Python directory
last modified January 29, 2024
Python directory tutorial shows how to work with directories in Python. We show how to create, rename, move, or list a directory in Python.
Directory definition
Directory is an organizing unit in a computer's file system for storing and locating files. Directories are hierarchically organized into a tree of directories. Directories have parent-child relationships. A directory is sometimes also called a folder.
There are multiple functions for manipulating directories in Python. They
are located in the os and pathlib modules.
In the tutorial, we work with the pathlib module, which has the
more modern API.
Python create directory
The Path.mkdir creates a single directory or multiple directories,
including intermediate directories.
If a directory exists, a FileExistsError is raised.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
p = Path('test')
p.mkdir()
The example creates a directory with Path's mkdir
function.
$ ./create_dir.py
$ ./create_dir.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "./create_dir.py", line 6, in <module>
p.mkdir()
File "/usr/lib/python3.8/pathlib.py", line 1284, in mkdir
self._accessor.mkdir(self, mode)
FileExistsError: [Errno 17] File exists: 'test'
When we run the program twice, an exception is thrown. To get around this issue, we can check if a directory already exists.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
dir_name = 'test'
p = Path(dir_name)
try:
if not p.exists():
p.mkdir()
except OSError:
print(f'Error: Creating directory. {dir_name}')
Before we create the directory, we check if it already exists with the
Path.exists function. We also catch a possible exception.
Another solution is to use the exist_ok flag. If this flag is
set to True, the FileExistsError is ignored.
#!/usr/bin/python from pathlib import Path dir_name = 'test' p = Path(dir_name) p.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
In this example, we ignore the FileExistsError exceptions.
Python create temporary directory
The tempfile.TemporaryDirectory function securely creates a
temporary directory. On completion of the context or destruction of the
temporary directory object the newly created temporary directory and all its
contents are removed from the filesystem.
#!/usr/bin/python
import tempfile
with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tempdir:
print(f'created temporary directory {tempdir}')
The example creates a temporary directory. When the program finishes, the directory is destroyed.
$ ./create_temp_dir.py created temporary directory /tmp/tmpww4breow
The program created a temporary directory in the special /tmp
directory, which is used for such purposes on Linux.
Python rename directory
The Path.rename function renames a directory.
#!/usr/bin/python from pathlib import Path src = 'test' dest = 'test2' p = Path(src) p.rename(dest)
In the example, we rename the test directory to test2.
Python remove directory
A directory is removed with the Path.rmdir function. The directory
must be empty.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
p = Path('test2')
p.rmdir()
The example deletes the test2 directory.
Python move directory
The shutil.move function moves a directory.
shutil.move(src, dst, copy_function=copy2)
The shutil.move recursively moves a file or directory (src) to
another location (dst) and returns the destination.
There are two copy functions:
copy and copy2; the default is copy2.
They differ how they handle file metadata. The copy2 tries to
preserve all the file metadata, while the copy does not.
#!/usr/bin/python import shutil src = 'docs' dst = 'docs2' shutil.move(src, dst)
The example moves the contents of the doc directory to docs2.
$ mkdir docs $ touch docs/data.txt docs/names.csv docs/numbers.csv
We create the docs directory and some files.
$ ./move_dir.py $ ls docs2/ data.txt names.csv numbers.csv
We run the program and show the contents of the new directory.
Python current working directory
The Path.cwd function returns a new path object representing the
current directory.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
from os import chdir
path = Path('..')
print(f'Current working directory: {path.cwd()}')
chdir(path)
print(f'Current working directory: {path.cwd()}')
chdir('..')
The example changes directories and prints the current directory.
Python home directory
The Path.home function returns a new path object representing the
user’s home directory.
#!/usr/bin/python from pathlib import Path home = str(Path.home()) print(home)
The program prints the home directory of the user that launched it.
Python directory parents
The Path.parent retunrs the parent of the path and the
Path.parents a sequence of ancestors of the path.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
path = Path.cwd()
print(f'The parent directory of {path} is {path.parent}')
print(f'The parent of the parent of {path} is {path.parent.parent}')
print(f'All the parents of {path.parent}: ')
print(list(path.parents))
The example prints the various parents of the current working directory.
Python list directory contents
The Path.iterdir yields path objects of the directory contents. The
children are yielded in arbitrary order, and the special entries '.' and '..'
are not included.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
path = Path('.')
dirs = [e for e in path.iterdir()]
for mydir in dirs:
print(mydir)
The example lists the files and directories of the current working directory. The list is non-recursive.
Python check if path is directory
The Path.is_dir returns True if the path points to a
directory.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
path = Path('.')
dirs = [e for e in path.iterdir() if e.is_dir()]
print(*dirs)
In the example, we list all immediate subdirectories of the current working directory.
$ ./list_dirs.py mydata docs2 listdirectory
In our case, we have three subdirectories.
Python list directory recursively
The path.rglob yields all the files that match the given
simple pattern recursively.
#!/usr/bin/python
from pathlib import Path
path = Path('..')
for e in path.rglob('*.py'):
print(e)
In the example, we recursively walk the contents of the parent directory and print all Python files.
Source
Python File and Directory access - language reference
In this article we have worked with directories in Python.
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