`glob`

The Python glob module provides tools to find path names matching specified patterns that follow Unix shell rules. You can use this module for file and directory pattern matching.

Here’s a quick example that looks for all the .py files in the current directory:

Python
      
>>> import glob
>>> glob.glob("*.py")
['script.py', 'module.py', 'test_script.py']

Key Features

Performs pattern matching to find files and directories
Supports Unix shell-style wildcards (*, ?, [])
Can search recursively

Frequently Used Classes and Functions

Object	Type	Description
`glob.glob()`	Function	Returns a list of paths matching a path pattern
`glob.iglob()`	Function	Returns an iterator that yields the paths matching
`glob.escape()`	Function	Escapes special characters in a path name
`glob.translate()`	Function	Converts the given path specification to a regular expression

Examples

Find all text files in the current directory:

Python
      
>>> import glob
>>> glob.glob("*.txt")
['file1.txt', 'file2.txt', 'test.txt']

Find all text files in the directory and its subdirectories:

Python
      
>>> glob.glob("**/*.txt", recursive=True)
['notes.txt', 'docs/info.txt', 'archive/old_notes.txt']

Common Use Cases

Listing all files of a certain type in a directory
Searching for files with specific naming patterns
Recursively finding files in a directory tree

Real-World Example

Suppose you want to find all image files (with extensions .jpg, .png, .gif) in a directory and its subdirectories:

Python
      
>>> import glob

>>> image_files = glob.glob('**/*.jpg', recursive=True) + \
...               glob.glob('**/*.png', recursive=True) + \
...               glob.glob('**/*.gif', recursive=True)
...

>>> image_files
['images/photo.jpg', 'graphics/logo.png', 'pictures/image.gif']

This snippet demonstrates how to use the glob module to locate image files in a directory tree by using pattern matching.

Tutorial

How to Get a List of All Files in a Directory With Python

In this tutorial, you'll be examining a couple of methods to get a list of files and folders in a directory with Python. You'll also use both methods to recursively list directory contents. Finally, you'll examine a situation that pits one method against the other.

intermediate

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources: