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python-3.xdirectoryshutilpathlib

Python: move a file up one directory

Below is a small test routine which takes a path to a file and moves the file up one directory. I am using the os and shutil modules, is there one module that could perform this task? Is there a more pythonic way of implementing this functionality?

The code below is running on windows, but the best cross-platform solution would be appreciated.

def up_one_directory(path):
    """Move file in path up one directory"""
    head, tail = os.path.split(path)
    try:
        shutil.move(path, os.path.join(os.path.split(head)[0], tail))
    except Exception as ex:
        # report
        pass
Solution

  • This is the same as @thierry-lathuille's answer, but without requiring shutil:

    p = Path(path).absolute()
parent_dir = p.parents[1]
p.rename(parent_dir / p.name)