Python Directories

Introduction

Working with directories is a fundamental part of file management in Python. The os, shutil, and pathlib modules provide a variety of functions and methods to create, delete, list, and navigate directories. This guide covers all the essential directory operations.

Creating Directories

Using os.mkdir()

The os.mkdir() function creates a single directory.

Syntax

import os

os.mkdir('directory_name')

Example

import os

try:
    os.mkdir('example_dir')
    print("Directory 'example_dir' created successfully.")
except FileExistsError:
    print("Directory 'example_dir' already exists.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Using os.makedirs()

The os.makedirs() function creates directories recursively.

Syntax

import os

os.makedirs('parent_dir/child_dir')

Example

import os

try:
    os.makedirs('parent_dir/child_dir')
    print("Nested directories 'parent_dir/child_dir' created successfully.")
except FileExistsError:
    print("Directory 'parent_dir/child_dir' already exists.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Using pathlib.Path.mkdir()

The pathlib module provides an object-oriented approach to creating directories.

Example

from pathlib import Path

path = Path('example_dir')
try:
    path.mkdir()
    print("Directory 'example_dir' created successfully.")
except FileExistsError:
    print("Directory 'example_dir' already exists.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Creating Nested Directories

from pathlib import Path

path = Path('parent_dir/child_dir')
try:
    path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    print("Nested directories 'parent_dir/child_dir' created successfully.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Deleting Directories

Using os.rmdir()

The os.rmdir() function deletes an empty directory.

Example

import os

try:
    os.rmdir('example_dir')
    print("Directory 'example_dir' deleted successfully.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("The directory 'example_dir' does not exist.")
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied.")
except OSError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

Using shutil.rmtree()

The shutil.rmtree() function deletes a directory and all its contents.

Example

import shutil

try:
    shutil.rmtree('parent_dir')
    print("Directory 'parent_dir' and all its contents deleted successfully.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("The directory 'parent_dir' does not exist.")
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Using pathlib.Path.rmdir()

The pathlib.Path.rmdir() method deletes an empty directory.

Example

from pathlib import Path

path = Path('example_dir')
try:
    path.rmdir()
    print("Directory 'example_dir' deleted successfully.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("The directory 'example_dir' does not exist.")
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied.")
except OSError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

Deleting Non-Empty Directories

For non-empty directories, use shutil with pathlib.

from pathlib import Path
import shutil

path = Path('parent_dir')
try:
    shutil.rmtree(path)
    print("Directory 'parent_dir' and all its contents deleted successfully.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("The directory 'parent_dir' does not exist.")
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Listing Directories

Using os.listdir()

The os.listdir() function returns a list of entries in the directory.

Example

import os

files = os.listdir('.')
print(files)

Filtering Files

files = [f for f in os.listdir('.') if os.path.isfile(os.path.join('.', f))]
print(files)

Using os.walk()

The os.walk() function generates the file names in a directory tree.

Example

import os

for root, dirs, files in os.walk('.'):
    for name in files:
        print(os.path.join(root, name))

Using glob.glob()

The glob module finds pathnames matching a pattern.

Example

import glob

txt_files = glob.glob('*.txt')
print(txt_files)

Recursive Listing

txt_files = glob.glob('**/*.txt', recursive=True)
print(txt_files)

Using pathlib.Path.iterdir()

The pathlib module provides an easy way to list directory contents.

Example

from pathlib import Path

path = Path('.')
files = [f for f in path.iterdir() if f.is_file()]
print(files)

Filtering by Extension

txt_files = list(Path('.').glob('*.txt'))
print(txt_files)

Recursive Listing

txt_files = list(Path('.').rglob('*.txt'))
print(txt_files)

Navigating Directories

Using os.chdir()

The os.chdir() function changes the current working directory.

Example

import os

os.chdir('example_dir')
print("Current working directory:", os.getcwd())

Using pathlib.Path.cwd()

The pathlib.Path.cwd() method gets the current working directory.

Example

from pathlib import Path

print("Current working directory:", Path.cwd())

Conclusion

Working with directories in Python is straightforward with the help of the os, shutil, and pathlib modules. These modules provide a variety of functions and methods to create, delete, list, and navigate directories efficiently. Understanding these operations is essential for effective file and directory management in Python applications.