Python File List in Folder: A Comprehensive Guide
Managing files in a folder is an essential skill for any Python developer. Whether you’re organizing your project files or automating file operations, understanding how to list files in a folder is crucial. In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through various methods to list files in a Python folder, covering different scenarios and use cases.
Using the os Module
The os module in Python provides a wide range of functions to interact with the operating system. To list files in a folder, you can use the os.listdir() function. This function returns a list of all files and directories in the specified path.
import osfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'files = os.listdir(folder_path)print(files)Keep in mind that os.listdir() includes both files and directories. If you want to list only files, you can use a list comprehension to filter out directories.
import osfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'files = [f for f in os.listdir(folder_path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, f))]print(files)Using the glob Module
The glob module provides a function called glob() that can be used to list files matching a specific pattern. This is particularly useful when you want to list files with a particular extension or name.
import globfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'pattern = '.txt'files = glob.glob(os.path.join(folder_path, pattern))print(files)Using the os.walk() Function
The os.walk() function is a powerful tool for traversing directories and subdirectories. It returns a generator that yields a tuple containing the directory path, directory names, and file names in each directory.
import osfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'for root, dirs, files in os.walk(folder_path): print(root) print(dirs) print(files)Using the Pathlib Module
The pathlib module, introduced in Python 3.4, provides an object-oriented interface to filesystem paths. To list files in a folder using pathlib, you can use the Path objects and their methods.
from pathlib import Pathfolder_path = Path('/path/to/folder')files = [f for f in folder_path.iterdir() if f.is_file()]print(files)Sorting the List of Files
When listing files, you might want to sort them alphabetically or by size. You can use the sorted() function to sort the list of files.
import osfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'files = [f for f in os.listdir(folder_path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, f))]sorted_files = sorted(files)print(sorted_files)Filtering Files by Size
Filtering files by size can be useful when you want to find large or small files in a folder. You can use the os.path.getsize() function to get the size of a file and filter the list accordingly.
import osfolder_path = '/path/to/folder'files = [f for f in os.listdir(folder_path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, f))]large_files = [f for f in files if os.path.getsize(os.path.join(folder_path, f)) > 1024 1024]print(large_files)Table of File Information
Below is a table showing the file names, sizes, and creation dates for a sample set of files in a folder.
| File Name | Size (Bytes) | Creation Date |
|---|---|---|
| example.txt | 1024 | 2021-01-01 12:00:00 |
| test.py | 2048 | 2021-01-02 15:00:00 |
| data.csv | 4096 | 2021-01-03 18:00:00
|
