Python How to check if a file exists

In Python, we can use os.path.isfile() or pathlib.Path.is_file() (Python 3.4) to check if a file exists.

1. pathlib

New in Python 3.4

from pathlib import Path
fname = Path("c:\\test\\abc.txt")
print(fname.exists())  # true
print(fname.is_file())  # true
print(fname.is_dir())  # false
dir = Path("c:\\test\\")
print(dir.exists())  # true
print(dir.is_file())  # false
print(dir.is_dir())  # true

If check

from pathlib import Path
fname = Path("c:\\test\\abc.txt")
if fname.is_file():
    print("file exist!")
else:
    print("no such file!")

2. os.path

A classic os.path examples.

import os.path
fname = "c:\\test\\abc.txt"
print(os.path.exists(fname))  # true
print(os.path.isfile(fname))  # true
print(os.path.isdir(fname))  # false
dir = "c:\\test\\"
print(os.path.exists(dir))  # true
print(os.path.isfile(dir))  # false
print(os.path.isdir(dir))  # true

If check.

import os.path
fname = "c:\\test\\abc.txt"
if os.path.isfile(fname):
    print("file exist!")
else:
    print("no such file!")

3. Try: Except

We can also use the try except to check if a file exists.

fname = "c:\\test\\no-such-file.txt"
try:
    with open(fname) as file:
        for line in file:
            print(line, end='')
except IOError as e:
    print(e)

Output

[Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'c:\\test\\no-such-file.txt'

References

1. pathlib — Object-oriented filesystem paths
2. os.path — Common pathname manipulations