Automate the Boring Stuff with Python
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python by Al Sweigartby Al Sweigart
Shares rank 38 of 115 programming books by recommenders
Recommended as a practical introduction to Python for automating everyday computer tasks, even for non-programmers. One critic calls it an advertisement for the book.
Recommended as a practical introduction to Python for automating everyday computer tasks, even for non-programmers. One critic calls it an advertisement for the book.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Essential reading for anyone using computers
“I love this book should be a mandate reading for all people working with computers”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Anyone writing code from scratch or mostly doing architecting and LLM?” “But their non-programming roommates or relatives might!”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Automate Excel with Python: From manual grind to one-click workflow” Sparks ideas for new automations
“It also gave me some ideas on stuff I could do that I probably wouldn't have thought to automate otherwise.”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Anyone writing code from scratch or mostly doing architecting and LLM?” Series seen as getting it right
“The famous book series got it right”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Three kinds of AI products work”
Other programming books people recommend
The four most recommended other programming books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafting Interpretersby Robert Nystrom | 60 | 4 | 94% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Clean Codeby Robert C. Martin | 31 | 87 | 26% | 9 | — | — |
| The Pragmatic Programmerby Hunt and Thomas | 28 | 1 | 97% | 7 | — | Approved |
| How to Design Programsby Felleisen, Findler, Flatt and Krishnamurthi | 18 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Automate the Boring Stuff with Pythonby Al SweigartThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“But their non-programming roommates or relatives might!”
“This is just an advertisement for a book. And a terrible advertisement.”
“I love this book should be a mandate reading for all people working with computers”
“It also gave me some ideas on stuff I could do that I probably wouldn't have thought to automate otherwise.”
“The famous book series got it right”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.