Cookies Policy

This Cookies Policy explains what cookies and local storage technologies are, how Python Online ("we", "us", or "our") uses them to power our integrated development environment (IDE), and how third parties we partner with may use them on the Service. It also outlines your choices regarding these technologies.

1. What Are Cookies and Local Storage?

Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your web browser by a website you visit. They are stored in your web browser and allow the Service or a third party to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the Service more useful to you.

Local Storage (localStorage) is an industry-standard web technology that allows a website or application to store and retrieve data on a person’s mobile phone or computer. Unlike cookies, data in local storage is not automatically sent to the server with every HTTP request, making it far more efficient for storing the complex configurations required by modern web applications like Python Online.

2. How Python Online Uses Storage Technologies

Because Python Online is a complex, stateful desktop-class application running inside your browser, we rely heavily on local storage to ensure your code and configurations are preserved between sessions. We strictly use these technologies for essential functionality. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

A. Essential Authentication & Security

We use cookies and local storage tokens to authenticate users, prevent fraudulent use of login credentials, and protect user data from unauthorized parties. Without these tokens, our servers cannot securely verify your identity when you execute code or deploy applications.

• Supabase JWT Tokens: When you log in, our identity provider (Supabase) issues secure JSON Web Tokens (e.g., sb-*-auth-token). These are stored locally and are strictly required to keep your session active across page reloads.

B. Workspace Persistence ("Warm Boot")

We use local storage to provide a seamless "Warm Boot" experience. When you close your browser and return later, the IDE instantly reconstitutes your workspace exactly as you left it.

• UI State (pythononline-uistate-*): We continuously save snapshots of your layout configuration, including which tabs were open, the width of your split panes, the position of your cursor, and the active project ID.
• Editor Settings (python-online-settings): Your preferences for font size, typography ligatures, linter rules, and text wrapping are saved locally to ensure the Monaco Editor loads instantly with your customized environment.
• Theme Preferences (ide-theme): We store your preference for Dark Mode or Light Mode to prevent a blinding "flash" of incorrect colors when the application first loads.

C. Guest Sandbox (Anonymous Mode)

If you use Python Online without signing in, your browser's local storage acts as your primary hard drive. We store a temporary identifier (python_online_anon_id) and a full serialized snapshot of your Virtual File System (anonymousProject). This allows you to write, run, and modify code without losing your work when you refresh the page. If you choose to create an account later, we use this data to seamlessly transfer your guest work to our secure cloud servers.

3. Third-Party Cookies

In addition to our own essential local storage, we partner with specialized third-party services to handle specific infrastructure tasks. These services may place cookies on your device:

• LemonSqueezy: If you choose to upgrade to a Pro account, our Merchant of Record, LemonSqueezy, will securely process your payment. The checkout overlay may utilize essential cookies to manage your active transaction, apply regional tax compliance, and prevent fraud.
• Cloudflare: Our network edge provider uses strict, essential cookies (such as the __cf_bm cookie) to differentiate between human visitors and malicious bots. This is a critical security measure to protect our execution nodes from DDoS attacks and scraping.

4. Managing Your Preferences

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies and local storage through their settings preferences. You can typically find these settings in the "Options", "Settings", or "Preferences" menu of your browser.

However, please be aware that if you delete cookies or disable local storage entirely, you will not be able to use Python Online. Our application architecture fundamentally relies on local storage to hold your code files, maintain your session, and render the user interface.

By continuing to use Python Online, you consent to our use of essential cookies and local storage to operate the IDE as described in this policy.

5. Contact Us

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or local storage, please reach out via the Support Desk within the IDE dashboard, or visit our Contact Page.