Python Standard Library

The shutil Module

The shutil utility module contains some functions for copying files and directories. The copy function used in Example 2-4 copies a file in pretty much the same way as the Unix cp command.

Example 2-4. Using the shutil Module to Copy Files

File: shutil-example-1.py

import shutil
import os

for file in os.listdir("."):
    if os.path.splitext(file)[1] == ".py":
        print file
        shutil.copy(file, os.path.join("backup", file))

aifc-example-1.py
anydbm-example-1.py
array-example-1.py
...

The copytree function copies an entire directory tree (same as cp -r), and rmtree removes an entire tree (same as rm -r). These functions are illustrated in Example 2-5.

Example 2-5. Using the shutil Module to Copy and Remove Directory Trees

File: shutil-example-2.py

import shutil
import os

SOURCE = "samples"
BACKUP = "samples-bak"

# create a backup directory
shutil.copytree(SOURCE, BACKUP)

print os.listdir(BACKUP)

# remove it
shutil.rmtree(BACKUP)

print os.listdir(BACKUP)

['sample.wav', 'sample.jpg', 'sample.au', 'sample.msg', 'sample.tgz',
...
Traceback (most recent call last):
 File "shutil-example-2.py", line 17, in ?
   print os.listdir(BACKUP)
os.error: No such file or directory