Changing directory using OS module in Python

Question

I want to read all .csv files in a directory using Python. So when I googled it, I got this solution Find all files in a directory with extension .txt in Python

But when I entered

import glob
import os
os.chdir("/Desktop")

I am getting the following error

>>> os.chdir("~/Desktop")
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '~/Desktop'

I am really confused where am I wrong? Thank you in advance.

In your code sample, you wrote os.chdir("/Desktop"), but in the error message it says os.chdir("~/Desktop"). Which one did you actually type? — Kevin
– Kevin, Commented Feb 19, 2014 at 13:18

falsetru · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-19 13:19:58Z

3

You need to expand ~ to actual home directory using os.path.expanduser

>>> import os
>>> os.path.expanduser('~/Desktop')
'/home/falsetru/Desktop'

Otherwise, ~ mean the directory ~ (literally ~).

answered Feb 19, 2014 at 13:19

falsetru

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Fred Foo · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-19 13:19:43Z

0

os.chdir doesn't do tilde expansion. You need

os.chdir(os.path.join(os.getenv("HOME"), "Desktop"))

to go to ~/Desktop.

answered Feb 19, 2014 at 13:19

Fred Foo

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Magnus Lyckå · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-19 13:28:03Z

0

>>> import os   
>>> os.chdir('~/Desktop')
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '~/Desktop'
>>> os.chdir(os.path.expanduser('~/Desktop'))
>>> os.getcwd()
'/users/xxx/Desktop'

answered Feb 19, 2014 at 13:28

Magnus Lyckå

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