How to know the directory where the python script is called?

Question

Let's say that I have a python script a.py in /A/B/a.py, and it's in the PATH environment variable. The current working directory is /X/Y/, and it's the directory where I call the /A/B/a.py.

In a.py, how to detect /X/Y/? I mean, how to know in which directory the python call is made?

The directory in which the python call is made is automatically the working directory. — leoluk
– leoluk, Commented Sep 12, 2010 at 19:28
No it is not, please copy a script to Windows directory, and run getcwd(), anywhere we get output c:\windows not c:\working_folder — kephalian
– kephalian, Commented Mar 12, 2022 at 1:57
@kephalian - I have just tested the following code from a non-admin command prompt in various directories in Windows 11 and it seems to work fine: C:\xxxx > python -c "import os; print(os.getcwd()) — Peter
– Peter, Commented Jul 28, 2023 at 21:43
Previous comment was because of a configuration in VisualStudio code that caused it to execute in folder of py.exe. — kephalian
– kephalian, Commented Oct 2, 2023 at 4:15

0 _ · Accepted Answer · 2017-11-26 02:42:33Z

37

You can get the current working directory with:

os.getcwd()

edited Nov 26, 2017 at 2:42

0 _

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answered Sep 12, 2010 at 19:26

Radomir Dopieralski

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2 Comments

Philipp Over a year ago

You should use getcwdu() for portability reasons.

0 _ Over a year ago

The function getcwdu returns a unicode string in Python 2. getcwd in Python 3 returns a unicode string. getcwdb returns a bytestring in Python 3. There is no getcwdu in Python 3.

Matthew Rankin · Accepted Answer · 2010-09-12 19:43:16Z

8

>> os.getcwd()
/X/Y
>> os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))   # cannot be called interactively
/A/B
>> sys.path[0]
/A/B
>> os.path.abspath(sys.argv[0])
/A/B/a.py

edited Sep 12, 2010 at 19:43

answered Sep 12, 2010 at 19:26

Matthew Rankin

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4 Comments

Radomir Dopieralski Over a year ago

That gives you the /A/B directory, the location of the a.py.

AndiDog Over a year ago

That's not what he meant, see his question from yesterday (stackoverflow.com/questions/3691921/…).

Matthew Rankin Over a year ago

@Radomir — I thought the directory where the .py file resides is what the OP wanted. Your comment made me reread the OP's question, and see that that is not the case.

kephalian Over a year ago

If the script is called from path, os.getcwd() returns windows C:\Windows and not path where is executed say C:\Workingfolder

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