Mass deletes reddit comments by URL, editing them first, waiting, then removing for real

mass_delete.py

import praw
import sys
import time

# Setup
# 1. Install Python 3.6+ <https://www.python.org/downloads/> and PRAW
#    <https://praw.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started/installation.html>.
# 2. Create a script here <https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps/> and
#    set the script ID and secret below, as well as your username and
#    password.
# 3. Fill in comments_to_remove.
# 4. Run as `python3 mass_delete.py`.
reddit = praw.Reddit(client_id='<FILL ME IN>',
                     client_secret='<FILL ME IN>',
                     username='<FILL ME IN>',
                     password='<FILL ME IN>',
                     user_agent='MassDelete script using PRAW')

# Direct URLs to comments.
comments_to_remove = [
  # FILL ME IN (eg:)
  'https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/bwpqqi/we_are_us_senator_ron_wyden_and_reddit_ceo_steve/epzk051/',
  'https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/bwpqqi/we_are_us_senator_ron_wyden_and_reddit_ceo_steve/epzgwxb/',
]

print(f'Editing {len(comments_to_remove)} comments.')

def progress_bar(percent, new):
    """Prints a progress bar of equal signs.

    Percent is in [0, 1]. If new, will not print newline and will overwrite
    existing line."""
    bar_width = 50
    num_equal_signs = int(percent * bar_width)
    s = ''
    if not new:
        s += '\r'
    s += '['
    s += '=' * num_equal_signs + ' ' * (50 - num_equal_signs)
    s += ']'
    print(s, end='', flush=True)

progress_bar(percent=0.0, new=True)

non_existing = []
errors = []
edited_urls = []

for i, comment_url in enumerate(comments_to_remove):
    comment = reddit.comment(url=comment_url)
    if comment is None:
        non_existing.append(comment_url)
    else:
        try:
            comment.edit('[cleared for privacy]')
            edited_urls.append(comment_url)
        except Exception as e:
            errors.append(f'Couldn\'t edit {comment_url}: {e}')
    progress_bar(percent=float(i + 1) / len(comments_to_remove), new=False)

print()  # progress_bar doesn't print a newline.
if non_existing:
    print('The following URLs do not exist:')
    print('\n'.join(non_existing))
if errors:
    print('Errors encountered:')
    print('\n'.join(errors))

if not edited_urls:
    print('No comments edited. Exiting.')
    sys.exit(1)

print(f'Deleting {len(edited_urls)} comments.')
progress_bar(percent=0.0, new=True)

num_deleted = 0
non_existing = []
errors = []

for i, comment_url in enumerate(edited_urls):
    comment = reddit.comment(url=comment_url)
    if comment is None:
        non_existing.append(comment_url)
    else:
        try:
            comment.delete()
            num_deleted += 1
        except e:
            errors.append(f'Couldn\'t delete {comment_url}: {e}')
    progress_bar(percent=float(i + 1) / len(edited_urls), new=False)

print()

if non_existing:
    print('The following URLs do not exist:')
    print('\n'.join(non_existing))
if errors:
    print('Errors encountered:')
    print('\n'.join(errors))
print('Done!')