how to get all file names in directory python with code examples

There are several ways to get all file names in a directory in Python. Here are three common methods:

1. Using the os module:

import os

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)):
        print(file_name)

This method uses the os.listdir() function to get a list of all files and directories in the specified folder. The os.path.isfile() function is then used to check if each item in the list is a file, and if so, the file name is printed.

2. Using the glob module:

import glob

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in glob.glob(folder_path + '/*'):
    print(file_name)

This method uses the glob.glob() function to get a list of all files in the specified folder. The /* at the end of the folder path is a wildcard that matches all files in the folder.

3. Using the pathlib module:

from pathlib import Path

folder_path = Path('/path/to/folder')
for file_name in folder_path.iterdir():
    if file_name.is_file():
        print(file_name)

This method uses the Path class from the pathlib module to create a path object for the specified folder. The iterdir() method is then used to get a list of all files and directories in the folder. The is_file() method is used to check if each item in the list is a file, and if so, the file name is printed.

All these methods will return all file names in the given directory and you can use any of them as per your requirement.

1. Filtering by file extension:

You may want to only retrieve files with a specific extension. You can use the os.path.splitext() function to check the extension of each file:

import os

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
extension = '.txt'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)) and file_name.endswith(extension):
        print(file_name)

2. Recursively traversing subdirectories:

If you want to retrieve files from subdirectories as well, you can use the os.walk() function:

import os

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(folder_path):
    for file_name in filenames:
        print(os.path.join(dirpath, file_name))

The os.walk() function generates the file names in a directory tree by walking the tree either top-down or bottom-up. For each directory in the tree rooted at directory top (including top itself), it yields a 3-tuple (dirpath, dirnames, filenames).

3. Sorting the files:

You can sort the list of file names before printing or processing them. You can use the sorted() function to sort the list of file names:

import os

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in sorted(os.listdir(folder_path)):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)):
        print(file_name)

You can also sort the files based on last modified time by using os.path.getmtime() function.

4. Reading the contents of the files:

Once you have the list of file names, you can use the open() function to read the contents of each file:

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)):
        with open(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)) as f:
            print(f.read())

You can also read contents of the files in a more pythonic way by using pathlib:

folder_path = Path('/path/to/folder')
for file_name in folder_path.iterdir():
    if file_name.is_file():
        print(file_name.read_text())

These are some additional topics you can explore for getting all file names in a directory in Python. Depending on your use case, you may find these additional features useful.

Popular questions

1. How can I get all file names in a directory in Python?
   Answer: You can use the os.listdir() function to get a list of all file names in a directory. The function takes the path of the directory as an argument and returns a list of file names. Example:

import os
folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    print(file_name)

2. How can I filter the file names by extension in Python?
   Answer: You can use the os.path.splitext() function to check the extension of each file and filter it. Example:

import os
folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
extension = '.txt'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)) and file_name.endswith(extension):
        print(file_name)

3. How can I get all file names in subdirectories as well in Python?
   Answer: You can use the os.walk() function to recursively traverse subdirectories and get all file names. The function generates the file names in a directory tree by walking the tree either top-down or bottom-up. Example:

import os
folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(folder_path):
    for file_name in filenames:
        print(os.path.join(dirpath, file_name))

4. How can I sort the file names before processing them in Python?
   Answer: You can use the sorted() function to sort the list of file names. You can also sort the files based on last modified time by using os.path.getmtime() function. Example:

import os
folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in sorted(os.listdir(folder_path)):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)):
        print(file_name)

5. How can I read the contents of the files in Python?
   Answer: Once you have the list of file names, you can use the open() function to read the contents of each file. You can also read contents of the files in a more pythonic way by using pathlib. Example:

folder_path = '/path/to/folder'
for file_name in os.listdir(folder_path):
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)):
        with open(os.path.join(folder_path, file_name)) as f:
            print(f.read())

folder_path = Path('/path/to/folder')
for file_name in folder_path.iterdir():
    if file_name.is_file():
        print(file_name.read_text())

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Directory