Check if given path is File or Directory - Python Examples

Check if Given Path is File or Directory

When you get a string value for a path, you can check if the path represents a file or a directory using Python programming.

To check if the path you have is a file or directory, import os module and use isfile() method to check if it is a file, and isdir() method to check if it is a directory.

In this tutorial, we shall learn how to check if a given path is file or folder, with the help of well detailed examples.

Python Program to Check if Path is File or Directory

Sample Code

Following is a quick sample code snippet that demonstrates the usage of isfile() and isdir() functions.

import os

#checks if path is a file
isFile = os.path.isfile(fpath)

#checks if path is a directory
isDirectory = os.path.isdir(fpath)

Both the functions return a boolean value if the specified file path is a file or not; or directory or not.

Examples

1. Check if the given path is a File

In this example, consider that we have a file specified by the variable fpath. We will use isfile() method to check if we can find out if it is a file or not.

Python Program

import os

fpath = 'D:/workspace/python/samplefile.txt'
isFile = os.path.isfile(fpath)
print('The file present at the path is a regular file:', isFile)

Explanation

  1. The variable fpath is defined with the path of the file: 'D:/workspace/python/samplefile.txt'.
  2. The os.path.isfile() function is called with the fpath to check if the file at the given path is a regular file.
  3. The function returns True if the path points to an existing file, otherwise it returns False.
  4. The result is stored in the isFile variable and printed with the message: The file present at the path is a regular file: True (assuming the file exists).

Output

The file present at the path is a regular file: True

Now let us try with a path, that is a folder, passed as argument to isfile().

Python Program

import os

fpath = 'D:/workspace/python/'
isFile = os.path.isfile(fpath)
print('The file present at the path is a regular file:', isFile)

Output

The file present at the path is a regular file: False

That's good. We are able to recognize if the specified path is a file or not.

2. Check if given path is a Directory

In the following example, consider that we have a folder or directory specified by the variable fpath. We will use isdir() method to check if we can find out if it is a file.

Python Program

import os

fpath = 'D:/workspace/python/'
isDirectory = os.path.isdir(fpath)
print('Path points to a Directory:', isDirectory)

Explanation

  1. The variable fpath is defined with the path of a directory: 'D:/workspace/python/'.
  2. The os.path.isdir() function is called with fpath to check if the path points to a directory.
  3. Since fpath is a directory, the isDirectory variable will be set to True.
  4. The result is printed with the message: Path points to a Directory: True.

Output

Path points to a Directory: True

Now let us try with a path, that is a file, passed as argument to isdir().

Python Program

import os

fpath = 'D:/workspace/python/samplefile.txt'
isDirectory = os.path.isdir(fpath)
print('Path points to a Directory:', isDirectory)

Output

Path points to a Directory: False

Again that's good. It recognized if the path provided is a directory or not.

Summary

In this tutorial of Python Examples, we learned how to check if a given path is file or directory in Python, using isfile() and isdir(), with the help of well detailed examples.

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