Files & data
Read and write files safely; parse JSON, CSV, and common text formats.
How to Archive Old Files by Age in Python
Move files older than a specified number of days from a source directory to an archive directory using Python's pathlib and shutil modules.
import os
import shutil
import time
from pathlib import Path
def archive_old_files(source_dir: str, archive_dir: str, days_old: int) -> None:
cutoff_time = time.time() - (days_old * 86400) # 86400 seconds in a day
archive_path = Path(archive_dir)
archive_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
for i…How to Check Disk Free Space in Python with shutil.disk_usage
This Python script uses the standard library shutil.disk_usage to report total, used, and free disk space in bytes, plus a percentage usage figure.
import shutil
def check_disk_free_space(path="/"):
"""Return a tuple of total, used, and free disk space in bytes."""
usage = shutil.disk_usage(path)
return usage.total, usage.used, usage.free
if __name__ == "__main__":
total, used, free = check_disk_free_space()
print(f"Total: {total:,} bytes"…How to Copy a File with shutil.copy2 in Python
Copy a file while preserving metadata like timestamps and permissions using Python's shutil.copy2 and pathlib.
import shutil
from pathlib import Path
source = Path("sample.txt")
destination = Path("sample_copy.txt")
source.write_text("Hello, PythonSkillset!")
if __name__ == "__main__":
shutil.copy2(source, destination)
copied = destination.read_text()
print(f"Copied content: {copied}")
print(f"Source exists:…How to Sync Two Folders in Python (Lightweight Backup)
A Python script that synchronizes a source folder to a destination folder, copying new or updated files and removing files that no longer exist in the source.
import os
import shutil
import sys
from pathlib import Path
def sync_folders(src: Path, dst: Path):
"""Sync src folder to dst folder, copying missing/updated files."""
dst.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
for src_path in src.rglob("*"):
relative = src_path.relative_to(src)
dst_path = ds…Move a file to an archive folder with shutil.move in Python
Move a file to an archive folder with shutil.move, creating the folder if needed, and return the new path.
from pathlib import Path
import shutil
def move_file_to_archive(source_file: str, archive_folder: str) -> Path:
"""Move a file to the archive folder, creating it if needed."""
src = Path(source_file)
archive = Path(archive_folder)
archive.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
destination = archive / …Sync only changed files between two folders in Python
This code compares two folders and copies only the new or modified files from source to destination, skipping unchanged ones by comparing SHA-256 hashes.
import hashlib
from pathlib import Path
import shutil
def file_hash(path: Path, chunk_size: int = 8192) -> str:
hasher = hashlib.sha256()
with path.open("rb") as f:
for chunk in iter(lambda: f.read(chunk_size), b""):
hasher.update(chunk)
return hasher.hexdigest()
def sync_files(src: s…Browse by section
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Files & data — Python code examples
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