Python os.chdir is modifying the passed directory name

Question

I am trying to change the current working directory in python using os.chdir. I have the following code:

import os

os.chdir("C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\20130216")

However, when I run it, it seems to change the directory, as it comes out with the following error message:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\LapseBot 1.0\LapseBot.py", line 3, in <module>
os.chdir("C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\20130216")
WindowsError: [Error 2] The system cannot find the file specified
  'C:\\Users\\Josh\\Desktop\x8130216'

Can anyone help me?

Try to add another backlash before "2013" – michaelmeyer Jun 26 '13 at 17:09 — michaelmeyer, Jun 26 '13 at 17:09

voithos · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-26T17:19:33.700

28

Python is interpreting the \2013 part of the path as the escape sequence \201, which maps to the character \x81, which is ü (and of course, C:\Users\Josh\Desktopü30216 doesn't exist).

Use a raw string, to make sure that Python doesn't try to interpret anything following a \ as an escape sequence.

os.chdir(r"C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\20130216")

edited Jun 26 '13 at 17:19

answered Jun 26 '13 at 17:14

voithos

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Or use forward slashes, or double the backslashes. – Martijn Pieters Jun 26 '13 at 17:27
@MartijnPieters: Yep, good point. Python can correctly understand paths like `C:/Users/Josh/...` on Windows. – voithos Jun 26 '13 at 17:29
what does the "r" do?? – Nabin Feb 03 '14 at 09:16
@Nabin It's how you define a raw string, i.e. a string without any escape sequences – voithos Feb 03 '14 at 15:55

vaultah · Answer 2 · 2015-12-12T06:47:05.637

4

You could also use os.path.join (documentation). Example:

os.chdir(os.path.join('C:\Users\Josh\Desktop', '20130216'))

This is more elegant + it's compatible with different operating systems.

edited Dec 12 '15 at 06:47

answered Jun 26 '13 at 17:17

vaultah

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score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 26 '13 at 17:11

3

This should work -

os.chdir("C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\\20130216")

answered Jun 26 '13 at 17:11

masnun

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why do you need the second backslash? – Stephan Jun 26 '13 at 17:12
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@Stephan Because "\201" is a character. We need to escape the backslash to tell python that you didn't mean that but it's just another backslash (in fact path separator here) – masnun Jun 26 '13 at 17:15

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 13 '17 at 21:23

0

There are two to use os.chdir():

If you are using raw string than use single backslash \:

os.chdir(r"C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\20130216")

or

If you are not using raw string than use double backslash \\

os.chdir("C:\Users\Josh\Desktop\20130216")

edited Jul 13 '17 at 21:23

phd

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answered Jul 13 '17 at 18:58

Anas Khan

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score -1 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 23 '16 at 22:02

-1

I have faced the same problem but you have to try:

os.chdir(c:\\user\\Josh\\Desktop)

Use \\ so maybe you should get your solution.

edited Feb 23 '16 at 22:02

answered Feb 23 '16 at 21:14

Ashish Patel

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Python os.chdir is modifying the passed directory name

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