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How to move a file in Python

To move a file in Python, you can use the shutil module, which provides a high-level interface for file operations. The shutil.move() function can be used to move a file from one location to another. Here's an example:

import shutil

source_path = 'path/to/source/file.txt'
destination_path = 'path/to/destination/file.txt'

# Move the file from source_path to destination_path
shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)

In this example, the file at source_path will be moved to destination_path. If the destination path points to an existing file, it will be overwritten. If the destination path points to a directory, the source file will be moved into that directory with its original name.

Keep in mind that if you are moving a file across different filesystems, shutil.move() will first copy the file and then remove the original. If the operation fails, an exception (such as shutil.Error or a more specific exception like FileNotFoundError) will be raised. To handle these exceptions, you can use a try and except block:

import shutil

source_path = 'path/to/source/file.txt'
destination_path = 'path/to/destination/file.txt'

try:
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
except shutil.Error as e:
    print(f"Error while moving file: {e}")

In this example, if an error occurs while moving the file, the error message will be printed, allowing you to take appropriate action.

  1. Python move file to another directory:

    • Description: Use shutil.move() to move a file to another directory.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  2. shutil.move() function in Python:

    • Description: Utilize the shutil.move() function for moving files.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  3. Move file in Python with os.rename():

    • Description: Use os.rename() to move a file by renaming it.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/file.txt'
    
    os.rename(source_path, destination_path)
    
  4. How to rename and move a file in Python:

    • Description: Combine os.rename() to rename and move a file.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/new_file.txt'
    
    os.rename(source_path, destination_path)
    
  5. Move file to another folder using Python:

    • Description: Move a file to another folder using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/folder/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  6. Python move file with absolute path:

    • Description: Move a file using its absolute path with shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  7. Atomic file move in Python:

    • Description: Perform an atomic move of a file using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  8. shutil.copy2() vs shutil.move() in Python:

    • Description: Understand the differences between shutil.copy2() and shutil.move() for file operations.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    # Using shutil.copy2()
    shutil.copy2(source_path, destination_path)
    
    # Using shutil.move()
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  9. Python move file if exists:

    • Description: Move a file only if it exists using os.path.exists().
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    if os.path.exists(source_path):
        shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  10. Move and rename file in Python:

    • Description: Move and rename a file simultaneously using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/new_file.txt'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  11. Python move file to different drive:

    • Description: Move a file to a different drive using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = 'D:/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  12. Python move file and overwrite:

    • Description: Move a file and overwrite if the destination file already exists.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/new_file.txt'
    
    # Overwrite existing file if present
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  13. Rename and move multiple files in Python:

    • Description: Iterate over multiple files, rename, and move them.
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    source_folder = '/path/to/source/'
    destination_folder = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    for file_name in os.listdir(source_folder):
        source_path = os.path.join(source_folder, file_name)
        destination_path = os.path.join(destination_folder, 'new_' + file_name)
        shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  14. Move all files in a directory using Python:

    • Description: Move all files from one directory to another using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    source_folder = '/path/to/source/'
    destination_folder = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    for file_name in os.listdir(source_folder):
        source_path = os.path.join(source_folder, file_name)
        destination_path = os.path.join(destination_folder, file_name)
        shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  15. Python move file to a subdirectory:

    • Description: Move a file to a subdirectory using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    subdirectory = 'subfolder'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, os.path.join(destination_path, subdirectory, 'file.txt'))
    
  16. Move files based on a condition in Python:

    • Description: Move files based on a condition using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    source_folder = '/path/to/source/'
    destination_folder = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    for file_name in os.listdir(source_folder):
        source_path = os.path.join(source_folder, file_name)
        if os.path.isfile(source_path) and file_name.endswith('.txt'):
            destination_path = os.path.join(destination_folder, file_name)
            shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  17. Atomic file operations in Python:

    • Description: Perform atomic file operations using shutil.move() for safe moves.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    
  18. Handle file move errors in Python:

    • Description: Implement error handling for file move operations.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    try:
        shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
    
  19. How to move files safely in Python:

    • Description: Safely move files using error handling and checks.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    source_path = '/path/to/source/file.txt'
    destination_path = '/path/to/destination/'
    
    try:
        if os.path.isfile(source_path):
            shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)
        else:
            print("Source is not a file.")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
    
  20. Move files by extension in Python:

    • Description: Move files based on their extension using shutil.move().
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    source_folder = '/path/to/source/'
    destination_folder = '/path/to/destination/'
    extension_to_move = '.txt'
    
    for file_name in os.listdir(source_folder):
        source_path = os.path.join(source_folder, file_name)
        if os.path.isfile(source_path) and file_name.endswith(extension_to_move):
            destination_path = os.path.join(destination_folder, file_name)
            shutil.move(source_path, destination_path)