{"id":719,"date":"2020-10-23T00:43:22","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T00:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/?page_id=719"},"modified":"2025-03-30T11:58:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T11:58:59","slug":"python-check-if-file-exists","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pythontutorial.net\/python-basics\/python-check-if-file-exists\/","title":{"rendered":"Python Check If File Exists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the os.path.exists()<\/code> and pathlib.is_file()<\/code> functions to check if a file exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When processing files, you’ll often want to check if a file exists before doing something else with it such as reading from the file<\/a> or writing data to it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To check if a file exists, you can use the exists()<\/code> function from the os.path<\/code> module: <\/p>\n\n\n

from<\/span> os.path import<\/span> exists\n\nfile_exists = exists(path_to_file)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Alternatively, you can use the is_file()<\/code> method from the Path<\/code> class from the pathlib<\/code> module:<\/p>\n\n\n
from<\/span> pathlib import<\/span> Path\n\npath = Path(path_to_file)\n\npath.is_file()<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Checking if a file exists using os.path.exists() function #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To check if a file exists, you pass the file path to the exists()<\/code> function from the os.path<\/code> standard library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, import the os.path<\/code> standard library:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os.path<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Second, call the exists()<\/code> function:<\/p>\n\n\n
os<\/span>.path<\/span>.exists<\/span>(path_to_file<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If the file exists, the exists()<\/code> function returns True<\/code>. Otherwise, it returns False<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the file is in the same folder as the program, the path_to_file<\/code> is just simply the file name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it’s not the case, you need to pass the full file path of the file. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n
\/path\/to\/filename<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Even if you run the program on Windows, you should use the forward-slash (\/<\/code>) to separate the path. It’ll work across Windows, macOS, and Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following example uses the exists()<\/code> function to check if the readme.txt<\/code> file exists in the same folder as the program:<\/p>\n\n\n
import<\/span> os.path\n\nfile_exists = os.path.exists('readme.txt'<\/span>)\n\nprint(file_exists)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If the readme.txt<\/code> file exists, you’ll see the following output:<\/p>\n\n\n
True<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Otherwise, you’ll see False<\/code> on the screen:<\/p>\n\n\n
False<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
To make the call to the exists()<\/code> function shorter and more obvious, you can import that function and rename it to file_exists()<\/code> function like this:<\/p>\n\n\n
from<\/span> os.path import<\/span> exists as<\/span> file_exists\n\nfile_exists('readme.txt'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Checking if a file exists using the pathlib module #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The pathlib<\/code> module allows you to manipulate files and directories using the object-oriented approach. If you’re not familiar with object-oriented programming, check out the Python OOP<\/a> section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Python introduced the pathlib<\/a><\/code> module since the version 3.4. So you should have Python 3.4 or later to use the module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, import the Path<\/code> class from the pathlib<\/code> module:<\/p>\n\n\n
from<\/span> pathlib import<\/span> Path<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Then, instantiate a new instance of the Path<\/code> class and initialize it with the file path that you want to check for existence:<\/p>\n\n\n
path = Path(path_to_file)<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Finally, check if the file exists using the is_file()<\/code> method:<\/p>\n\n\n
path<\/span>.is_file<\/span>()<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If the file doesn’t exist, the is_file()<\/code> method returns False<\/code>. Otherwise, it returns True<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following example shows how to use the Path<\/code> class from the pathlib<\/code> module to check if the readme.txt<\/code> file exists in the same folder of the program:<\/p>\n\n\n
from pathlib import Path\n\npath_to_file = 'readme.txt'<\/span>\npath = Path(path_to_file)\n\nif<\/span> path.is_file():\n    print<\/span>(f'The file {path_to_file} exists'<\/span>)\nelse<\/span>:\n    print<\/span>(f'The file {path_to_file} does not exist'<\/span>)<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
If the readme.txt<\/code> file exists, you’ll see the following output:<\/p>\n\n\n
The<\/span> file<\/span> readme<\/span>.txt<\/span> exists<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Summary #<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n