Stop Using os.path! Python’s pathlib Is SO Much Better. 👾
Tired of messy file paths in Python? Meet pathlib — the cleaner, cooler way to handle files and folders. You’ll wonder how you ever coded without it.
Aaron Rose
Software Engineer & Technology Writer
Hey code squad! 👋 Let's talk about something we all hate: messy, old-school file handling in Python.
You know the vibe:
import os.path
file_path = os.path.join('folder', 'subfolder', 'file.txt')
if os.path.isfile(file_path):
with open(file_path) as f:
data = f.read()
So. Many. Steps. So. Many. Dots. 😫
Enter pathlib — Python’s modern, object-based path hero. Here’s the same thing, but clean:
from pathlib import Path
file_path = Path('folder') / 'subfolder' / 'file.txt'
if file_path.is_file():
data = file_path.read_text()
Boom. No more os.path.join — just use / to glide through folders. No more open() just to read a file — .read_text() does it in one line.
Here’s Why pathlib Slaps:
- Paths are objects, not strings. They have methods built-in.
- Joining paths is as easy as
Path('a') / 'b' / 'file.txt' - Read/write without
open():content = Path('file.txt').read_text()Path('log.txt').write_text('done') - Find files effortlessly with
.glob('*.py')
Your Homework 🧠:
Next time you write a script, use:
from pathlib import Path
path = Path('your') / 'folder' / 'here'
print(path.is_file())
You’ll never go back to the old way. Promise.
Stay lazy. Code smart. ✌️
Aaron Rose is a software engineer and technology writer at tech-reader.blog and the author of The Rose Theory series on math and physics.
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