how to check if folder exist and create folder using python

user_5980666 0
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How to check if folder exist and create it if it doesn't?

import os
from datetime import datetime

file_path = "F:/TEST--"
if os.path.exists(file_path):
    os.rmdir(file_path)
    os.makedirs(file_path + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d'))
else:
    os.makedirs(file_path + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d'))
directory python
3 Answers

os.path.exists(file_path) check if the folder TEST-- exists, not if TEST--date exists, so os.rmdir(file_path) is never called. Set the folder name before the if

file_path = 'F:/TEST--' + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
if os.path.exists(file_path):
    os.rmdir(file_path)
os.makedirs(file_path)

If the folder contain files you need to delete the first or use shutil package

shutil.rmtree(file_path)
user_51680110

You can use exist_ok parameter set to True.then if folder exists.python will do nothing.

import os
from datetime import datetime
file_path = "F:/TEST--"
if os.path.exists(file_path):
    os.rmdir(file_path)

os.makedirs(file_path + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d'),exist_ok=True)
user_19336760

On Python >= 3.5, you can use pathlib.Path.mkdir. Note the exist_ok=True parameter.

from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime

file_path = 'F:/TEST--' + datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
Path(file_path).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

Using Pathlib makes your code OS independent and will not break if you decide to move to another OS later on.

PS: It is also advisable to avoid hardcoded paths in your code like F:/TEST--

user_53822130
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