Related
I would like to see what is the best way to determine the current script directory in Python.
I discovered that, due to the many ways of calling Python code, it is hard to find a good solution.
Here are some problems:
__file__ is not defined if the script is executed with exec, execfile
__module__ is defined only in modules
Use cases:
./myfile.py
python myfile.py
./somedir/myfile.py
python somedir/myfile.py
execfile('myfile.py') (from another script, that can be located in another directory and that can have another current directory.
I know that there is no perfect solution, but I'm looking for the best approach that solves most of the cases.
The most used approach is os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) but this really doesn't work if you execute the script from another one with exec().
Warning
Any solution that uses current directory will fail, this can be different based on the way the script is called or it can be changed inside the running script.
os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
is indeed the best you're going to get.
It's unusual to be executing a script with exec/execfile; normally you should be using the module infrastructure to load scripts. If you must use these methods, I suggest setting __file__ in the globals you pass to the script so it can read that filename.
There's no other way to get the filename in execed code: as you note, the CWD may be in a completely different place.
If you really want to cover the case that a script is called via execfile(...), you can use the inspect module to deduce the filename (including the path). As far as I am aware, this will work for all cases you listed:
filename = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe()).filename
path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(filename))
In Python 3.4+ you can use the simpler pathlib module:
from inspect import currentframe, getframeinfo
from pathlib import Path
filename = getframeinfo(currentframe()).filename
parent = Path(filename).resolve().parent
You can also use __file__ (when it's available) to avoid the inspect module altogether:
from pathlib import Path
parent = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
#!/usr/bin/env python
import inspect
import os
import sys
def get_script_dir(follow_symlinks=True):
if getattr(sys, 'frozen', False): # py2exe, PyInstaller, cx_Freeze
path = os.path.abspath(sys.executable)
else:
path = inspect.getabsfile(get_script_dir)
if follow_symlinks:
path = os.path.realpath(path)
return os.path.dirname(path)
print(get_script_dir())
It works on CPython, Jython, Pypy. It works if the script is executed using execfile() (sys.argv[0] and __file__ -based solutions would fail here). It works if the script is inside an executable zip file (/an egg). It works if the script is "imported" (PYTHONPATH=/path/to/library.zip python -mscript_to_run) from a zip file; it returns the archive path in this case. It works if the script is compiled into a standalone executable (sys.frozen). It works for symlinks (realpath eliminates symbolic links). It works in an interactive interpreter; it returns the current working directory in this case.
The os.path... approach was the 'done thing' in Python 2.
In Python 3, you can find directory of script as follows:
from pathlib import Path
script_path = Path(__file__).parent
Note: this answer is now a package (also with safe relative importing capabilities)
https://github.com/heetbeet/locate
$ pip install locate
$ python
>>> from locate import this_dir
>>> print(this_dir())
C:/Users/simon
For .py scripts as well as interactive usage:
I frequently use the directory of my scripts (for accessing files stored alongside them), but I also frequently run these scripts in an interactive shell for debugging purposes. I define this_dir as:
When running or importing a .py file, the file's base directory. This is always the correct path.
When running an .ipyn notebook, the current working directory. This is always the correct path, since Jupyter sets the working directory as the .ipynb base directory.
When running in a REPL, the current working directory. Hmm, what is the actual "correct path" when the code is detached from a file? Rather, make it your responsibility to change into the "correct path" before invoking the REPL.
Python 3.4 (and above):
from pathlib import Path
this_dir = Path(globals().get("__file__", "./_")).absolute().parent
Python 2 (and above):
import os
this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(globals().get("__file__", "./_")))
Explanation:
globals() returns all the global variables as a dictionary.
.get("__file__", "./_") returns the value from the key "__file__" if it exists in globals(), otherwise it returns the provided default value "./_".
The rest of the code just expands __file__ (or "./_") into an absolute filepath, and then returns the filepath's base directory.
Alternative:
If you know for certain that __file__ is available to your surrounding code, you can simplify to this:
>= Python 3.4: this_dir = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
>= Python 2: this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Would
import os
cwd = os.getcwd()
do what you want? I'm not sure what exactly you mean by the "current script directory". What would the expected output be for the use cases you gave?
Just use os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) and examine very carefully whether there is a real need for the case where exec is used. It could be a sign of troubled design if you are not able to use your script as a module.
Keep in mind Zen of Python #8, and if you believe there is a good argument for a use-case where it must work for exec, then please let us know some more details about the background of the problem.
First.. a couple missing use-cases here if we're talking about ways to inject anonymous code..
code.compile_command()
code.interact()
imp.load_compiled()
imp.load_dynamic()
imp.load_module()
__builtin__.compile()
loading C compiled shared objects? example: _socket?)
But, the real question is, what is your goal - are you trying to enforce some sort of security? Or are you just interested in whats being loaded.
If you're interested in security, the filename that is being imported via exec/execfile is inconsequential - you should use rexec, which offers the following:
This module contains the RExec class,
which supports r_eval(), r_execfile(),
r_exec(), and r_import() methods, which
are restricted versions of the standard
Python functions eval(), execfile() and
the exec and import statements. Code
executed in this restricted environment
will only have access to modules and
functions that are deemed safe; you can
subclass RExec add or remove capabilities as
desired.
However, if this is more of an academic pursuit.. here are a couple goofy approaches that you
might be able to dig a little deeper into..
Example scripts:
./deep.py
print ' >> level 1'
execfile('deeper.py')
print ' << level 1'
./deeper.py
print '\t >> level 2'
exec("import sys; sys.path.append('/tmp'); import deepest")
print '\t << level 2'
/tmp/deepest.py
print '\t\t >> level 3'
print '\t\t\t I can see the earths core.'
print '\t\t << level 3'
./codespy.py
import sys, os
def overseer(frame, event, arg):
print "loaded(%s)" % os.path.abspath(frame.f_code.co_filename)
sys.settrace(overseer)
execfile("deep.py")
sys.exit(0)
Output
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deep.py)
>> level 1
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deeper.py)
>> level 2
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/<string>)
loaded(/tmp/deepest.py)
>> level 3
I can see the earths core.
<< level 3
<< level 2
<< level 1
Of course, this is a resource-intensive way to do it, you'd be tracing
all your code.. Not very efficient. But, I think it's a novel approach
since it continues to work even as you get deeper into the nest.
You can't override 'eval'. Although you can override execfile().
Note, this approach only coveres exec/execfile, not 'import'.
For higher level 'module' load hooking you might be able to use use
sys.path_hooks (Write-up courtesy of PyMOTW).
Thats all I have off the top of my head.
Here is a partial solution, still better than all published ones so far.
import sys, os, os.path, inspect
#os.chdir("..")
if '__file__' not in locals():
__file__ = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe())[0]
print os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Now this works will all calls but if someone use chdir() to change the current directory, this will also fail.
Notes:
sys.argv[0] is not going to work, will return -c if you execute the script with python -c "execfile('path-tester.py')"
I published a complete test at https://gist.github.com/1385555 and you are welcome to improve it.
To get the absolute path to the directory containing the current script you can use:
from pathlib import Path
absDir = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
Please note the .resolve() call is required, because that is the one making the path absolute. Without resolve(), you would obtain something like '.'.
This solution uses pathlib, which is part of Python's stdlib since v3.4 (2014). This is preferrable compared to other solutions using os.
The official pathlib documentation has a useful table mapping the old os functions to the new ones: https://docs.python.org/3/library/pathlib.html#correspondence-to-tools-in-the-os-module
This should work in most cases:
import os,sys
dirname=os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(sys.argv[0]))
Hopefully this helps:-
If you run a script/module from anywhere you'll be able to access the __file__ variable which is a module variable representing the location of the script.
On the other hand, if you're using the interpreter you don't have access to that variable, where you'll get a name NameError and os.getcwd() will give you the incorrect directory if you're running the file from somewhere else.
This solution should give you what you're looking for in all cases:
from inspect import getsourcefile
from os.path import abspath
abspath(getsourcefile(lambda:0))
I haven't thoroughly tested it but it solved my problem.
If __file__ is available:
# -- script1.py --
import os
file_path = os.path.abspath(__file__)
print(os.path.dirname(file_path))
For those we want to be able to run the command from the interpreter or get the path of the place you're running the script from:
# -- script2.py --
import os
print(os.path.abspath(''))
This works from the interpreter.
But when run in a script (or imported) it gives the path of the place where
you ran the script from, not the path of directory containing
the script with the print.
Example:
If your directory structure is
test_dir (in the home dir)
├── main.py
└── test_subdir
├── script1.py
└── script2.py
with
# -- main.py --
import script1.py
import script2.py
The output is:
~/test_dir/test_subdir
~/test_dir
As previous answers require you to import some module, I thought that I would write one answer that doesn't. Use the code below if you don't want to import anything.
this_dir = '/'.join(__file__.split('/')[:-1])
print(this_dir)
If the script is on /path/to/script.py then this would print /path/to. Note that this will throw error on terminal as no file is executed. This basically parse the directory from __file__ removing the last part of it. In this case /script.py is removed to produce the output /path/to.
print(__import__("pathlib").Path(__file__).parent)
I would like to see what is the best way to determine the current script directory in Python.
I discovered that, due to the many ways of calling Python code, it is hard to find a good solution.
Here are some problems:
__file__ is not defined if the script is executed with exec, execfile
__module__ is defined only in modules
Use cases:
./myfile.py
python myfile.py
./somedir/myfile.py
python somedir/myfile.py
execfile('myfile.py') (from another script, that can be located in another directory and that can have another current directory.
I know that there is no perfect solution, but I'm looking for the best approach that solves most of the cases.
The most used approach is os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) but this really doesn't work if you execute the script from another one with exec().
Warning
Any solution that uses current directory will fail, this can be different based on the way the script is called or it can be changed inside the running script.
os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
is indeed the best you're going to get.
It's unusual to be executing a script with exec/execfile; normally you should be using the module infrastructure to load scripts. If you must use these methods, I suggest setting __file__ in the globals you pass to the script so it can read that filename.
There's no other way to get the filename in execed code: as you note, the CWD may be in a completely different place.
If you really want to cover the case that a script is called via execfile(...), you can use the inspect module to deduce the filename (including the path). As far as I am aware, this will work for all cases you listed:
filename = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe()).filename
path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(filename))
In Python 3.4+ you can use the simpler pathlib module:
from inspect import currentframe, getframeinfo
from pathlib import Path
filename = getframeinfo(currentframe()).filename
parent = Path(filename).resolve().parent
You can also use __file__ (when it's available) to avoid the inspect module altogether:
from pathlib import Path
parent = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
#!/usr/bin/env python
import inspect
import os
import sys
def get_script_dir(follow_symlinks=True):
if getattr(sys, 'frozen', False): # py2exe, PyInstaller, cx_Freeze
path = os.path.abspath(sys.executable)
else:
path = inspect.getabsfile(get_script_dir)
if follow_symlinks:
path = os.path.realpath(path)
return os.path.dirname(path)
print(get_script_dir())
It works on CPython, Jython, Pypy. It works if the script is executed using execfile() (sys.argv[0] and __file__ -based solutions would fail here). It works if the script is inside an executable zip file (/an egg). It works if the script is "imported" (PYTHONPATH=/path/to/library.zip python -mscript_to_run) from a zip file; it returns the archive path in this case. It works if the script is compiled into a standalone executable (sys.frozen). It works for symlinks (realpath eliminates symbolic links). It works in an interactive interpreter; it returns the current working directory in this case.
The os.path... approach was the 'done thing' in Python 2.
In Python 3, you can find directory of script as follows:
from pathlib import Path
script_path = Path(__file__).parent
Note: this answer is now a package (also with safe relative importing capabilities)
https://github.com/heetbeet/locate
$ pip install locate
$ python
>>> from locate import this_dir
>>> print(this_dir())
C:/Users/simon
For .py scripts as well as interactive usage:
I frequently use the directory of my scripts (for accessing files stored alongside them), but I also frequently run these scripts in an interactive shell for debugging purposes. I define this_dir as:
When running or importing a .py file, the file's base directory. This is always the correct path.
When running an .ipyn notebook, the current working directory. This is always the correct path, since Jupyter sets the working directory as the .ipynb base directory.
When running in a REPL, the current working directory. Hmm, what is the actual "correct path" when the code is detached from a file? Rather, make it your responsibility to change into the "correct path" before invoking the REPL.
Python 3.4 (and above):
from pathlib import Path
this_dir = Path(globals().get("__file__", "./_")).absolute().parent
Python 2 (and above):
import os
this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(globals().get("__file__", "./_")))
Explanation:
globals() returns all the global variables as a dictionary.
.get("__file__", "./_") returns the value from the key "__file__" if it exists in globals(), otherwise it returns the provided default value "./_".
The rest of the code just expands __file__ (or "./_") into an absolute filepath, and then returns the filepath's base directory.
Alternative:
If you know for certain that __file__ is available to your surrounding code, you can simplify to this:
>= Python 3.4: this_dir = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
>= Python 2: this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Would
import os
cwd = os.getcwd()
do what you want? I'm not sure what exactly you mean by the "current script directory". What would the expected output be for the use cases you gave?
Just use os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) and examine very carefully whether there is a real need for the case where exec is used. It could be a sign of troubled design if you are not able to use your script as a module.
Keep in mind Zen of Python #8, and if you believe there is a good argument for a use-case where it must work for exec, then please let us know some more details about the background of the problem.
First.. a couple missing use-cases here if we're talking about ways to inject anonymous code..
code.compile_command()
code.interact()
imp.load_compiled()
imp.load_dynamic()
imp.load_module()
__builtin__.compile()
loading C compiled shared objects? example: _socket?)
But, the real question is, what is your goal - are you trying to enforce some sort of security? Or are you just interested in whats being loaded.
If you're interested in security, the filename that is being imported via exec/execfile is inconsequential - you should use rexec, which offers the following:
This module contains the RExec class,
which supports r_eval(), r_execfile(),
r_exec(), and r_import() methods, which
are restricted versions of the standard
Python functions eval(), execfile() and
the exec and import statements. Code
executed in this restricted environment
will only have access to modules and
functions that are deemed safe; you can
subclass RExec add or remove capabilities as
desired.
However, if this is more of an academic pursuit.. here are a couple goofy approaches that you
might be able to dig a little deeper into..
Example scripts:
./deep.py
print ' >> level 1'
execfile('deeper.py')
print ' << level 1'
./deeper.py
print '\t >> level 2'
exec("import sys; sys.path.append('/tmp'); import deepest")
print '\t << level 2'
/tmp/deepest.py
print '\t\t >> level 3'
print '\t\t\t I can see the earths core.'
print '\t\t << level 3'
./codespy.py
import sys, os
def overseer(frame, event, arg):
print "loaded(%s)" % os.path.abspath(frame.f_code.co_filename)
sys.settrace(overseer)
execfile("deep.py")
sys.exit(0)
Output
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deep.py)
>> level 1
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deeper.py)
>> level 2
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/<string>)
loaded(/tmp/deepest.py)
>> level 3
I can see the earths core.
<< level 3
<< level 2
<< level 1
Of course, this is a resource-intensive way to do it, you'd be tracing
all your code.. Not very efficient. But, I think it's a novel approach
since it continues to work even as you get deeper into the nest.
You can't override 'eval'. Although you can override execfile().
Note, this approach only coveres exec/execfile, not 'import'.
For higher level 'module' load hooking you might be able to use use
sys.path_hooks (Write-up courtesy of PyMOTW).
Thats all I have off the top of my head.
Here is a partial solution, still better than all published ones so far.
import sys, os, os.path, inspect
#os.chdir("..")
if '__file__' not in locals():
__file__ = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe())[0]
print os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Now this works will all calls but if someone use chdir() to change the current directory, this will also fail.
Notes:
sys.argv[0] is not going to work, will return -c if you execute the script with python -c "execfile('path-tester.py')"
I published a complete test at https://gist.github.com/1385555 and you are welcome to improve it.
To get the absolute path to the directory containing the current script you can use:
from pathlib import Path
absDir = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
Please note the .resolve() call is required, because that is the one making the path absolute. Without resolve(), you would obtain something like '.'.
This solution uses pathlib, which is part of Python's stdlib since v3.4 (2014). This is preferrable compared to other solutions using os.
The official pathlib documentation has a useful table mapping the old os functions to the new ones: https://docs.python.org/3/library/pathlib.html#correspondence-to-tools-in-the-os-module
This should work in most cases:
import os,sys
dirname=os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(sys.argv[0]))
Hopefully this helps:-
If you run a script/module from anywhere you'll be able to access the __file__ variable which is a module variable representing the location of the script.
On the other hand, if you're using the interpreter you don't have access to that variable, where you'll get a name NameError and os.getcwd() will give you the incorrect directory if you're running the file from somewhere else.
This solution should give you what you're looking for in all cases:
from inspect import getsourcefile
from os.path import abspath
abspath(getsourcefile(lambda:0))
I haven't thoroughly tested it but it solved my problem.
If __file__ is available:
# -- script1.py --
import os
file_path = os.path.abspath(__file__)
print(os.path.dirname(file_path))
For those we want to be able to run the command from the interpreter or get the path of the place you're running the script from:
# -- script2.py --
import os
print(os.path.abspath(''))
This works from the interpreter.
But when run in a script (or imported) it gives the path of the place where
you ran the script from, not the path of directory containing
the script with the print.
Example:
If your directory structure is
test_dir (in the home dir)
├── main.py
└── test_subdir
├── script1.py
└── script2.py
with
# -- main.py --
import script1.py
import script2.py
The output is:
~/test_dir/test_subdir
~/test_dir
As previous answers require you to import some module, I thought that I would write one answer that doesn't. Use the code below if you don't want to import anything.
this_dir = '/'.join(__file__.split('/')[:-1])
print(this_dir)
If the script is on /path/to/script.py then this would print /path/to. Note that this will throw error on terminal as no file is executed. This basically parse the directory from __file__ removing the last part of it. In this case /script.py is removed to produce the output /path/to.
print(__import__("pathlib").Path(__file__).parent)
I would like to see what is the best way to determine the current script directory in Python.
I discovered that, due to the many ways of calling Python code, it is hard to find a good solution.
Here are some problems:
__file__ is not defined if the script is executed with exec, execfile
__module__ is defined only in modules
Use cases:
./myfile.py
python myfile.py
./somedir/myfile.py
python somedir/myfile.py
execfile('myfile.py') (from another script, that can be located in another directory and that can have another current directory.
I know that there is no perfect solution, but I'm looking for the best approach that solves most of the cases.
The most used approach is os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) but this really doesn't work if you execute the script from another one with exec().
Warning
Any solution that uses current directory will fail, this can be different based on the way the script is called or it can be changed inside the running script.
os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
is indeed the best you're going to get.
It's unusual to be executing a script with exec/execfile; normally you should be using the module infrastructure to load scripts. If you must use these methods, I suggest setting __file__ in the globals you pass to the script so it can read that filename.
There's no other way to get the filename in execed code: as you note, the CWD may be in a completely different place.
If you really want to cover the case that a script is called via execfile(...), you can use the inspect module to deduce the filename (including the path). As far as I am aware, this will work for all cases you listed:
filename = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe()).filename
path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(filename))
In Python 3.4+ you can use the simpler pathlib module:
from inspect import currentframe, getframeinfo
from pathlib import Path
filename = getframeinfo(currentframe()).filename
parent = Path(filename).resolve().parent
You can also use __file__ (when it's available) to avoid the inspect module altogether:
from pathlib import Path
parent = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
#!/usr/bin/env python
import inspect
import os
import sys
def get_script_dir(follow_symlinks=True):
if getattr(sys, 'frozen', False): # py2exe, PyInstaller, cx_Freeze
path = os.path.abspath(sys.executable)
else:
path = inspect.getabsfile(get_script_dir)
if follow_symlinks:
path = os.path.realpath(path)
return os.path.dirname(path)
print(get_script_dir())
It works on CPython, Jython, Pypy. It works if the script is executed using execfile() (sys.argv[0] and __file__ -based solutions would fail here). It works if the script is inside an executable zip file (/an egg). It works if the script is "imported" (PYTHONPATH=/path/to/library.zip python -mscript_to_run) from a zip file; it returns the archive path in this case. It works if the script is compiled into a standalone executable (sys.frozen). It works for symlinks (realpath eliminates symbolic links). It works in an interactive interpreter; it returns the current working directory in this case.
The os.path... approach was the 'done thing' in Python 2.
In Python 3, you can find directory of script as follows:
from pathlib import Path
script_path = Path(__file__).parent
Note: this answer is now a package (also with safe relative importing capabilities)
https://github.com/heetbeet/locate
$ pip install locate
$ python
>>> from locate import this_dir
>>> print(this_dir())
C:/Users/simon
For .py scripts as well as interactive usage:
I frequently use the directory of my scripts (for accessing files stored alongside them), but I also frequently run these scripts in an interactive shell for debugging purposes. I define this_dir as:
When running or importing a .py file, the file's base directory. This is always the correct path.
When running an .ipyn notebook, the current working directory. This is always the correct path, since Jupyter sets the working directory as the .ipynb base directory.
When running in a REPL, the current working directory. Hmm, what is the actual "correct path" when the code is detached from a file? Rather, make it your responsibility to change into the "correct path" before invoking the REPL.
Python 3.4 (and above):
from pathlib import Path
this_dir = Path(globals().get("__file__", "./_")).absolute().parent
Python 2 (and above):
import os
this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(globals().get("__file__", "./_")))
Explanation:
globals() returns all the global variables as a dictionary.
.get("__file__", "./_") returns the value from the key "__file__" if it exists in globals(), otherwise it returns the provided default value "./_".
The rest of the code just expands __file__ (or "./_") into an absolute filepath, and then returns the filepath's base directory.
Alternative:
If you know for certain that __file__ is available to your surrounding code, you can simplify to this:
>= Python 3.4: this_dir = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
>= Python 2: this_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Would
import os
cwd = os.getcwd()
do what you want? I'm not sure what exactly you mean by the "current script directory". What would the expected output be for the use cases you gave?
Just use os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)) and examine very carefully whether there is a real need for the case where exec is used. It could be a sign of troubled design if you are not able to use your script as a module.
Keep in mind Zen of Python #8, and if you believe there is a good argument for a use-case where it must work for exec, then please let us know some more details about the background of the problem.
First.. a couple missing use-cases here if we're talking about ways to inject anonymous code..
code.compile_command()
code.interact()
imp.load_compiled()
imp.load_dynamic()
imp.load_module()
__builtin__.compile()
loading C compiled shared objects? example: _socket?)
But, the real question is, what is your goal - are you trying to enforce some sort of security? Or are you just interested in whats being loaded.
If you're interested in security, the filename that is being imported via exec/execfile is inconsequential - you should use rexec, which offers the following:
This module contains the RExec class,
which supports r_eval(), r_execfile(),
r_exec(), and r_import() methods, which
are restricted versions of the standard
Python functions eval(), execfile() and
the exec and import statements. Code
executed in this restricted environment
will only have access to modules and
functions that are deemed safe; you can
subclass RExec add or remove capabilities as
desired.
However, if this is more of an academic pursuit.. here are a couple goofy approaches that you
might be able to dig a little deeper into..
Example scripts:
./deep.py
print ' >> level 1'
execfile('deeper.py')
print ' << level 1'
./deeper.py
print '\t >> level 2'
exec("import sys; sys.path.append('/tmp'); import deepest")
print '\t << level 2'
/tmp/deepest.py
print '\t\t >> level 3'
print '\t\t\t I can see the earths core.'
print '\t\t << level 3'
./codespy.py
import sys, os
def overseer(frame, event, arg):
print "loaded(%s)" % os.path.abspath(frame.f_code.co_filename)
sys.settrace(overseer)
execfile("deep.py")
sys.exit(0)
Output
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deep.py)
>> level 1
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/deeper.py)
>> level 2
loaded(/Users/synthesizerpatel/<string>)
loaded(/tmp/deepest.py)
>> level 3
I can see the earths core.
<< level 3
<< level 2
<< level 1
Of course, this is a resource-intensive way to do it, you'd be tracing
all your code.. Not very efficient. But, I think it's a novel approach
since it continues to work even as you get deeper into the nest.
You can't override 'eval'. Although you can override execfile().
Note, this approach only coveres exec/execfile, not 'import'.
For higher level 'module' load hooking you might be able to use use
sys.path_hooks (Write-up courtesy of PyMOTW).
Thats all I have off the top of my head.
Here is a partial solution, still better than all published ones so far.
import sys, os, os.path, inspect
#os.chdir("..")
if '__file__' not in locals():
__file__ = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe())[0]
print os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Now this works will all calls but if someone use chdir() to change the current directory, this will also fail.
Notes:
sys.argv[0] is not going to work, will return -c if you execute the script with python -c "execfile('path-tester.py')"
I published a complete test at https://gist.github.com/1385555 and you are welcome to improve it.
To get the absolute path to the directory containing the current script you can use:
from pathlib import Path
absDir = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
Please note the .resolve() call is required, because that is the one making the path absolute. Without resolve(), you would obtain something like '.'.
This solution uses pathlib, which is part of Python's stdlib since v3.4 (2014). This is preferrable compared to other solutions using os.
The official pathlib documentation has a useful table mapping the old os functions to the new ones: https://docs.python.org/3/library/pathlib.html#correspondence-to-tools-in-the-os-module
This should work in most cases:
import os,sys
dirname=os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(sys.argv[0]))
Hopefully this helps:-
If you run a script/module from anywhere you'll be able to access the __file__ variable which is a module variable representing the location of the script.
On the other hand, if you're using the interpreter you don't have access to that variable, where you'll get a name NameError and os.getcwd() will give you the incorrect directory if you're running the file from somewhere else.
This solution should give you what you're looking for in all cases:
from inspect import getsourcefile
from os.path import abspath
abspath(getsourcefile(lambda:0))
I haven't thoroughly tested it but it solved my problem.
If __file__ is available:
# -- script1.py --
import os
file_path = os.path.abspath(__file__)
print(os.path.dirname(file_path))
For those we want to be able to run the command from the interpreter or get the path of the place you're running the script from:
# -- script2.py --
import os
print(os.path.abspath(''))
This works from the interpreter.
But when run in a script (or imported) it gives the path of the place where
you ran the script from, not the path of directory containing
the script with the print.
Example:
If your directory structure is
test_dir (in the home dir)
├── main.py
└── test_subdir
├── script1.py
└── script2.py
with
# -- main.py --
import script1.py
import script2.py
The output is:
~/test_dir/test_subdir
~/test_dir
As previous answers require you to import some module, I thought that I would write one answer that doesn't. Use the code below if you don't want to import anything.
this_dir = '/'.join(__file__.split('/')[:-1])
print(this_dir)
If the script is on /path/to/script.py then this would print /path/to. Note that this will throw error on terminal as no file is executed. This basically parse the directory from __file__ removing the last part of it. In this case /script.py is removed to produce the output /path/to.
print(__import__("pathlib").Path(__file__).parent)
If I am in /home/usr and I call python /usr/local/rcom/bin/something.py
How can I make the script inside something.py know he resides in /usr/local/rcom/bin?
The os.path.abspath is calculated with the cwd which is /home/usr in this case.
You can rely on the __file__ attribute of your script/module.
import os
path, filename = os.path.split(os.path.abspath(__file__))
print path
prints
/usr/local/rcom/bin
if executed in your something.py.
EDIT: Yes, you need to consider the absolute path ;-), i.e. os.path.abspath
Inside something.py:
import os
print os.path.dirname(__file__)
Note that this will only work if you call something.py using it's absolute path. If you use a relative path (ex. scripts/something.py) you need to change the code to:
import os
print os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
Is there a universal approach in Python, to find out the path to the file that is currently executing?
Failing approaches
path = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0]))
This does not work if you are running from another Python script in another directory, for example by using execfile in 2.x.
path = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
I found that this doesn't work in the following cases:
py2exe doesn't have a __file__ attribute, although there is a workaround
When the code is run from IDLE using execute(), in which case there is no __file__ attribute
On Mac OS X v10.6 (Snow Leopard), I get NameError: global name '__file__' is not defined
Test case
Directory tree
C:.
| a.py
\---subdir
b.py
Content of a.py
#! /usr/bin/env python
import os, sys
print "a.py: sys.argv[0]=", sys.argv[0]
print "a.py: __file__=", __file__
print "a.py: os.getcwd()=", os.getcwd()
print
execfile("subdir/b.py")
Content of subdir/b.py
#! /usr/bin/env python
import os, sys
print "b.py: sys.argv[0]=", sys.argv[0]
print "b.py: __file__=", __file__
print "b.py: os.getcwd()=", os.getcwd()
print
Output of python a.py (on Windows)
a.py: __file__= a.py
a.py: os.getcwd()= C:\zzz
b.py: sys.argv[0]= a.py
b.py: __file__= a.py
b.py: os.getcwd()= C:\zzz
Related (but these answers are incomplete)
Find path to currently running file
Path to current file depends on how I execute the program
How can I know the path of the running script in Python?
Change directory to the directory of a Python script
First, you need to import from inspect and os
from inspect import getsourcefile
from os.path import abspath
Next, wherever you want to find the source file from you just use
abspath(getsourcefile(lambda:0))
You can't directly determine the location of the main script being executed. After all, sometimes the script didn't come from a file at all. For example, it could come from the interactive interpreter or dynamically generated code stored only in memory.
However, you can reliably determine the location of a module, since modules are always loaded from a file. If you create a module with the following code and put it in the same directory as your main script, then the main script can import the module and use that to locate itself.
some_path/module_locator.py:
def we_are_frozen():
# All of the modules are built-in to the interpreter, e.g., by py2exe
return hasattr(sys, "frozen")
def module_path():
encoding = sys.getfilesystemencoding()
if we_are_frozen():
return os.path.dirname(unicode(sys.executable, encoding))
return os.path.dirname(unicode(__file__, encoding))
some_path/main.py:
import module_locator
my_path = module_locator.module_path()
If you have several main scripts in different directories, you may need more than one copy of module_locator.
Of course, if your main script is loaded by some other tool that doesn't let you import modules that are co-located with your script, then you're out of luck. In cases like that, the information you're after simply doesn't exist anywhere in your program. Your best bet would be to file a bug with the authors of the tool.
This solution is robust even in executables:
import inspect, os.path
filename = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe()).filename
path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(filename))
I was running into a similar problem, and I think this might solve the problem:
def module_path(local_function):
''' returns the module path without the use of __file__. Requires a function defined
locally in the module.
from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/729583/getting-file-path-of-imported-module'''
return os.path.abspath(inspect.getsourcefile(local_function))
It works for regular scripts and in IDLE. All I can say is try it out for others!
My typical usage:
from toolbox import module_path
def main():
pass # Do stuff
global __modpath__
__modpath__ = module_path(main)
Now I use _modpath_ instead of _file_.
You have simply called:
path = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0]))
instead of:
path = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(sys.argv[0]))
abspath() gives you the absolute path of sys.argv[0] (the filename your code is in) and dirname() returns the directory path without the filename.
The short answer is that there is no guaranteed way to get the information you want, however there are heuristics that work almost always in practice. You might look at How do I find the location of the executable in C?. It discusses the problem from a C point of view, but the proposed solutions are easily transcribed into Python.
See my answer to the question Importing modules from parent folder for related information, including why my answer doesn't use the unreliable __file__ variable. This simple solution should be cross-compatible with different operating systems as the modules os and inspect come as part of Python.
First, you need to import parts of the inspect and os modules.
from inspect import getsourcefile
from os.path import abspath
Next, use the following line anywhere else it's needed in your Python code:
abspath(getsourcefile(lambda:0))
How it works:
From the built-in module os (description below), the abspath tool is imported.
OS routines for Mac, NT, or Posix depending on what system we're on.
Then getsourcefile (description below) is imported from the built-in module inspect.
Get useful information from live Python objects.
abspath(path) returns the absolute/full version of a file path
getsourcefile(lambda:0) somehow gets the internal source file of the lambda function object, so returns '<pyshell#nn>' in the Python shell or returns the file path of the Python code currently being executed.
Using abspath on the result of getsourcefile(lambda:0) should make sure that the file path generated is the full file path of the Python file.
This explained solution was originally based on code from the answer at How do I get the path of the current executed file in Python?.
This should do the trick in a cross-platform way (so long as you're not using the interpreter or something):
import os, sys
non_symbolic=os.path.realpath(sys.argv[0])
program_filepath=os.path.join(sys.path[0], os.path.basename(non_symbolic))
sys.path[0] is the directory that your calling script is in (the first place it looks for modules to be used by that script). We can take the name of the file itself off the end of sys.argv[0] (which is what I did with os.path.basename). os.path.join just sticks them together in a cross-platform way. os.path.realpath just makes sure if we get any symbolic links with different names than the script itself that we still get the real name of the script.
I don't have a Mac; so, I haven't tested this on one. Please let me know if it works, as it seems it should. I tested this in Linux (Xubuntu) with Python 3.4. Note that many solutions for this problem don't work on Macs (since I've heard that __file__ is not present on Macs).
Note that if your script is a symbolic link, it will give you the path of the file it links to (and not the path of the symbolic link).
You can use Path from the pathlib module:
from pathlib import Path
# ...
Path(__file__)
You can use call to parent to go further in the path:
Path(__file__).parent
Simply add the following:
from sys import *
path_to_current_file = sys.argv[0]
print(path_to_current_file)
Or:
from sys import *
print(sys.argv[0])
If the code is coming from a file, you can get its full name
sys._getframe().f_code.co_filename
You can also retrieve the function name as f_code.co_name
The main idea is, somebody will run your python code, but you need to get the folder nearest the python file.
My solution is:
import os
print(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
With
os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
You can use it with to save photos, output files, ...etc
import os
current_file_path=os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath('__file__'))