{"id":4202,"date":"2022-08-05T13:16:28","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T13:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/?page_id=4202"},"modified":"2025-03-30T13:00:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T13:00:27","slug":"python-rename-file","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/python-basics\/python-rename-file\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Rename a File in Python"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to rename a file in Python using the rename()<\/code> function of the os<\/code> module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To rename a file in Python, you use the rename()<\/code> function from the os<\/code> module. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the basic syntax of the rename() function:<\/p>\n\n\n

os<\/span>.rename<\/span>(src<\/span>, dst<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The rename function renames the src<\/code> to dst<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the src<\/code> file does not exist, the rename()<\/code> function raises a FileNotFound<\/code> error. Likewise, if the dst<\/code> already exists, the rename()<\/code> function issues a FileExistsError<\/code> error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the following uses the rename()<\/code> function to rename the file readme.txt<\/code> to notes.txt<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\nos.rename('readme.txt'<\/span>, 'notes.txt'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To avoid an error if the readme.txt<\/code> doesn’t exist and\/or the notes.txt<\/code> file already exists, you can use the try...except<\/a><\/code> statement:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os\n\ntry<\/span>:\n    os.rename('readme.txt'<\/span>, 'notes.txt'<\/span>)\nexcept<\/span> FileNotFoundError as<\/span> e:\n    print(e)\nexcept<\/span> FileExistsError as<\/span> e:\n    print(e)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Python<\/span> (<\/span>python<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The following shows the output when the readme.txt<\/code> file does not exist:<\/p>\n\n\n
[WinError 2<\/span>] The system cannot find the file specified: 'readme.txt'<\/span> -> 'notes.txt'<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The following shows the output if the notes.txt<\/code> already exists:<\/p>\n\n\n
[WinError 183<\/span>] Cannot create a file when that file already exists: 'readme.txt'<\/span> -> 'notes.txt'<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Summary #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n