaces or quotes.

• No Results Found:
  The tool will provide search suggestions. Try:

  • Checking the spelling of the game name
  • Using the official game title
  • Removing special characters or trademark symbols (™, ®, ©)
  • Using a shorter or more specific name

• Timeouts or Network Errors:
  Check your internet connection, or increase REQUEST_TIMEOUT (max 300 seconds).

• SSL Certificate Errors:
  This may indicate a network security issue. Ensure you're on a trusted network and your system's SSL certificates are up to date.

• Rate Limiting:
  If you receive a rate limit error, wait for the specified time before making another request. The RAWG API has rate limits for free tier users.

• Need More Details?
  Run vgde with the --debug flag to see detailed error messages and diagnostic information:

  python vgde.py "Game Name" --debug