Mastering Directory and File Operations in Python

Python Directory and Files Management

Discover how to efficiently create, navigate, list, rename, and delete directories and files in Python with clear, hands‑on examples.

Video: Python os Module

Python Directory

When your project grows, organizing code into well‑structured folders becomes essential. A directory—or folder—is a container for files and sub‑directories, and Python’s os module supplies robust tools to manage them.

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Get Current Directory

Use os.getcwd() to retrieve the current working directory as a string. If you need a bytes representation, os.getcwdb() will do the trick.

import os

os.getcwd()
# 'C:\\Program Files\\PyScripter'

os.getcwdb()
# b'C:\\Program Files\\PyScripter'

The double backslash indicates an escape sequence. Using print() renders the path correctly:

print(os.getcwd())
# C:\Program Files\PyScripter

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Changing Directory

Switch the current working directory with os.chdir(path). The path argument can use either forward or backslashes; just remember to escape backslashes or use raw strings.

os.chdir('C:\\Python33')
print(os.getcwd())
# C:\Python33

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List Directories and Files

Retrieve every file and sub‑directory in a target folder with os.listdir(path). If path is omitted, the function operates on the current working directory.

print(os.getcwd())
# C:\Python33

os.listdir()
# ['DLLs', 'Doc', 'include', 'Lib', 'libs', 'LICENSE.txt', 'NEWS.txt', 'python.exe', 'pythonw.exe', 'README.txt', 'Scripts', 'tcl', 'Tools']

os.listdir('G:\\')
# ['$RECYCLE.BIN', 'Movies', 'Music', 'Photos', 'Series', 'System Volume Information']

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Making a New Directory

Create a folder with os.mkdir(path). If the path is relative, the new directory appears in the current working directory.

os.mkdir('test')
print(os.listdir())
# ['test']

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Renaming a Directory or a File

The same os.rename(src, dst) function handles both files and folders. Provide the old name as src and the desired new name as dst:

os.listdir()
# ['test']

os.rename('test', 'new_one')
print(os.listdir())
# ['new_one']

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Removing Directory or File

Delete a file with os.remove(path). To remove an empty folder, use os.rmdir(path):

os.listdir()
# ['new_one', 'old.txt']

os.remove('old.txt')
print(os.listdir())
# ['new_one']

os.rmdir('new_one')
print(os.listdir())
# []

Note: os.rmdir() only works on empty directories.

If you need to delete a folder that contains files or sub‑folders, the shutil.rmtree() function from the shutil module is the way to go:

os.listdir()
# ['test']

os.rmdir('test')
# Traceback (most recent call last):
#   ...
# OSError: [WinError 145] The directory is not empty: 'test'

import shutil
shutil.rmtree('test')
print(os.listdir())
# []