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<ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">shutil – High-level file operations.</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#copying-files">Copying Files</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#copying-file-meta-data">Copying File Meta-data</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#working-with-directory-trees">Working With Directory Trees</a></li>
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<div class="section" id="module-shutil">
<span id="shutil-high-level-file-operations"></span><h1>shutil – High-level file operations.<a class="headerlink" href="#module-shutil" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<table class="docutils field-list" frame="void" rules="none">
<col class="field-name" />
<col class="field-body" />
<tbody valign="top">
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Purpose:</th><td class="field-body">High-level file operations.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Python Version:</th><td class="field-body">1.4 and later</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The <a class="reference internal" href="#module-shutil" title="shutil: High-level file operations."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">shutil</span></tt></a> module includes high-level file operations such as
copying, setting permissions, etc.</p>
<div class="section" id="copying-files">
<h2>Copying Files<a class="headerlink" href="#copying-files" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfile()</span></tt> copies the contents of the source to the
destination. Raises <a class="reference internal" href="../exceptions/index.html#exceptions-ioerror"><em>IOError</em></a> if you do not
have permission to write to the destination file. Because the
function opens the input file for reading, regardless of its type,
special files cannot be copied as new special files with
<tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfile()</span></tt>.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">glob</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="n">glob</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">glob</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copyfile.*'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copyfile</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copyfile.py'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'shutil_copyfile.py.copy'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">glob</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copyfile.*'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copyfile.py
BEFORE: ['shutil_copyfile.py']
AFTER: ['shutil_copyfile.py', 'shutil_copyfile.py.copy']</pre>
</div>
<p><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfile()</span></tt> is written using the lower-level function
<tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfileobj()</span></tt>. While the arguments to <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfile()</span></tt> are
file names, the arguments to <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copyfileobj()</span></tt> are open file
handles. The optional third argument is a buffer length to use for
reading in chunks (by default, the entire file is read at one time).</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">os</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">StringIO</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="n">StringIO</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">sys</span>
<span class="k">class</span> <span class="nc">VerboseStringIO</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">StringIO</span><span class="p">):</span>
<span class="k">def</span> <span class="nf">read</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="bp">self</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">n</span><span class="o">=-</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">):</span>
<span class="nb">next</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">StringIO</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">read</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="bp">self</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">n</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'read(</span><span class="si">%d</span><span class="s">) =>'</span> <span class="o">%</span> <span class="n">n</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="nb">next</span>
<span class="k">return</span> <span class="nb">next</span>
<span class="n">lorem_ipsum</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="s">'''Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. </span>
<span class="s">Vestibulum aliquam mollis dolor. Donec vulputate nunc ut diam. </span>
<span class="s">Ut rutrum mi vel sem. Vestibulum ante ipsum.'''</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'Default:'</span>
<span class="nb">input</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">VerboseStringIO</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">lorem_ipsum</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">output</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">StringIO</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">copyfileobj</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="nb">input</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">output</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'All at once:'</span>
<span class="nb">input</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">VerboseStringIO</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">lorem_ipsum</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">output</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">StringIO</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">copyfileobj</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="nb">input</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">output</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="o">-</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'Blocks of 20:'</span>
<span class="nb">input</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">VerboseStringIO</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">lorem_ipsum</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">output</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">StringIO</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">copyfileobj</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="nb">input</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">output</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">20</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The default behavior is to read using large blocks. Use <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">-1</span></tt> to
read all of the input at one time or another positive integer to set
your own block size.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copyfileobj.py
Default:
read(16384) => Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
Vestibulum aliquam mollis dolor. Donec vulputate nunc ut diam.
Ut rutrum mi vel sem. Vestibulum ante ipsum.
read(16384) =>
All at once:
read(-1) => Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
Vestibulum aliquam mollis dolor. Donec vulputate nunc ut diam.
Ut rutrum mi vel sem. Vestibulum ante ipsum.
read(-1) =>
Blocks of 20:
read(20) => Lorem ipsum dolor si
read(20) => t amet, consectetuer
read(20) => adipiscing elit.
V
read(20) => estibulum aliquam mo
read(20) => llis dolor. Donec vu
read(20) => lputate nunc ut diam
read(20) => .
Ut rutrum mi vel
read(20) => sem. Vestibulum ante
read(20) => ipsum.
read(20) =></pre>
</div>
<p>The <a class="reference internal" href="../copy/index.html#module-copy" title="copy: Provides functions for duplicating objects using shallow or deep copy semantics."><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copy()</span></tt></a> function interprets the output name like the Unix
command line tool <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">cp</span></tt>. If the named destination refers to a
directory instead of a file, a new file is created in the directory
using the base name of the source. The permissions of the file are
copied along with the contents.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">os</span>
<span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mkdir</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">listdir</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copy</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copy.py'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">listdir</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copy.py
BEFORE: []
AFTER: ['shutil_copy.py']</pre>
</div>
<p><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copy2()</span></tt> works like <a class="reference internal" href="../copy/index.html#module-copy" title="copy: Provides functions for duplicating objects using shallow or deep copy semantics."><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copy()</span></tt></a>, but includes the access and
modification times in the meta-data copied to the new file.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">os</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">time</span>
<span class="k">def</span> <span class="nf">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">filename</span><span class="p">):</span>
<span class="n">stat_info</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">stat</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">filename</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Mode :'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_mode</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Created :'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_ctime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Accessed:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_atime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Modified:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_mtime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mkdir</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'SOURCE:'</span>
<span class="n">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copy2.py'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copy2</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copy2.py'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'DEST:'</span>
<span class="n">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example/shutil_copy2.py'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copy2.py
SOURCE:
Mode : 33188
Created : Thu Oct 21 06:02:32 2010
Accessed: Sun Oct 24 08:54:46 2010
Modified: Sun Oct 10 09:12:22 2010
DEST:
Mode : 33188
Created : Sun Oct 24 08:54:46 2010
Accessed: Sun Oct 24 08:54:46 2010
Modified: Sun Oct 10 09:12:22 2010</pre>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="copying-file-meta-data">
<h2>Copying File Meta-data<a class="headerlink" href="#copying-file-meta-data" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p>By default when a new file is created under Unix, it receives
permissions based on the umask of the current user. To copy the
permissions from one file to another, use <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copymode()</span></tt>.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">commands</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">os</span>
<span class="n">f</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nb">open</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'wt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">write</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'content'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">close</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">chmod</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mo">0444</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">getstatus</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copymode</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copymode.py'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER :'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">getstatus</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>First, create a file to be modified:</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>#!/bin/sh
# Set up file needed by shutil_copymode.py
touch file_to_change.txt
chmod ugo+w file_to_change.txt
</pre>
</div>
<p>Then run the example script to change the permissions.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copymode.py
BEFORE: -r--r--r-- 1 dhellmann dhellmann 7 Oct 24 08:54 file_to_change.txt
AFTER : -rw-r--r-- 1 dhellmann dhellmann 7 Oct 24 08:54 file_to_change.txt</pre>
</div>
<p>To copy other meta-data about the file (permissions, last access time,
and last modified time), use <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copystat()</span></tt>.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">os</span>
<span class="kn">import</span> <span class="nn">time</span>
<span class="k">def</span> <span class="nf">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">filename</span><span class="p">):</span>
<span class="n">stat_info</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">stat</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">filename</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Mode :'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_mode</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Created :'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_ctime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Accessed:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_atime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'</span><span class="se">\t</span><span class="s">Modified:'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">time</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">ctime</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">stat_info</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">st_mtime</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nb">open</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'wt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">write</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'content'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">close</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="n">os</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">chmod</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mo">0444</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span>
<span class="n">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copystat</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'shutil_copystat.py'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER :'</span>
<span class="n">show_file_info</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'file_to_change.txt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copystat.py
BEFORE:
Mode : 33060
Created : Sun Oct 24 08:54:47 2010
Accessed: Sun Oct 24 08:54:47 2010
Modified: Sun Oct 24 08:54:47 2010
AFTER :
Mode : 33188
Created : Sun Oct 24 08:54:47 2010
Accessed: Sun Oct 24 08:54:47 2010
Modified: Sun Oct 10 09:12:22 2010</pre>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="working-with-directory-trees">
<h2>Working With Directory Trees<a class="headerlink" href="#working-with-directory-trees" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2>
<p><a class="reference internal" href="#module-shutil" title="shutil: High-level file operations."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">shutil</span></tt></a> includes 3 functions for working with directory
trees. To copy a directory from one place to another, use
<tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copytree()</span></tt>. It recurses through the source directory tree,
copying files to the destination. The destination directory must not
exist in advance. The <em>symlinks</em> argument controls whether symbolic
links are copied as links or as files. The default is to copy the
contents to new files. If the option is true, new symlinks are created
within the destination tree.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="first admonition-title">Note</p>
<p class="last">The documentation for <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">copytree()</span></tt> says it should be
considered a sample implementation, rather than a tool. You may want
to copy the implementation and make it more robust, or add features
like a progress meter.</p>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">commands</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="n">getoutput</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'ls -rlast /tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">copytree</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'/tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER:'</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="n">getoutput</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'ls -rlast /tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_copytree.py
BEFORE:
ls: /tmp/example: No such file or directory
AFTER:
total 8
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 dhellmann wheel 1595 Oct 10 09:12 shutil_copy2.py
0 drwxr-xr-x 3 dhellmann wheel 102 Oct 24 08:54 .
0 drwxrwxrwt 18 root wheel 612 Oct 24 08:54 ..</pre>
</div>
<p>To remove a directory and its contents, use <tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">rmtree()</span></tt>. Errors
are raised as exceptions by default, but can be ignored if the second
argument is true, and a special error handler function can be provided
in the third argument.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">commands</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE:'</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="n">getoutput</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'ls -rlast /tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">rmtree</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'/tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER:'</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="n">getoutput</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'ls -rlast /tmp/example'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_rmtree.py
BEFORE:
total 8
8 -rw-r--r-- 1 dhellmann wheel 1595 Oct 10 09:12 shutil_copy2.py
0 drwxr-xr-x 3 dhellmann wheel 102 Oct 24 08:54 .
0 drwxrwxrwt 18 root wheel 612 Oct 24 08:54 ..
AFTER:
ls: /tmp/example: No such file or directory</pre>
</div>
<p>To move a file or directory from one place to another, use
<tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">move()</span></tt>. The semantics are similar to those of the Unix command
<tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">mv</span></tt>. If the source and destination are within the same filesystem,
the source is simply renamed. Otherwise the source is copied to the
destination and then the source is removed.</p>
<div class="highlight-python"><div class="highlight"><pre><span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">shutil</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="o">*</span>
<span class="kn">from</span> <span class="nn">glob</span> <span class="kn">import</span> <span class="n">glob</span>
<span class="n">f</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nb">open</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'wt'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">write</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'contents'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">f</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">close</span><span class="p">()</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'BEFORE: '</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">glob</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example*'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="n">move</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example.txt'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s">'example.out'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">print</span> <span class="s">'AFTER : '</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">glob</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">'example*'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="highlight-python"><pre>$ python shutil_move.py
BEFORE: ['example.txt']
AFTER : ['example.out']</pre>
</div>
<div class="admonition-see-also admonition seealso">
<p class="first admonition-title">See also</p>
<dl class="last docutils">
<dt><a class="reference external" href="http://docs.python.org/lib/module-shutil.html">shutil</a></dt>
<dd>Standard library documentation for this module.</dd>
<dt><a class="reference internal" href="../articles/file_access.html#article-file-access"><em>File Access</em></a></dt>
<dd>Other utilities for working with files.</dd>
</dl>
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