How do I get the full path of the current file's directory?

Question

I want to get the current file\'s directory path. I tried:

>>> os.path.abspath(__file__)
\'C:\\\\python27\\\\test.py\'

But how can

Answer 1

Python 3

For the directory of the script being run:

import pathlib
pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.absolute()

For the current working directory:

import pathlib
pathlib.Path().absolute()

Python 2 and 3

For the directory of the script being run:

import os
os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))

If you mean the current working directory:

import os
os.path.abspath(os.getcwd())

Note that before and after file is two underscores, not just one.

Also note that if you are running interactively or have loaded code from something other than a file (eg: a database or online resource), __file__ may not be set since there is no notion of "current file". The above answer assumes the most common scenario of running a python script that is in a file.

References

1. pathlib in the python documentation.
2. os.path 2.7, os.path 3.8
3. os.getcwd 2.7, os.getcwd 3.8
4. what does the __file__ variable mean/do?

Answer 2

IPython has a magic command %pwd to get the present working directory. It can be used in following way:

from IPython.terminal.embed import InteractiveShellEmbed

ip_shell = InteractiveShellEmbed()

present_working_directory = ip_shell.magic("%pwd")

On IPython Jupyter Notebook %pwd can be used directly as following:

present_working_directory = %pwd

Answer 3

If you just want to see the current working directory

import os
print(os.getcwd)

If you want to change the current working directory

os.chdir(path)

path is a string containing the required path to be moved. e.g.

path = "C:\\Users\\xyz\\Desktop\\move here"