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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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