Python Tutorial

Python Rename File

Summary: in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to rename a file using the os.rename() function.

To rename a file, you use the os.rename() function:

os.rename(src,dst)Code language: CSS (css)

If the src file does not exist, the os.rename() function raises a FileNotFound error. Similarly, if the dst already exists, the os.rename() function issues a FileExistsError error.

For example, the following uses the os.rename() function to rename the file readme.txt to notes.txt:

import os

os.rename('readme.txt', 'notes.txt')Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

To avoid an error if the readme.txt doesn’t exist and/or the notes.txt file already exists, you can use the try...except statement:

import os

try:
    os.rename('readme.txt', 'notes.txt')
except FileNotFoundError as e:
    print(e)
except FileExistsError as e:
    print(e)Code language: PHP (php)

The following shows the output when the readme.txt file does not exist:

[WinError 2] The system cannot find the file specified: 'readme.txt' -> 'notes.txt'Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

And the following shows the output if the notes.txt already exists:

[WinError 183] Cannot create a file when that file already exists: 'readme.txt' -> 'notes.txt'Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Summary

  • Use the os.rename() function to rename a file.