Shutil Module in Python

 

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Shutil Module in Python

The shutil module in Python provides a collection of functions for high-level file operations, such as copying and removing files. It is especially useful for tasks that require dealing with file and directory manipulation.

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Copying Files and Directories

The shutil module provides several methods for copying files and directories:

# Copy a file
import shutil
shutil.copy('source.txt', 'destination.txt')

# Copy a directory
shutil.copytree('source_folder', 'destination_folder')
    

The copy method copies a single file, while the copytree method copies an entire directory along with its contents.

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Moving Files and Directories

You can move files and directories using the move function:

# Move a file
shutil.move('source.txt', 'new_location/source.txt')

# Move a directory
shutil.move('source_folder', 'new_location/source_folder')
    

The move function moves a file or directory to a new location, similar to the Unix mv command.

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Removing Files and Directories

The shutil module also provides functions to remove files and directories:

# Remove a file
os.remove('file_to_remove.txt')

# Remove a directory
shutil.rmtree('directory_to_remove')
    

Use the remove function to delete a file and the rmtree function to delete a directory and its contents.

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Archiving Files

The shutil module can create archives (e.g., zip, tar) from directories:

# Create a zip archive
shutil.make_archive('archive_name', 'zip', 'directory_to_archive')

# Create a tar archive
shutil.make_archive('archive_name', 'tar', 'directory_to_archive')
    

The make_archive function creates an archive file from a directory.

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Disk Usage

You can check the disk usage of a given path using the disk_usage function:

# Check disk usage
usage = shutil.disk_usage('/')
print(usage)
    

The disk_usage function returns a named tuple with the total, used, and free disk space in bytes.

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