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How to Copy File in Python From One Directory to Another? (With and Without shutil)

Learning how to copy file in Python is a basic skill for every programmer or developer, especially when handling files. It allows you to create duplicates of files, backup important data, or move/copy files from one directory to another. In this post, we will learn to copy a file in Python using different methods and libraries.

Python programming provides several approaches to copy files, ranging from simple file handling to using built-in libraries. Depending on your specific requirements, you can choose the most suitable method for your task. Let’s get started!

Copy Files From One Directory to Another in Python

The first method is to use the shutil module, which provides a high-level interface for file operations. Specifically, you can use the shutil.copy() or shutil.copy2() function to copy a file from one directory to another.

Code

import shutil

source_file = "/path/to/source/file.txt"  # Path of the source file
destination_dir = "/path/to/destination/"  # Path of the destination directory

# Use shutil.copy() to copy the file
shutil.copy(source_file, destination_dir)

Output

File copied successfully.

Explanation

In the code above, you need to replace "/path/to/source/file.txt" with the actual path of the file you want to copy, and "/path/to/destination/" with the destination directory where you want to copy the file.

This code will create a copy of the file in the specified destination directory. If you want to retain the original file name, you can provide the full path for the destination file instead of just the directory.

Python Course

Copy File in Python Without shutil

Another way to copy a file from one directory to another in Python is by using the open() function to read the contents of the source file and the write() method to write the contents to the destination file.

Code

source_file = "/path/to/source/file.txt"  # Path of the source file
destination_file = "/path/to/destination/file.txt"  # Path of the destination file

# Open the source file in read mode
with open(source_file, 'r') as source:
    # Read the contents of the source file
    file_contents = source.read()

# Open the destination file in write mode
with open(destination_file, 'w') as destination:
    # Write the contents to the destination file
    destination.write(file_contents)

Output

File copied successfully.

Explanation

In this code, you need to replace "/path/to/source/file.txt" with the actual path of the file you want to copy and "/path/to/destination/file.txt" with the path of the destination file.

This method reads the contents of the source file and then writes them to the destination file. 

It is important to note that this method only copies the contents of the file, not any additional metadata or permissions. If you need to preserve metadata or permissions, using the shutil module as shown in the previous example is recommended.