Master Python File Checks: os, open, and pathlib Made Simple

Using os module

Check if a file exists os.path.isfile(path) Check if a directory exists os.path.isdir(path) Check if a path exists (alternative methods)

# Using path module
os.path.exists(path)
# Using access()
os.access(path, os.F_OK)

Using open function and exception handling

When opening a non‑existent file with open(), Python raises FileNotFoundError; lacking permission raises PermissionError. Use try/except to detect existence.

filePath = '/path/to/file'
try:
    file = open(filePath)
    file.close()
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("No such file or directory: '%s'" % filePath)
except IsADirectoryError:
    print("Is a directory: '%s'" % filePath)
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied: '%s'" % filePath)
else:
    print("File is exist: '%s'" % filePath)

Using pathlib module

import pathlib
path = pathlib.Path('path/to/file')
# Check if path exists
path.exists()
# Check if it is a file
path.is_file()
# Check if it is a directory
path.is_dir()