How to Rename a File Using Python

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

To rename a file in Python, you use the rename() function from the os module.

Here’s the basic syntax of the rename() function:

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

The rename function renames the src to dst.

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

For example, the following uses the 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: Python (python)

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)

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.

Quiz #

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