authentication in python script to run as root

Question

I am doing a project in Linux at system level in Python. So that, I want to know that if i am running my code as a normal user and if i am accessing system files then it should have root permissions for it, then how can i prompt for root password and run further code as superuser. I want to know that, how to run python script as superuser with password prompt for it..

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance..

Answer 1

The other thing you can do is have your script automatically invoke sudo if it wasn't executed as root:

import os
import sys

euid = os.geteuid()
if euid != 0:
    print "Script not started as root. Running sudo.."
    args = ['sudo', sys.executable] + sys.argv + [os.environ]
    # the next line replaces the currently-running process with the sudo
    os.execlpe('sudo', *args)

print 'Running. Your euid is', euid

Output:

Script not started as root. Running sudo..
[sudo] password for bob:
Running. Your euid is 0

Use sudo -k for testing, to clear your sudo timestamp so the next time the script is run it will require the password again.

Answer 2

import os
euid = os.geteuid() 
if euid != 0:
  raise EnvironmentError, "need to be root"
  exit()

This won't prompt in the middle of script but would rather force the user to re-run it with sudo or as root