5 ways to List files in Directory in Python

Python, PythonFile

In this example, we are going to explore 5 ways to List files in Directory in Python as well as in a subdirectory with examples. There are built-in methods like os.listdir(), os.walk(), os.scandir(), pathlib.iterdir(), glob() in Python to List files in the directory.

1. Using os.listdir() method

The Python OS module method os.listdir(path) returns a list of all files and directories in the directory given by Path. The return list is in arbitrary order. The os module provides functions to handle the directory and files. So we need to import the OS module in code using import os.

Syntax

os.listdir(path)

Parameters

  • Path: It is the path of a directory in which files we need to list. By default, it is the current directory.

Program example: Get the list of files and directories.

import os

path = os.getcwd()

list_dir_files = os.listdir(path)
 
print('List file and direcories at path :',path)
 
# list  all files
print(list_dir_files)

Output

List file and direcories at path : C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program
['car.png', 'config', 'data', 'devenum.txt', 'File.txt', 'geek.txt', 'lang.txt', 'lang1.txt', 'myqr.png','students.csv', 'studentTable.csv', 'test']

1.2 .Get list of .csv file using os.listdir()

We can get a list of specific extension files from a directory. In this below example we are getting .csv files in a directory.

Program to get list of .csv file using os.listdir()

import os

path = os.getcwd()

print('List file and direcories at path :',path)

for file in os.listdir(path):
    if file.endswith(".csv"):
        
        # get list of .csv file present gievn folder
        print(file)

Output

List file and direcories at path : C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program
students.csv
studentTable.csv

1.3 Get all files Recursively Using os.listdir()

To Get the list of files in the Directory and subdirectory recursively using the os.listdir() method, We have defined a custom function to achieve this.

Program Example get files Recursively

import os 
 
path = os.getcwd() 


def getAllFiles(path):
    
    filesList = list()
    
    for file in os.listdir(path):
     #file full path
     absolute_path = os.path.join(path,file)
        
     if os.path.isfile(absolute_path):
            filesList.append(absolute_path)
     else:
         filesList = filesList+getAllFiles(absolute_path)

    return filesList

#calling the above define custome function
print(getAllFiles(path))

Output

'C:\\Users\\Admin\\Desktop\\Python_program\\car.png', 'C:\\Users\\Admin\\Desktop\\Python_program\\config\\blacklist.txt', 'C:\\Users\\Admin\\Desktop\\Python_program\\config\\comments.txt', 'C:\\Users\\Admin\\Desktop\\Python_program\\config\\followed.txt']

2. Using os.walk()

os.walk() method fetches a list of files in directories and subdirectories. It iterates over the directory tree and each directory in the tree.

import os
 

path = os.getcwd() 

for (directory, subdirs, allfile) in os.walk(path):
    for file in allfile:
       print('filename:',file)
       print('\n File_Path\n:',os.path.join(directory,file))

Output

filename: friends.txt
File_Path : C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\config\friends.txt

filename: car.png
File_path : C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\car.png

2.1 Os.walk() to get list of files based on extension

We can use the os.walk() method to access files based on extension from a directory. The extensions can be (.csv,.png, jpeg,.py), etc.

Program Example

import os
 

path = os.getcwd() 

for (directory, subdirs, allfile) in os.walk(path):
    for file in allfile:
         if '.txt' in file:            
          print(file)

Output

devenum.txt
File.txt
 geek.txt
lang.txt
lang1.txt

3. Using os.scandir()

The os.scandir() method is available in Python 3.6, It returns an iterator of os.dirEntry object. It is a simple method to list files in a directory.

Program Example 

import os
 

path = os.getcwd() 


#list of files and directories

with os.scandir(path) as list_of_dir_files:
    for entry in list_of_dir_files:
        

       #list of files
        
        if entry.is_file():
            print(entry.name)

Output

car.png
devenum.txt
students.csv
studentTable.csv

4. Using glob module

The glob module can be used to list the files in the directory and subdirectory. We can use recursive glob using **.

Program Example

import glob
import os 
 
path = os.getcwd() 


Pattern = "**/*"

for file in glob.glob(path +Pattern, recursive=True):
    print(file)

Output

C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\car.png
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\config
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\data

4.1.Get list of .txt files in a directroy using glob

We can use the glob() method to access files based on extension from a directory. The extension can be (.csv,.png, jpeg,.py), etc.

import glob
import os 
 
path = os.getcwd() 


Pattern = "**/*.txt"

for file in glob.glob(path +Pattern, recursive=True):
    print(file)

Output

C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\devenum.txt
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\File.txt
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\geek.txt
C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\Python_program\lang.txt

5. Using Pathlib

We can use pathlib module to list all files in a directory. It provides classes that represent the file system path. We can use pathlib.iterdir() method.

Program Example

import pathlib

# geting path of current directory

currdir = pathlib.Path('.')

for File in currdir.iterdir():
    print(File)

Output

car.png
config
data
devenum.txt
File.txt
geek.txt
lang.txt

Summary :

We have explored 5 different ways to List file in Directory with code example by Using different methods like os.listdir(),os.walk(),os.scandir(), pathlib.iterdir(),glob().

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