Copy file with python

We will also check: Python copy file to a folder Python copy files from one location to another Python copy file from one directory to another Python copy file to USB Python copy file content to another file Python copy file and rename Python copy file from subfolders to one folder Python copy file to the current directory Python copy file line by line Python copy file overwrite Let us check on how to copy files in Python with a few examples.

Python copy file. Table of Contents show. Python shutil. Python copy file to folder. Python copy files from one location to another.

Python copy file from one directory to another. Python copy file to USB. The default size that system use is 16KB. However, the copy2 method functions like the copy. But it also gets the access and modification times added in the meta-data while copying the data. Copying the same file would result in SameFileError. This method creates a pipe to or from the command. It returns an open file object which connects to a pipe.

You can use it for reading or writing according to the file mode, i. The system method allows you to instantly execute any OS command or a script in the subshell.

You need to pass the command or the script as an argument to the system call. Internally, this method calls the standard C library function. Destination File. Attention geek! Strengthen your foundations with the Python Programming Foundation Course and learn the basics.

Recommended Articles. Article Contributed By :. Easy Normal Medium Hard Expert. Writing code in comment? Please use ide. Use the shutil module. Copy the contents of the file named src to a file named dst. The destination location must be writable; otherwise, an IOError exception will be raised. If dst already exists, it will be replaced. Special files such as character or block devices and pipes cannot be copied with this function. Take a look at filesys for all the file and directory handling functions available in standard Python modules.

This is not optimal way for applications where the file is too large or when memory is critical, thus Swati's answer should be preferred. As of Python 3.

For large files, what I did was read the file line by line and read each line into an array. Then, once the array reached a certain size, append it to a new file. It supports file copying and removal.

Here is a simple way to do it, without any module. It's similar to this answer , but has the benefit to also work if it's a big file that doesn't fit in RAM:. Since we're writing a new file, it does not preserve the modification time, etc. We can then use os. Similar to the accepted answer, the following code block might come in handy if you also want to make sure to create any non-existent folders in the path to the destination.

As the accepted answers notes, these lines will overwrite any file which exists at the destination path, so sometimes it might be useful to also add: if not path. Python provides in-built functions for easily copying files using the Operating System Shell utilities. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Collectives on Stack Overflow. Learn more. How to copy files?

Ask Question. Asked 13 years, 3 months ago. Active 25 days ago. Viewed 2. How do I copy a file in Python? Improve this question. OverLordGoldDragon Matt Matt Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. One of which is: from shutil import copyfile copyfile src, dst 2nd option copy src, dst dst can be a folder; use copy2 to preserve timestamp Copy the contents of the file named src to a file named dst.

Both src and dst need to be the entire filename of the files, including path.