How to list the files in a directory in Python
Posted in Python by Dirk - last update: Feb 13, 2024
There are several ways to list files in a directory in Python. The most obvious method is to use the os.listdir() function from the built-in os module. This function returns a list of file and directory names in directory with the specified path.
The different options are discussed in more detail below
Using the ‘os’ module
List all files and directories:
import os
path = "/path/to/directory"
# Get the list of all files and directories in the specified path
contents = os.listdir(path)
print(contents)
In this example:
os.listdir(path): This function from the os module returns a list of the names of the entries in the given directory path.print(contents): This prints the list of files and directories to the console.
If you have a the following directory /documents/
- documents
- subfolder1
- subfolder2
- file1.txt
- file2.txt
- file3.doc
The output will be:
['subfolder1','subfolder2','file1.txt','file2.txt','file3.doc']
List only files
import os
path = "/path/to/directory"
# Filter out only files from the list
files = [f for f in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, f))]
print(files)
How does this work:
os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, f)): This checks if the current item in the list is a file (not a directory) by using os.path.isfile().- The list comprehension
[f for f in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(path, f))] creates a new list containing only files from the original list of contents.
The output will be:
['file1.txt','file2.txt','file3.doc']
List only directories
import os
path = "/path/to/directory"
# Filter out only directories from the list
directories = [d for d in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(path, d))]
print(directories)
os.path.isdir(os.path.join(path, d)): This checks if the current item in the list is a directory by using os.path.isdir().- The list comprehension
[d for d in os.listdir(path) if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(path, d))] creates a new list containing only directories from the original list of contents.
Output:
The output will be:
['subfolder1','subfolder2']
List files / directories with full path
Using os.path.joinyou can get the full path rather than just the file names:
import os
path = "/path/to/directory"
# List all files and directories with their full paths
contents_with_paths = [os.path.join(path, f) for f in os.listdir(path)]
print(contents_with_paths)
How does it work:
os.path.join(path, f): This function joins the directory path with each file or directory name to create the full path.
The list comprehension [os.path.join(path, f) for f in os.listdir(path)] creates a new list containing the full paths of all files and directories in the specified path.
Output:
['/path/to/directory/subfolder1', '/path/to/directory/subfolder2',
'/path/to/directory/file1.txt', '/path/to/directory/file2.txt',
'/path/to/directory/file3.doc']
Also list files in all subdirectories
With os.walk you can list the files in the subdirectories
import os
path = "/path/to/directory"
# List all files in the specified directory and its subdirectories
all_files = [os.path.join(root, file) for root, dirs, files in os.walk(path) for file in files]
print(all_files)
How does it work:
os.walk(path): This function generates the file names in a directory tree, including the file names in all subdirectories.- The outer loop
for root, dirs, files in os.walk(path) iterates through all directories and files in the specified path and its subdirectories.
- The inner loop
for file in files iterates through all the files in the current directory.
- The list comprehension
[os.path.join(root, file) for root, dirs, files in os.walk(path) for file in files] creates a new list containing the full paths of all files in the specified directory and its subdirectories.
['/path/to/directory/subfolder1','/path/to/directory/subfolder1'/file-in-subfolder1.txt,
'/path/to/directory/subfolder2','/path/to/directory/file1.txt',
'/path/to/directory/file2.txt','/path/to/directory/file3.doc']
Using the glob module:
The glob module in Python provides a function, glob.glob(), for file path expansion using wildcards. It allows you to search for files matching a specified pattern, making it useful for tasks like listing files with specific extensions in a directory.
While the glob function may be used to list all files in a directory, it is particularly useful if you only want to list files from a specific type (e.g., all .txt files)
import glob
path = "/path/to/directory"
file_type = "*.txt"
# List all files with the specified file type
files = glob.glob(os.path.join(path, file_type))
print(files)
How does it work:
glob.glob(os.path.join(path, file_type)): This function from the glob module returns a list of pathnames matching the specified pattern (*.txt in this case).- The resulting list files will contain the paths of all files in the specified directory that match the given file type.
Output
['file1.txt','file2.txt']
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