Python 2.7.10 Mac OS X 10.10 - binascii.Error TypeError: Incorrect padding

[rocket-ron]

I have the following code:

 key = 'my_storage_account_key'
 blob_service = BlobService(account_name='my_storage_account', account_key='key')
 container = u'test'
 containers = blob_service.list_containers()

which results in the following error:

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 TypeError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
 <ipython-input-15-5ecff0813140> in <module>()
       3 
       4 container = u'test'
 ----> 5 containers = blob_service.list_containers()
       6 if container not in containers:
       7     try:

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-    packages/azure/storage/blob/blobservice.pyc in list_containers(self, prefix, marker, maxresults, include)
     291             request, self.use_local_storage)
     292         request.headers = _update_storage_blob_header(
 --> 293             request, self.authentication)
     294         response = self._perform_request(request)
     295 

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-packages/azure/storage/blob/_serialization.pyc in _update_storage_blob_header(request, authentication)
      41     request.headers.append(
      42         ('Content-Type', 'application/octet-stream Charset=UTF-8'))
 ---> 43     authentication.sign_request(request)
      44 
      45     return request.headers

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-packages/azure/storage/auth.pyc in sign_request(self, request)
      68             self._get_canonicalized_resource_query(request)
      69 
 ---> 70         self._add_authorization_header(request, string_to_sign)
      71 
      72     def _get_canonicalized_resource_query(self, request):

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-packages/azure/storage/auth.pyc in _add_authorization_header(self, request, string_to_sign)
      47 
      48     def _add_authorization_header(self, request, string_to_sign):
 ---> 49         signature = _sign_string(self.account_key, string_to_sign)
      50         auth_string = 'SharedKey ' + self.account_name + ':' + signature
      51         request.headers.append(('Authorization', auth_string))

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-packages/azure/storage/_common_conversion.pyc in _sign_string(key, string_to_sign, key_is_base64)
      81 def _sign_string(key, string_to_sign, key_is_base64=True):
      82     if key_is_base64:
 ---> 83         key = _decode_base64_to_bytes(key)
      84     else:
      85         if isinstance(key, _unicode_type):

 /Users/emh5y7u/Documents/MIDS/W205/W205env/lib/python2.7/site-packages/azure/storage/_common_conversion.pyc in _decode_base64_to_bytes(data)
      71     if isinstance(data, _unicode_type):
      72         data = data.encode('utf-8')
 ---> 73     return base64.b64decode(data)
      74 
      75 

  /usr/local/Cellar/python/2.7.10_2/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/base64.pyc in b64decode(s, altchars)
      74     except binascii.Error, msg:
      75         # Transform this exception for consistency
 ---> 76         raise TypeError(msg)
      77 
      78 

 TypeError: Incorrect padding

I've copied the key correctly, I've tried base64 encoding the key but I can't seem to establish a connection to the storage account. I'm not sure what else to try...

[emgerner-msft]

You don't need to base64 encode the key -- just pass in directly what you got from the portal or wherever else you got the key from. I know you said you've copied correctly, but two things to confirm right off the bat since they're common errors:

1. Does the key you're passing have whitespace around it? If so, make sure you remove that.
2. Many keys have = signs in them or end in that character. If your key ends in symbols, they are indeed part of the key and should be included.

Tell me either way and if these aren't the issues we'll keep debugging!

[rocket-ron]

I created a completely clean Python 2.7 virtualenv and reloaded the Azure SDK and Azure storage modules. All works ok now.