{"id":2464,"date":"2021-07-07T15:34:50","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T15:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/?page_id=2464"},"modified":"2025-03-30T13:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T13:01:01","slug":"python-directory","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/python-basics\/python-directory\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Manipulate Directories in Python"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to manipulate directories in Python using the os<\/code> module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get the current working directory #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The current working directory is the directory where the Python script is running. To get the current working directory, you use the os.getcwd()<\/code> as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n

import<\/span> os\n\n\ncwd = os.getcwd()\nprint(cwd)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To change the current working directory, you use the function os.chdir()<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\n\nos.chdir('\/script'<\/span>)\ncwd = os.getcwd()\nprint(cwd)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Join and split a path #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To make a program work across platforms including Windows, Linux, and macOS, you need to use platform-independent file and directory paths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Python provides you with a submodule os.path<\/code> that contains several useful functions and constants to join and split paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The join()<\/code> function joins path components together and returns a path with the corresponding path separator. For example, it uses backslash (\\<\/code>) on Windows and forward slash (\/<\/code>) on macOS or Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The split()<\/code> function splits a path into components without a path separator. Here’s an example of using join()<\/code> and split()<\/code> functions:<\/p>\n\n\n
import os\n\nfp = os.path.join('temp'<\/span>, 'python'<\/span>)\nprint<\/span>(fp)  # temp\\python (on Windows)<\/span>\n\npc = os.path.split(fp)\nprint<\/span>(pc)  # ('temp', 'python')<\/span>\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Test if a path is a directory #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To check if a path exists and is a directory, you can use the functions os.path.exists()<\/code> and os.path.isdir()<\/code> functions. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
import os\n\ndir = os.path.join(\"C:\\\\\"<\/span>, \"temp\"<\/span>)\nprint<\/span>(dir)\n\nif<\/span> os.path.exists(dir) or<\/span> os.path.isdir(dir):\n    print<\/span>(f'The {dir} is a directory'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Create a directory #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To create a new directory, you use os.mkdir()<\/code> function. And you should always check if a directory exists first before creating a new directory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following example creates a new directory called python<\/code> under the c:\\temp<\/code> directory.<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\ndir = os.path.join(\"C:\\\\\"<\/span>, \"temp\"<\/span>, \"python\"<\/span>)\nif<\/span> not os.path.exists(dir):\n    os.mkdir(dir)\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Rename a directory #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To rename the directory, you use the os.rename()<\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\noldpath = os.path.join(\"C:\\\\\"<\/span>, \"temp\"<\/span>, \"python\"<\/span>)\nnewpath = os.path.join(\"C:\\\\\"<\/span>, \"temp\"<\/span>, \"python3\"<\/span>)\n\nif<\/span> os.path.exists(oldpath) and not os.path.exists(newpath):\n    os.rename(oldpath, newpath)\n    print(\"'{0}' was renamed to '{1}'\"<\/span>.format(oldpath, newpath))\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Delete a directory #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To delete a directory, you use the  os.rmdir()<\/code> function as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\ndir = os.path.join(\"C:\\\\\"<\/span>,\"temp\"<\/span>,\"python\"<\/span>)\nif<\/span> os.path.exists(dir):\n    os.rmdir(dir)\n    print(dir + ' is removed.'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Traverse a directory recursively #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The os.walk()<\/code> function allows you to traverse a directory recursively. The os.walk()<\/code> function returns the root directory, the sub-directories, and files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following example shows how to print all files and directories in the c:\\temp<\/code> directory:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\npath = \"c:\\\\temp\"<\/span>\nfor<\/span> root, dirs, files in<\/span> os.walk(path):\n    print(\"{0} has {1} files\"<\/span>.format(root, len(files)))<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Summary #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n