In this article we will discuss different methods to generate a list of all files in directory tree.

Creating a list of files in directory and sub directories using os.listdir()

Python’s os module provides a function to get the list of files or folder in a directory i.e.

os.listdir(path='.')

It returns a list of all the files and sub directories in the given path.

We need to call this recursively for sub directories to create a complete list of files in given directory tree i.e.

'''
    For the given path, get the List of all files in the directory tree 
'''
def getListOfFiles(dirName):
    # create a list of file and sub directories 
    # names in the given directory 
    listOfFile = os.listdir(dirName)
    allFiles = list()
    # Iterate over all the entries
    for entry in listOfFile:
        # Create full path
        fullPath = os.path.join(dirName, entry)
        # If entry is a directory then get the list of files in this directory 
        if os.path.isdir(fullPath):
            allFiles = allFiles + getListOfFiles(fullPath)
        else:
            allFiles.append(fullPath)
                
    return allFiles

Call the above function to create a list of files in a directory tree i.e.
dirName = '/home/varun/Downloads';

# Get the list of all files in directory tree at given path
listOfFiles = getListOfFiles(dirName)

Creating a list of files in directory and sub directories using os.walk()

Python’s os module provides a function to iterate over a directory tree i.e.

os.walk(path)

It iterates of the directory tree at give path and for each directory or sub directory it returns a tuple containing,
(<Dir Name> , <List of Sub Dirs> , <List of Files>.
Iterate over the directory tree and generate a list of all the files at given path,
# Get the list of all files in directory tree at given path
listOfFiles = list()
for (dirpath, dirnames, filenames) in os.walk(dirName):
    listOfFiles += [os.path.join(dirpath, file) for file in filenames]

Complete example is as follows,
import os

'''
    For the given path, get the List of all files in the directory tree 
'''
def getListOfFiles(dirName):
    # create a list of file and sub directories 
    # names in the given directory 
    listOfFile = os.listdir(dirName)
    allFiles = list()
    # Iterate over all the entries
    for entry in listOfFile:
        # Create full path
        fullPath = os.path.join(dirName, entry)
        # If entry is a directory then get the list of files in this directory 
        if os.path.isdir(fullPath):
            allFiles = allFiles + getListOfFiles(fullPath)
        else:
            allFiles.append(fullPath)
                
    return allFiles        


def main():
    
    dirName = '/home/varun/Downloads';
    
    # Get the list of all files in directory tree at given path
    listOfFiles = getListOfFiles(dirName)
    
    # Print the files
    for elem in listOfFiles:
        print(elem)

    print ("****************")
    
    # Get the list of all files in directory tree at given path
    listOfFiles = list()
    for (dirpath, dirnames, filenames) in os.walk(dirName):
        listOfFiles += [os.path.join(dirpath, file) for file in filenames]
        
        
    # Print the files    
    for elem in listOfFiles:
        print(elem)    
        
        
        
        
if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Output:
/home/varun/Downloads/temp1.txt
/home/varun/Downloads/sample/temp2.txt
/home/varun/Downloads/test/message.txt

 

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