Is there a Pathlib alternate for os.path.join?

Question

I am currently accessing the parent directory of my file using Pathlib as follows:

Path(__file__).parent

When I print it, and this gives me the following output:

print('Parent: ', Path(__file__).parent)
#output
/home/user/EC/main-folder

The main-folder has a .env file which I want to access and for that I want to join the parent path with the .env. Right now, I did:

dotenv_path = os.path.join(Path(__file__).parent, ".env")

which works. But I would like to know, if there is a Pathlib alternate to os.path.join()? Something like:

dotenv_path = pathlib_alternate_for_join(Path(__file__).parent, ".env")

Does this answer your question? [How Do I Append a String To A Path in Python?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48190959/how-do-i-append-a-string-to-a-path-in-python) — Azat Ibrakov, Apr 20 '20 at 11:43
Also see this [comparison between os.path and pathlib in the docs](https://docs.python.org/3/library/pathlib.html#correspondence-to-tools-in-the-os-module) — djvg, Mar 29 '22 at 10:03

score 113 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 20 '20 at 11:39

113

Yes there is:

env_path = Path(__file__).parent / ".env"

/ is all you need. This will work in different OSs

answered Apr 20 '20 at 11:39

quest

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Does it support `Path(__file__).parent / "../env"` – Learner Sep 17 '21 at 02:18
3

You can always do, Path(__file__).parent.parent / "env" – quest Sep 17 '21 at 07:31
2

Or `Path(__file__).parents[1] / "env"` – Javier TG Feb 22 '22 at 15:40
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That's a nice operator overload right there – Connor Jul 29 '22 at 20:43
Indeed, pretty sweet and elegant :) – quest Aug 15 '22 at 11:26

score 62 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 20 '20 at 14:59

62

You can use something like this:

(Path(__file__).parent).joinpath('.env')

Documentation:

pathlib.Path.joinpath

edited Apr 20 '20 at 14:59

Alex

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answered Apr 20 '20 at 11:39

some_programmer

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Although I think it is better to spread this out more this is art – Quinten C Jun 22 '22 at 21:29

Quetzalcoatl · Answer 3 · 2021-05-13T06:41:02.987

11

Is the following definition of filepath closer in spirit to os.path.join?

import pathlib
main_dir = 'my_main_dir'
sub_dir = 'sub_dir'
fname = 'filename.tsv'
filepath = pathlib.PurePath(main_dir, sub_dir, fname)

edited May 13 '21 at 06:41

answered May 13 '21 at 06:30

Quetzalcoatl

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I realize my suggestion may not directly address the context of the original question, but searching for "pathlib os.path.join alternative" returns this page as a top result :-) – Quetzalcoatl May 13 '21 at 06:33

score 8 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 05 '21 at 18:40

You can simply join Path objects and strings:

    import pathlib
    script_parent_path = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent
    my_dir = ".env"
    my_new_path = pathlib.Path(script_parent_path, my_dir)
    print(my_new_path)

That's because:

Pathlib's constructors accept pathsegments. Each element of pathsegments can be either a string representing a path segment, an object implementing the os.PathLike interface which returns a string, or another path object - https://docs.python.org/3/library/pathlib.html#pathlib.PurePath

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Jul 23 '22 at 03:09

Just for anyone wondering how / works internally in pathlib.Path:

    # this is where the magic begins! (overload the '/' operator)
    def __truediv__(self, key): 
        try:
            return self._make_child((key,))
        except TypeError:
            return NotImplemented


    def _make_child(self, args):
        drv, root, parts = self._parse_args(args)
        drv, root, parts = self._flavour.join_parsed_parts(
            self._drv, self._root, self._parts, drv, root, parts)
        return self._from_parsed_parts(drv, root, parts)


    @classmethod
    def _from_parsed_parts(cls, drv, root, parts):
        self = object.__new__(cls)
        self._drv = drv
        self._root = root
        self._parts = parts
        return self  # finally return 'self', which is a Path object.

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered May 13 '22 at 06:59

I think the easiest way to join paths is to use

Path(Path(__file__).parent,".env")

See also definition of pathlib.Path(*pathsegments).

In the documentation the following statement and example is given for PurePath:

When several absolute paths are given, the last is taken as an anchor (mimicking os.path.join()’s behaviour):

>>> PurePath('/etc', '/usr', 'lib64')

PurePosixPath('/usr/lib64')

>>> PureWindowsPath('c:/Windows', 'd:bar')

PureWindowsPath('d:bar')

Is there a Pathlib alternate for os.path.join?

6 Answers6

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