Find the Path to a Given File in Python

Python users frequently work with files, particularly when altering, reading, or writing data to files. However, identifying a file's path is necessary before performing any operation on it. Simply said, a file's path refers to the system location or directory where it is kept.

There are four major types of methods to use to find the path to the given file in Python ?

• Pathlib Module

• OS Module

• os.path.join() method

• os.getcwd() method

Approach 1: Using the Pathlib Module

The pathlib module in Python makes everything very feasible and efficient to make file paths.

absolute() ? An absolute path is a path that consists of the whole path to the file or directory that one needs to access. This path begins at the home directory of the computer and will end with the file or directory that one wishes to access.

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Import the Path class from the pathlib module

• Step 2 ? Construct a Path object for the file

• Step 3 ? By using absolute() obtain the absolute path of the file

• Step 4 ? Here's the file path

In this example, we will learn to get the full path using the Pathlib module in Python.

Example

from pathlib

#Replace the file text. This path is added according to the author's system file location
file_path = Path("/tutorials_point/python.txt")

absolute_path = file_path.absolute()
print(absolute_path)

Output

/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/python.txt

Approach 2: Using the OS Module

abspath() ? The os.path.abspath() function is one of the most used os modules' functions for determining the path to a file. This function, which accepts a filename or a relative file path as input, returns the absolute path.

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Import the os module

• Step 2 ? Create a Path object for the file

• Step 3 ? Get the absolute path object of the file using os.path.abspath()

In the following example, we will be educated on how to attain the complete path via the OS Module.

Example

import os
file_name = "/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/python.txt"
abs_path = os.path.abspath(file_name)
print(abs_path)

Output

/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/python.txt

Approach 3: Using the Os.path.join() Method

os.path.join() ? The Python os.path.join() method combines path names into one complete path. This means that we can merge multiple parts of a path into one using the os.path.join method instead of hard-coding every path-name manually.

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Import the os module

• Step 2 ? Single path

• Step 3 ? Add multiple paths using os.path.join to join various paths and get the file path

• Step 4 ? Here's the file path

In the following example, we use the os.path.join() function to showcase its working. The approach allows us to retrieve a file's pathway based on its specified location with ease. This then leads us directly towards our intended destination - locating and accessing our desired folder/file accurately.

Example

import os
path = "/home"
file_path = os.path.join(path, "mycomputer", "tutorials_point", "python.txt")
print(file_path)

Output

/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/python.txt

Approach 4: Using the Getcwd() Method

If we need to identify a files path then using Python's os.getcwd() function should be considered. This function provides us with details on our current working directory for our script and assists us in locating files within that same location.

getcwd() ? This method returns a string that represents the current working directory(CWD).

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Import the os module

• Step 2 ? Use getcwd() to get the current working directory

• Step 3 ? Now print the current working directory

• Step 4 ? Define the current file name

• Step 5 ? Use os.path.join to join the current directory and file name

• Step 6 ? Here's the file path

One way to obtain the file's location is by utilizing the os.path.join() method. Here, the file's name is given as input whose path is found using the getcwd metod which tells us the current directory.

Example

import os 
current_directory = os.getcwd() 
print(current_directory)
file_name ="python.txt"
abs_path = os.path.join(current_directory, file_name ) 
print(abs_path)

Output

/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/
/home/mycomputer/tutorials_point/python.txt

Conclusion

We can use all these types of methods to find the file path with the help of Python. These approaches are used to work in an independent platform, i.e., cross-platform setting. Identifying the file's path becomes feasible with these methods.