- How to get current directory name in Python
- Python os module
- Get Current Directory in Python Using os.getcwd()
- Get Directory Name Using os.path.dirname()
- get the current directory name in Python using pathlib
- Conclusion
- Print Current Directory in Python
- Files and Directories in Python
- Ways to print the Current Directory in Python
- Using the os.getcwd() function to print the current directory in Python
- Using the os.path module to print the current directory in Python
- Python Get Current Directory – Print Working Directory PWD Equivalent
- How to Get The Current Directory Using the os.getcwd() Method in Python
- How to Get The Current Directory Using the Path.cwd() Method in Python
- Conclusion
How to get current directory name in Python
In this Python tutorial, I will explain to you, how to get current directory name in Python. By using the Python os module, we will see, how to get current folder name in Python.
Python os module
Before we start, it is essential to understand the ‘os’ module. Python’s os module provides functions to interact with the operating system. This module comes in handy when we want to work with files and directories. One of the common tasks we can do with this module is to get the current directory name.
Get Current Directory in Python Using os.getcwd()
The getcwd() function of the os module returns the current working directory in Python. Here’s how we can use it to get the current folder in Python.
import os current_directory = os.getcwd() print(current_directory)
When you run this code, it will print the full path of your current working directory.
To get just the name of the current directory (and not the full path) or the folder name, we can use the os.path.basename() function. Here’s how we can use it:
import os current_directory = os.getcwd() directory_name = os.path.basename(current_directory) print(directory_name)
This code will print the name of the current directory in Python, without the full path. Or this is how to get the folder name in Python.
Get Directory Name Using os.path.dirname()
Another function from the os module that we can use to get the directory name is os.path.dirname() . The dirname() function returns the directory component of a pathname. However, in most cases, if we want to get the current directory, we still have to use it in conjunction with os.getcwd() :
import os current_directory = os.getcwd() print(os.path.dirname(current_directory))
This code will print the directory that contains the current directory, not the current directory itself.
To get just the name of the current directory (and not the full path), we can use the os.path.basename() function in conjunction with os.path.dirname() :
import os current_directory = os.getcwd() directory_name = os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(current_directory)) print(directory_name)
get the current directory name in Python using pathlib
Pathlib is a module in Python used for object-oriented filesystem paths. It was designed to be simple to use and to represent filesystem paths with semantics appropriate for different operating systems. Here’s how to get the current directory using pathlib in Python:
from pathlib import Path # Get current directory current_directory = Path.cwd() print(current_directory)
Just like with the os module, this will print the full path of the current directory. To get just the name of the current directory, we can use the .name attribute:
from pathlib import Path # Get current directory current_directory = Path.cwd() # Get current directory name directory_name = current_directory.name print(directory_name)
Conclusion
In this Python tutorial, We’ve looked at different methods to get the current directory in Python, using both the os and pathlib modules.
Remember, os.getcwd() and Path.cwd() give you the current working directory as a full path in Python. If you want only the name of the current directory, you can use os.path.basename(os.getcwd()) or Path.cwd().name .
I am Bijay Kumar, a Microsoft MVP in SharePoint. Apart from SharePoint, I started working on Python, Machine learning, and artificial intelligence for the last 5 years. During this time I got expertise in various Python libraries also like Tkinter, Pandas, NumPy, Turtle, Django, Matplotlib, Tensorflow, Scipy, Scikit-Learn, etc… for various clients in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Check out my profile.
Print Current Directory in Python
In this post, we will see how to print current directory in Python.
Files and Directories in Python
A computer system uses directories to store and organize files. Every file is present in some directory. There is a root folder at the top of the hierarchy, and every directory is a child of this root.
In Python, we have the current directory of a script file. We also have the current directory of the Python terminal. At times, both are the same especially when we work with Python notebook files.
Ways to print the Current Directory in Python
We will now discuss how to print the current directory in Python. We will deal with methods and display the directory of the running Python script or the current directory of the Python terminal.
Using the os.getcwd() function to print the current directory in Python
We have different functionalities in the os module that can communicate and interact with the operating system.
The current working directory is the directory in which the Python terminal is operating. At times, it may not be the directory of the Python script.
We can return the current working directory using the os.getcwd() function. It returns the directory as a string.
Using the os.path module to print the current directory in Python
The os.path module provides different pathname-related functions. We can use them to print the current directory in Python.
The __file__ constant will be used in these methods and it represents the pathname of the Python script file. This path is relative to the current working directory. Remember, to use this constant we need to work in a .py file and not on a notebook file.
The os.path.realpath() function from this module can return the path of a given file. It removes any symbolic links present in the path. We can pass the __file__ constant to this function and we will get the path of the file we are working with. We can display this path to print the current directory in Python.
Python Get Current Directory – Print Working Directory PWD Equivalent
Dionysia Lemonaki
In this article, you will learn how to get the current working directory (another name for folder) in Python, which is the equivalent of using the pwd command.
There are a couple of ways to get the current working directory in Python:
- By using the os module and the os.getcwd() method.
- By using the pathlib module and the Path.cwd() method.
How to Get The Current Directory Using the os.getcwd() Method in Python
The os module, which is part of the standard Python library (also known as stdlib), allows you to access and interact with your operating system.
To use the os module in your project, you need to include the following line at the top of your Python file:
Once you have imported the os module, you have access to the os.getcwd() method, which allows you to get the full path of the current working directory.
Let’s look at the following example:
import os # get the current working directory current_working_directory = os.getcwd() # print output to the console print(current_working_directory) # output will look something similar to this on a macOS system # /Users/dionysialemonaki/Documents/my-projects/python-project
The output is a string that contains the absolute path to the current working directory – in this case, python-project .
To check the data type of the output, use the type() function like so:
print(type(current_working_directory)) # output #
Note that the current working directory doesn’t have a trailing forward slash, / .
Keep in mind also that output will vary depending on the directory you are running the Python script from as well as your Operating System.
How to Get The Current Directory Using the Path.cwd() Method in Python
In the previous section, you saw how to use the os module to get the current working directory. However, you can use the pathlib module to achieve the same result.
The pathlib module was introduced in the standard library in Python’s 3.4 version and offers an object-oriented way to work with filesystem paths and handle files.
To use the pathlib module, you first need to import it at the top of your Python file:
Once you have imported the pathlib module, you can use the Path.cwd() class method, which allows you to get the current working directory.
Let’s look at the following example:
from pathlib import Path # get the current working directory current_working_directory = Path.cwd() # print output to the console print(current_working_directory) # output will look something similar to this on a macOS system # /Users/dionysialemonaki/Documents/my-projects/python-project
As you can see, the output is the same as the output I got when I used the os.getcwd() method. The only difference is the data type of the output:
print(type(current_working_directory)) # output #
Conclusion
And there you have it! You now know how to get the full path to the current directory in Python using both the os and pathlib modules.
Thanks for reading, and happy coding!