Day 23 45 min beginner

The File System (OS & Pathlib)

Learn how to interact with your operating system to manage files and directories.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the role of the OS module
  • Manage directories (create, list, delete)
  • Work with paths using pathlib
  • Build scripts that automate file management

Communicating with the OS

So far, we’ve only modified data inside our scripts. But Python is world-famous for Automation. To automate tasks, we need to interact with the Operating System (OS).

The os Module

The classic module for interacting with files and folders.

os_examples.py 
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import os

# Get current directory
print(f"Current folder: {os.getcwd()}")

# List files in the current folder
print(f"Files: {os.listdir('.')}")

# Create a new folder
if not os.path.exists("my_backup"):
    os.mkdir("my_backup")

The pathlib Module (Modern Way)

While os is powerful, the newer pathlib module treats paths as objects, making them much easier and safer to use.

pathlib_examples.py 
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from pathlib import Path

# Create a path object
current_path = Path.cwd()
print(current_path)

# Creating a reference to a specific file
my_file = Path("data.txt")

# Check properties
print(f"Exists? {my_file.exists()}")
print(f"Filename: {my_file.name}")
print(f"Extension: {my_file.suffix}")

# Read content without using 'open'
if my_file.exists():
    content = my_file.read_text()
    print(content)

Automation Task

Professional developers often use these modules to organize thousands of files at once (e.g., “Move all .jpg files to a folder called Photos”).

Interactive Practice

Try writing a script that creates a folder called Project_Data and then creates a blank file inside it called log.txt.

Task OS Module Pathlib
Get CWD os.getcwd() Path.cwd()
Join Path os.path.join(a, b) a / b
Create Dir os.mkdir('x') Path('x').mkdir()
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Quiz

Complete this quiz with a minimum score of 80% to mark Day 23 as complete.

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Discussion

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