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Find the current directory and executed file's directory in Python

Find the current directory and executed file's directory in Python

David Y.

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The ProblemJump To Solution

In a Python script, how can I discover both the directory I executed the script from and the directory in which the script resides?

The Solution

We can find both of these directories using functions in Python’s built-in os module. For example:

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import os

# Find the directory we executed the script from:
execution_dir = os.getcwd()

# Find the directory in which the current script resides:
file_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))

# Print results
print(f"Execution dir: {execution_dir}")
print(f"File dir: {file_dir}")

If we place this script in /tmp and run it from our home directory, it will produce the following output:

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Execution dir: /home/user
File dir: /tmp

os.getcwd returns the current working directory.

os.path.dirname returns the name of a supplied path, and os.path.realpath() returns the real path of a provided filename, resolving any shortcuts or symbolic links. __file__ is a built-in constant containing the pathname of the file from which the running Python module was loaded. In some instances, such as when code is executed in an interactive interpreter rather than from a file, this constant may not be set and accessing it will return an exception.

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