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How to Read All Files in Directory in Python? (All Types of Files)

Reading files from a directory in Python is a common task when working with file systems. It allows you to access and process multiple files efficiently. In this post, we will learn how to read all files in a directory in Python. Regardless of the type of files, like json files or 7z files, you can use the programs covered below to read directory files. 

Python provides the os module, which offers various functions for interacting with the operating system, including file and directory operations. By utilizing functions such as os.listdir(), you can obtain a list of files and directories within a specified directory.

How to Read All Files in Directory in Python?

The os.listdir() function allows you to retrieve a list of all files and directories within a specified directory.

Code

import os

# Specify the directory path
directory = '/path/to/directory'

# Get the list of files in the directory
file_list = os.listdir(directory)

# Iterate over the files and print their names
for file_name in file_list:
    if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(directory, file_name)):
        print(file_name)

Output

Depends on directory

Explanation

In this program, the os.listdir() function is used to obtain a list of all items (files and directories) within the specified directory. The directory variable should contain the path to the directory you want to read the files from.

Next, the program iterates over each item in the file_list. To determine if an item is a file (and not a subdirectory), the os.path.isfile() function is used in conjunction with os.path.join() to construct the absolute path to each item. Only the file names are then printed.

By executing this program, you can obtain a list of all the files within the specified directory and perform further operations on them, such as reading their content or performing file-related tasks.

Note:

  • The os.listdir() function retrieves all items within the directory, including files and subdirectories. If you only want to retrieve files, you can use the os.path.isfile() function to filter out the subdirectories from the list.

  • Remember to handle any permission issues and ensure that the specified directory path is valid and exists on your system.

Python Course

Read All JSON Files in Directory

To read all JSON files in a directory in Python, you can use the os module along with the json module. The os module helps in directory operations, while the json module allows you to handle JSON data.

Code

import os
import json

# Specify the directory path
directory = '/path/to/directory'

# Iterate over the files in the directory
for filename in os.listdir(directory):
    if filename.endswith('.json'):  # Check if the file is a JSON file
        file_path = os.path.join(directory, filename)
        with open(file_path) as json_file:
            data = json.load(json_file)
            # Process the JSON data
            # ...

            # Example: Print the content of the JSON file
            print(data)

Output

Depends on directory

Explanation

In this program, we use os.listdir() to iterate over the files in the specified directory. The filename.endswith('.json') condition is used to filter out only the JSON files. You can modify this condition if you have a different file extension or pattern for your JSON files.

For each JSON file found, we construct the absolute file path using os.path.join(). Then, we open the file using open() in a with statement, ensuring it is properly closed after use.

Within the with block, we can use the json.load() function to read the JSON data from the file. You can then process the JSON data as needed for your specific use case. In the example program, we simply print the content of each JSON file.

Remember to handle any permission issues, ensure that the specified directory path is valid, and verify that the JSON files are well-formed to avoid any potential errors during the reading process.

Read 7z File in Python

To read a 7z file in Python, you can use the py7zr library, which provides functions for working with 7z archives.

Code

import py7zr

# Specify the path to the 7z file
archive_path = '/path/to/archive.7z'

# Open the 7z file
with py7zr.SevenZipFile(archive_path, mode='r') as archive:
    # List the files in the archive
    file_list = archive.getnames()

    # Extract and process the files in the archive
    for file_name in file_list:
        if file_name.endswith('.txt'):  # Filter out specific file types
            with archive.open(file_name, 'r') as file:
                # Read and process the contents of the file
                content = file.read()
                # ...

                # Example: Print the content of the file
                print(content.decode())

Output

Depends on directory

Explanation

In this program, we use the py7zr.SevenZipFile class from the py7zr library to open the 7z file in read mode (mode='r'). The archive.getnames() function retrieves a list of file names contained within the archive.

We then iterate over the files in the archive, and in this example, we filter out only the files with the .txt extension. You can modify this condition according to your specific file types.

For each file, we use archive.open() to open the file in read mode ('r'). Within the with block, we can read and process the contents of the file. In this example, we simply print the content of each file after decoding it from bytes to a string.

By executing this program, you can read the files within the 7z archive and perform further operations on their contents.

Note: Please make sure to install the py7zr library before running this program. You can install it using pip with the command pip install py7zr. Additionally, ensure that you have the necessary permissions to access the 7z file and that the file path is correct.