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<H1><A NAME="SECTION0082600000000000000000">
6.26 <tt class="module">shutil</tt> --
High-level file operations</A>
</H1>
<P>
<A NAME="module-shutil"></A>
<P>
The <tt class="module">shutil</tt> module offers a number of high-level operations on
files and collections of files. In particular, functions are provided
which support file copying and removal.
<a id='l2h-2359' xml:id='l2h-2359'></a>
<P>
<strong>Caveat:</strong> On MacOS, the resource fork and other metadata are
not used. For file copies, this means that resources will be lost and
file type and creator codes will not be correct.
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2349' xml:id='l2h-2349' class="function">copyfile</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Copy the contents of the file named <var>src</var> to a file named
<var>dst</var>. The destination location must be writable; otherwise,
an <tt class="exception">IOError</tt> exception will be raised.
If <var>dst</var> already exists, it will be replaced.
Special files such as character or block devices
and pipes cannot be copied with this function. <var>src</var> and
<var>dst</var> are path names given as strings.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2350' xml:id='l2h-2350' class="function">copyfileobj</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>fsrc, fdst</var><big>[</big><var>, length</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Copy the contents of the file-like object <var>fsrc</var> to the
file-like object <var>fdst</var>. The integer <var>length</var>, if given,
is the buffer size. In particular, a negative <var>length</var> value
means to copy the data without looping over the source data in
chunks; by default the data is read in chunks to avoid uncontrolled
memory consumption.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2351' xml:id='l2h-2351' class="function">copymode</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Copy the permission bits from <var>src</var> to <var>dst</var>. The file
contents, owner, and group are unaffected. <var>src</var> and <var>dst</var>
are path names given as strings.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2352' xml:id='l2h-2352' class="function">copystat</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Copy the permission bits, last access time, and last modification
time from <var>src</var> to <var>dst</var>. The file contents, owner, and
group are unaffected. <var>src</var> and <var>dst</var> are path names given
as strings.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2353' xml:id='l2h-2353' class="function">copy</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Copy the file <var>src</var> to the file or directory <var>dst</var>. If
<var>dst</var> is a directory, a file with the same basename as <var>src</var>
is created (or overwritten) in the directory specified. Permission
bits are copied. <var>src</var> and <var>dst</var> are path names given as
strings.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2354' xml:id='l2h-2354' class="function">copy2</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Similar to <tt class="function">copy()</tt>, but last access time and last
modification time are copied as well. This is similar to the
<span class="Unix">Unix</span> command <b class="program">cp</b> <b class="programopt">-p</b>.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2355' xml:id='l2h-2355' class="function">copytree</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var><big>[</big><var>, symlinks</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Recursively copy an entire directory tree rooted at <var>src</var>. The
destination directory, named by <var>dst</var>, must not already exist;
it will be created. Individual files are copied using
<tt class="function">copy2()</tt>. If <var>symlinks</var> is true, symbolic links in
the source tree are represented as symbolic links in the new tree;
if false or omitted, the contents of the linked files are copied to
the new tree. If exception(s) occur, an Error is raised
with a list of reasons.
<P>
The source code for this should be considered an example rather than
a tool.
<span class="versionnote">Changed in version 2.3:
Error is raised if any exceptions occur during copying,
rather than printing a message.</span>
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2356' xml:id='l2h-2356' class="function">rmtree</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>path</var><big>[</big><var>, ignore_errors</var><big>[</big><var>, onerror</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Delete an entire directory tree.<a id='l2h-2360' xml:id='l2h-2360'></a>
If <var>ignore_errors</var> is true,
errors resulting from failed removals will be ignored; if false or
omitted, such errors are handled by calling a handler specified by
<var>onerror</var> or, if that is omitted, they raise an exception.
<P>
If <var>onerror</var> is provided, it must be a callable that accepts
three parameters: <var>function</var>, <var>path</var>, and <var>excinfo</var>.
The first parameter, <var>function</var>, is the function which raised
the exception; it will be <tt class="function">os.listdir()</tt>, <tt class="function">os.remove()</tt> or
<tt class="function">os.rmdir()</tt>. The second parameter, <var>path</var>, will be
the path name passed to <var>function</var>. The third parameter,
<var>excinfo</var>, will be the exception information return by
<tt class="function">sys.exc_info()</tt>. Exceptions raised by <var>onerror</var> will
not be caught.
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline">
<td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2357' xml:id='l2h-2357' class="function">move</tt></b>(</nobr></td>
<td><var>src, dst</var>)</td></tr></table></dt>
<dd>
Recursively move a file or directory to another location.
<P>
If the destination is on our current filesystem, then simply use
rename. Otherwise, copy src to the dst and then remove src.
<P>
<span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span>
</dl>
<P>
<dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-2358' xml:id='l2h-2358' class="exception">Error</tt></b></dt>
<dd>
This exception collects exceptions that raised during a mult-file
operation. For <tt class="function">copytree</tt>, the exception argument is a
list of 3-tuples (<var>srcname</var>, <var>dstname</var>, <var>exception</var>).
<P>
<span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span>
</dd></dl>
<P>
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<span class="release-info">Release 2.4.3, documentation updated on 29 March 2006.</span>
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