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pythonsymlinktraversaldirectory-traversalsymlink-traversal

Python os.walk + follow symlinks

How do I get this piece to follow symlinks in python 2.6?

def load_recursive(self, path):
    for subdir, dirs, files in os.walk(path):
        for file in files:
            if file.endswith('.xml'):
                file_path = os.path.join(subdir, file)
                try:
                    do_stuff(file_path) 
                except:
                    continue
Solution

  • Set followlinks to True. This is the fourth argument to the os.walk method, reproduced below:

    os.walk(top[, topdown=True[, onerror=None[, followlinks=False]]])

    This option was added in Python 2.6.

    EDIT 1

    Be careful when using followlinks=True. According to the documentation:

    Note: Be aware that setting followlinks to True can lead to infinite recursion if a link points to a parent directory of itself. walk() does not keep track of the directories it visited already.