Find absolute path of specific upper directory

Question

Objective: I am trying to find the absolute path of a specific filename.

Scenario: My script is executing from within some (great-great-grand)-parent directory, and my file is somewhere in that same (great...)-parent directory.

Problem:

E:
├───Directory
│   └───Sub Directory
└───Grandparent Folder
    ├───Parent Directory
    │   └───script.py
    └───Other Parent Directory
        └───MyFile.txt

The great-parent directory is getting moved around frequently. So the parent directories absolute path is not known.
The script is getting moved around a lot within the great-parent directory and changing file levels within that directory, so I can't just use '../../..' to get up to the parent directory.
The file I'm looking for gets moved around alot within the great-parent directory.

Once I have the absolute path of the parent directory, I can just os.walk() around to find my file.

Attempt: What I have below works, but I have to imagine this a common enough problem to have a built-in os command that I don't know about.

import os

parent_folder = 'Grandparent Folder'
search_file = 'MyFile.txt'

# Get absolute path of grandparent directory.
current_path = os.getcwd()
parent_path = current_path.split(parent_folder)[0] + parent_folder

# os.walk() from grandparent down until file is found.
filepath= ''
for root, dirs, files in os.walk(parent_path):
    for file in files:
        if file == search_file:
            filepath = '\\'.join([root, file])

current working directory and script directory don't have to be the same. Which do you want to base your search on? — tdelaney, May 16 '17 at 16:06
`os.getcwd()` returns the working directory, use `__file__` to get the script dir. — t.m.adam, May 16 '17 at 17:22

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 16 '17 at 16:19

0

Try using pythons glob module to find the pathname. You can find details on official documentation. That way even if the directory moves, you can find the path every time.

answered May 16 '17 at 16:19

Srikkanth Govindaraajan

187
3
18

Does this help me find my grandparent directory, or just the file once I have the parent directory? – Michael Molter May 16 '17 at 16:29
You can use it to find both as long as you know the script name or the file name (these should be unique else there might be multiple matches) – Srikkanth Govindaraajan May 16 '17 at 17:41
@MichaelMolter: You could also use a combination of fnmatch() and glob() Refer to this SO question - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14798220/how-can-i-search-sub-folders-using-glob-glob-module-in-python Once you find the file, you can return the working directory. – Srikkanth Govindaraajan May 16 '17 at 17:57
I don't think this approach addresses the heart of the problem. It is an easier way to grab the specific file once I find the parent directory, but it in no way helps me find the parent directory? – Michael Molter May 16 '17 at 18:53

Find absolute path of specific upper directory

1 Answers1