How to Set the Current Working Directory? – Python

In Python, you can set the current working directory using the os module. The working directory is the folder in which Python scripts are executed and where files are read or written by default.

Setting the Current Working Directory

To set or change the working directory, use the following steps:

1. Import the os module.
2. Use os.chdir() to change the working directory.

Syntax

import os
os.chdir(path)

• path: A string representing the new directory path you want to set as the current working directory.

Examples

1. Setting the Current Working Directory

import os

# Set the working directory
os.chdir('/path/to/directory')

# Verify the change
print("Current Working Directory:", os.getcwd())

2. Using a Relative Path

import os

# Move to a directory relative to the current location
os.chdir('../new_folder')

# Verify the change
print("Current Working Directory:", os.getcwd())

3. Getting the Current Working Directory

import os

# Get and print the current working directory
cwd = os.getcwd()
print("Current Working Directory:", cwd)

Important Points

1. Path Format:
   • Use forward slashes (/) on Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS).
   • On Windows, either use double backslashes (\\) or raw strings (prefix the path with r):

     os.chdir(r"C:\Users\YourName\Documents")
     

2. Error Handling:
   • If the directory does not exist, os.chdir() raises a FileNotFoundError.

     try:
         os.chdir('/nonexistent/path')
     except FileNotFoundError:
         print("The directory does not exist.")
     

3. Cross-Platform Compatibility:
   • Use the os.path module for handling paths in a cross-platform way. For example:

     import os
     new_path = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), 'subfolder')
     os.chdir(new_path)
     

Using pathlib for Modern Path Management

Python’s pathlib module (introduced in Python 3.4) provides a more intuitive way to manage file paths.

Example

from pathlib import Path

# Set the working directory
new_dir = Path('/path/to/directory')
Path.cwd()  # Get current working directory
Path(new_dir).absolute()  # Resolve to absolute path

# Change the directory
os.chdir(new_dir)