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Python Remove File and Directory

In Python, you can use the os module to remove files and directories. The os.remove() function is used to remove files, and the os.rmdir() function is used to remove empty directories. If you need to remove a directory and its contents, you can use the shutil.rmtree() function from the shutil module.

Here's how to use these functions:

  • Remove a file:
import os

file_path = 'path/to/your/file.txt'

# Remove the file
if os.path.isfile(file_path):
    os.remove(file_path)
else:
    print(f"{file_path} not found.")
  • Remove an empty directory:
import os

directory_path = 'path/to/your/directory'

# Remove the empty directory
if os.path.isdir(directory_path):
    try:
        os.rmdir(directory_path)
    except OSError:
        print(f"{directory_path} is not empty.")
else:
    print(f"{directory_path} not found.")
  • Remove a directory and its contents:
import shutil

directory_path = 'path/to/your/directory'

# Remove the directory and its contents
if os.path.isdir(directory_path):
    shutil.rmtree(directory_path)
else:
    print(f"{directory_path} not found.")

In the examples above, the os.path.isfile() and os.path.isdir() functions are used to check if a given path refers to a file or a directory, respectively. This helps to ensure that you are removing the correct type of object and provides a chance to display an error message if the specified path is not found.

  1. Deleting a file in Python:

    • Description: Use the os.remove() function to delete a file.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'example.txt'
    
    # Delete a file
    os.remove(file_path)
    
  2. Remove file using os.remove() in Python:

    • Description: Remove a file using the os.remove() function.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'example.txt'
    
    # Remove a file
    os.remove(file_path)
    
  3. How to delete a directory in Python:

    • Description: Use the os.rmdir() function to delete an empty directory.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    directory_path = 'example_directory'
    
    # Delete an empty directory
    os.rmdir(directory_path)
    
  4. Python delete file if exists:

    • Description: Check if a file exists before deleting it.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'example.txt'
    
    # Delete file if it exists
    if os.path.exists(file_path):
        os.remove(file_path)
    
  5. Deleting multiple files in Python:

    • Description: Delete multiple files using a loop.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    files_to_delete = ['file1.txt', 'file2.txt', 'file3.txt']
    
    # Delete multiple files
    for file in files_to_delete:
        os.remove(file)
    
  6. Remove directory and its contents in Python:

    • Description: Use shutil.rmtree() to remove a directory and its contents.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    directory_path = 'example_directory'
    
    # Remove directory and its contents
    shutil.rmtree(directory_path)
    
  7. Python shutil.rmtree() for removing directories:

    • Description: Use shutil.rmtree() to remove directories and their contents.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    directory_path = 'example_directory'
    
    # Remove directory and its contents
    shutil.rmtree(directory_path)
    
  8. Deleting files based on a condition in Python:

    • Description: Delete files based on a specific condition.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    directory_path = 'files_to_delete'
    
    # Delete files based on a condition
    for file in os.listdir(directory_path):
        if file.endswith('.txt'):
            file_path = os.path.join(directory_path, file)
            os.remove(file_path)
    
  9. Safely remove a file in Python:

    • Description: Use a try-except block for safe file deletion.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'example.txt'
    
    # Safely remove a file
    try:
        os.remove(file_path)
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"File not found: {file_path}")
    
  10. Python remove file and handle exceptions:

    • Description: Handle exceptions when removing a file.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'example.txt'
    
    # Remove a file and handle exceptions
    try:
        os.remove(file_path)
    except OSError as e:
        print(f"Error removing file: {e}")
    
  11. Deleting empty directories in Python:

    • Description: Delete empty directories using os.rmdir().
    • Code:
    import os
    
    directory_path = 'empty_directory'
    
    # Delete empty directory
    os.rmdir(directory_path)
    
  12. Recursive file and directory removal in Python:

    • Description: Use recursive methods to delete files and directories.
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    directory_path = 'example_directory'
    
    # Recursive removal of files and directories
    shutil.rmtree(directory_path)
    
  13. Remove specific file type in Python:

    • Description: Delete files of a specific type in a directory.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    directory_path = 'files_to_delete'
    
    # Remove specific file type
    for file in os.listdir(directory_path):
        if file.endswith('.log'):
            file_path = os.path.join(directory_path, file)
            os.remove(file_path)
    
  14. Deleting read-only files in Python:

    • Description: Delete read-only files by changing file attributes.
    • Code:
    import os
    
    file_path = 'read_only_file.txt'
    
    # Remove read-only attribute and delete file
    os.chmod(file_path, 0o777)  # Change file mode to allow deletion
    os.remove(file_path)
    
  15. Permanently delete files in Python:

    • Description: Use shutil.disk_usage() to check available space before permanent deletion.
    • Code:
    import os
    import shutil
    
    file_path = 'file_to_delete.txt'
    
    # Permanently delete file if enough space is available
    free_space = shutil.disk_usage('/').free
    if os.path.exists(file_path) and os.path.getsize(file_path) < free_space:
        os.remove(file_path)
    
  16. Python delete file with wildcard:

    • Description: Use glob to delete files matching a wildcard pattern.
    • Code:
    import glob
    import os
    
    files_to_delete = glob.glob('files_to_delete/*.txt')
    
    # Delete files with wildcard
    for file in files_to_delete:
        os.remove(file)
    
  17. Deleting files older than a certain date in Python:

    • Description: Delete files older than a specified date.
    • Code:
    import os
    import datetime
    
    directory_path = 'files_to_delete'
    threshold_date = datetime.datetime(2022, 1, 1)
    
    # Delete files older than the specified date
    for file in os.listdir(directory_path):
        file_path = os.path.join(directory_path, file)
        last_modified = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(os.path.getmtime(file_path))
        if last_modified < threshold_date:
            os.remove(file_path)
    
  18. Python remove directory and its contents:

    • Description: Remove a directory and its contents using shutil.rmtree().
    • Code:
    import shutil
    
    directory_path = 'example_directory'
    
    # Remove directory and its contents
    shutil.rmtree(directory_path)
    
  19. Secure file and directory deletion in Python:

    • Description: Use secure methods for file and directory deletion.
    • Code:
    import os
    import send2trash  # Install with pip install send2trash
    
    file_path = 'file_to_delete.txt'
    directory_path = 'directory_to_delete'
    
    # Securely delete file
    send2trash.send2trash(file_path)
    
    # Securely delete directory
    send2trash.send2trash(directory_path)