11.10. "shutil" — High-level file operations
********************************************

**Source code:** Lib/shutil.py

======================================================================

The "shutil" 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. For operations on individual
files, see also the "os" module.

Warning: Even the higher-level file copying functions
  ("shutil.copy()", "shutil.copy2()") cannot copy all file metadata.On
  POSIX platforms, this means that file owner and group are lost as
  well as ACLs.  On Mac OS, the resource fork and other metadata are
  not used. This means that resources will be lost and file type and
  creator codes will not be correct. On Windows, file owners, ACLs and
  alternate data streams are not copied.


11.10.1. Directory and files operations
=======================================

shutil.copyfileobj(fsrc, fdst[, length])

   Copy the contents of the file-like object *fsrc* to the file-like
   object *fdst*. The integer *length*, if given, is the buffer size.
   In particular, a negative *length* 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. Note
   that if the current file position of the *fsrc* object is not 0,
   only the contents from the current file position to the end of the
   file will be copied.

shutil.copyfile(src, dst, *, follow_symlinks=True)

   Copy the contents (no metadata) of the file named *src* to a file
   named *dst* and return *dst*.  *src* and *dst* are path names given
   as strings. *dst* must be the complete target file name; look at
   "shutil.copy()" for a copy that accepts a target directory path.
   If *src* and *dst* specify the same file, "SameFileError" is
   raised.

   The destination location must be writable; otherwise, an "OSError"
   exception will be raised. If *dst* already exists, it will be
   replaced. Special files such as character or block devices and
   pipes cannot be copied with this function.

   If *follow_symlinks* is false and *src* is a symbolic link, a new
   symbolic link will be created instead of copying the file *src*
   points to.

   Changed in version 3.3: "IOError" used to be raised instead of
   "OSError". Added *follow_symlinks* argument. Now returns *dst*.

   Changed in version 3.4: Raise "SameFileError" instead of "Error".
   Since the former is a subclass of the latter, this change is
   backward compatible.

exception shutil.SameFileError

   This exception is raised if source and destination in "copyfile()"
   are the same file.

   New in version 3.4.

shutil.copymode(src, dst, *, follow_symlinks=True)

   Copy the permission bits from *src* to *dst*.  The file contents,
   owner, and group are unaffected.  *src* and *dst* are path names
   given as strings. If *follow_symlinks* is false, and both *src* and
   *dst* are symbolic links, "copymode()" will attempt to modify the
   mode of *dst* itself (rather than the file it points to).  This
   functionality is not available on every platform; please see
   "copystat()" for more information.  If "copymode()" cannot modify
   symbolic links on the local platform, and it is asked to do so, it
   will do nothing and return.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added *follow_symlinks* argument.

shutil.copystat(src, dst, *, follow_symlinks=True)

   Copy the permission bits, last access time, last modification time,
   and flags from *src* to *dst*.  On Linux, "copystat()" also copies
   the “extended attributes” where possible.  The file contents,
   owner, and group are unaffected.  *src* and *dst* are path names
   given as strings.

   If *follow_symlinks* is false, and *src* and *dst* both refer to
   symbolic links, "copystat()" will operate on the symbolic links
   themselves rather than the files the symbolic links refer
   to–reading the information from the *src* symbolic link, and
   writing the information to the *dst* symbolic link.

   Note: Not all platforms provide the ability to examine and modify
     symbolic links.  Python itself can tell you what functionality is
     locally available.

     * If "os.chmod in os.supports_follow_symlinks" is "True",
       "copystat()" can modify the permission bits of a symbolic link.

     * If "os.utime in os.supports_follow_symlinks" is "True",
       "copystat()" can modify the last access and modification times
       of a symbolic link.

     * If "os.chflags in os.supports_follow_symlinks" is "True",
       "copystat()" can modify the flags of a symbolic link.
       ("os.chflags" is not available on all platforms.)

     On platforms where some or all of this functionality is
     unavailable, when asked to modify a symbolic link, "copystat()"
     will copy everything it can. "copystat()" never returns
     failure.Please see "os.supports_follow_symlinks" for more
     information.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added *follow_symlinks* argument and
   support for Linux extended attributes.

shutil.copy(src, dst, *, follow_symlinks=True)

   Copies the file *src* to the file or directory *dst*.  *src* and
   *dst* should be strings.  If *dst* specifies a directory, the file
   will be copied into *dst* using the base filename from *src*.
   Returns the path to the newly created file.

   If *follow_symlinks* is false, and *src* is a symbolic link, *dst*
   will be created as a symbolic link.  If *follow_symlinks* is true
   and *src* is a symbolic link, *dst* will be a copy of the file
   *src* refers to.

   "copy()" copies the file data and the file’s permission mode (see
   "os.chmod()").  Other metadata, like the file’s creation and
   modification times, is not preserved. To preserve all file metadata
   from the original, use "copy2()" instead.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added *follow_symlinks* argument. Now
   returns path to the newly created file.

shutil.copy2(src, dst, *, follow_symlinks=True)

   Identical to "copy()" except that "copy2()" also attempts to
   preserve all file metadata.

   When *follow_symlinks* is false, and *src* is a symbolic link,
   "copy2()" attempts to copy all metadata from the *src* symbolic
   link to the newly-created *dst* symbolic link. However, this
   functionality is not available on all platforms. On platforms where
   some or all of this functionality is unavailable, "copy2()" will
   preserve all the metadata it can; "copy2()" never returns failure.

   "copy2()" uses "copystat()" to copy the file metadata. Please see
   "copystat()" for more information about platform support for
   modifying symbolic link metadata.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added *follow_symlinks* argument, try to
   copy extended file system attributes too (currently Linux only).
   Now returns path to the newly created file.

shutil.ignore_patterns(*patterns)

   This factory function creates a function that can be used as a
   callable for "copytree()"’s *ignore* argument, ignoring files and
   directories that match one of the glob-style *patterns* provided.
   See the example below.

shutil.copytree(src, dst, symlinks=False, ignore=None, copy_function=copy2, ignore_dangling_symlinks=False)

   Recursively copy an entire directory tree rooted at *src*,
   returning the destination directory.  The destination directory,
   named by *dst*, must not already exist; it will be created as well
   as missing parent directories.  Permissions and times of
   directories are copied with "copystat()", individual files are
   copied using "shutil.copy2()".

   If *symlinks* is true, symbolic links in the source tree are
   represented as symbolic links in the new tree and the metadata of
   the original links will be copied as far as the platform allows; if
   false or omitted, the contents and metadata of the linked files are
   copied to the new tree.

   When *symlinks* is false, if the file pointed by the symlink
   doesn’t exist, an exception will be added in the list of errors
   raised in an "Error" exception at the end of the copy process. You
   can set the optional *ignore_dangling_symlinks* flag to true if you
   want to silence this exception. Notice that this option has no
   effect on platforms that don’t support "os.symlink()".

   If *ignore* is given, it must be a callable that will receive as
   its arguments the directory being visited by "copytree()", and a
   list of its contents, as returned by "os.listdir()".  Since
   "copytree()" is called recursively, the *ignore* callable will be
   called once for each directory that is copied.  The callable must
   return a sequence of directory and file names relative to the
   current directory (i.e. a subset of the items in its second
   argument); these names will then be ignored in the copy process.
   "ignore_patterns()" can be used to create such a callable that
   ignores names based on glob-style patterns.

   If exception(s) occur, an "Error" is raised with a list of reasons.

   If *copy_function* is given, it must be a callable that will be
   used to copy each file. It will be called with the source path and
   the destination path as arguments. By default, "shutil.copy2()" is
   used, but any function that supports the same signature (like
   "shutil.copy()") can be used.

   Changed in version 3.3: Copy metadata when *symlinks* is false. Now
   returns *dst*.

   Changed in version 3.2: Added the *copy_function* argument to be
   able to provide a custom copy function. Added the
   *ignore_dangling_symlinks* argument to silent dangling symlinks
   errors when *symlinks* is false.

shutil.rmtree(path, ignore_errors=False, onerror=None)

   Delete an entire directory tree; *path* must point to a directory
   (but not a symbolic link to a directory).  If *ignore_errors* is
   true, errors resulting from failed removals will be ignored; if
   false or omitted, such errors are handled by calling a handler
   specified by *onerror* or, if that is omitted, they raise an
   exception.

   Note: On platforms that support the necessary fd-based functions
     a symlink attack resistant version of "rmtree()" is used by
     default.  On other platforms, the "rmtree()" implementation is
     susceptible to a symlink attack: given proper timing and
     circumstances, attackers can manipulate symlinks on the
     filesystem to delete files they wouldn’t be able to access
     otherwise.  Applications can use the
     "rmtree.avoids_symlink_attacks" function attribute to determine
     which case applies.

   If *onerror* is provided, it must be a callable that accepts three
   parameters: *function*, *path*, and *excinfo*.

   The first parameter, *function*, is the function which raised the
   exception; it depends on the platform and implementation.  The
   second parameter, *path*, will be the path name passed to
   *function*.  The third parameter, *excinfo*, will be the exception
   information returned by "sys.exc_info()".  Exceptions raised by
   *onerror* will not be caught.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added a symlink attack resistant version
   that is used automatically if platform supports fd-based functions.

   rmtree.avoids_symlink_attacks

      Indicates whether the current platform and implementation
      provides a symlink attack resistant version of "rmtree()".
      Currently this is only true for platforms supporting fd-based
      directory access functions.

      New in version 3.3.

shutil.move(src, dst)

   Recursively move a file or directory (*src*) to another location
   (*dst*) and return the destination.

   If the destination is an existing directory, then *src* is moved
   inside that directory. If the destination already exists but is not
   a directory, it may be overwritten depending on "os.rename()"
   semantics.

   If the destination is on the current filesystem, then "os.rename()"
   is used.  Otherwise, *src* is copied (using "shutil.copy2()") to
   *dst* and then removed. In case of symlinks, a new symlink pointing
   to the target of *src* will be created in or as *dst* and *src*
   will be removed.

   Changed in version 3.3: Added explicit symlink handling for foreign
   filesystems, thus adapting it to the behavior of GNU’s **mv**. Now
   returns *dst*.

shutil.disk_usage(path)

   Return disk usage statistics about the given path as a *named
   tuple* with the attributes *total*, *used* and *free*, which are
   the amount of total, used and free space, in bytes.

   New in version 3.3.

   Availability: Unix, Windows.

shutil.chown(path, user=None, group=None)

   Change owner *user* and/or *group* of the given *path*.

   *user* can be a system user name or a uid; the same applies to
   *group*. At least one argument is required.

   See also "os.chown()", the underlying function.

   Availability: Unix.

   New in version 3.3.

shutil.which(cmd, mode=os.F_OK | os.X_OK, path=None)

   Return the path to an executable which would be run if the given
   *cmd* was called.  If no *cmd* would be called, return "None".

   *mode* is a permission mask passed a to "os.access()", by default
   determining if the file exists and executable.

   When no *path* is specified, the results of "os.environ()" are
   used, returning either the “PATH” value or a fallback of
   "os.defpath".

   On Windows, the current directory is always prepended to the *path*
   whether or not you use the default or provide your own, which is
   the behavior the command shell uses when finding executables.
   Additionally, when finding the *cmd* in the *path*, the "PATHEXT"
   environment variable is checked.  For example, if you call
   "shutil.which("python")", "which()" will search "PATHEXT" to know
   that it should look for "python.exe" within the *path* directories.
   For example, on Windows:

      >>> shutil.which("python")
      'C:\\Python33\\python.EXE'

   New in version 3.3.

exception shutil.Error

   This exception collects exceptions that are raised during a multi-
   file operation. For "copytree()", the exception argument is a list
   of 3-tuples (*srcname*, *dstname*, *exception*).


11.10.1.1. copytree example
---------------------------

This example is the implementation of the "copytree()" function,
described above, with the docstring omitted.  It demonstrates many of
the other functions provided by this module.

   def copytree(src, dst, symlinks=False):
       names = os.listdir(src)
       os.makedirs(dst)
       errors = []
       for name in names:
           srcname = os.path.join(src, name)
           dstname = os.path.join(dst, name)
           try:
               if symlinks and os.path.islink(srcname):
                   linkto = os.readlink(srcname)
                   os.symlink(linkto, dstname)
               elif os.path.isdir(srcname):
                   copytree(srcname, dstname, symlinks)
               else:
                   copy2(srcname, dstname)
               # XXX What about devices, sockets etc.?
           except OSError as why:
               errors.append((srcname, dstname, str(why)))
           # catch the Error from the recursive copytree so that we can
           # continue with other files
           except Error as err:
               errors.extend(err.args[0])
       try:
           copystat(src, dst)
       except OSError as why:
           # can't copy file access times on Windows
           if why.winerror is None:
               errors.extend((src, dst, str(why)))
       if errors:
           raise Error(errors)

Another example that uses the "ignore_patterns()" helper:

   from shutil import copytree, ignore_patterns

   copytree(source, destination, ignore=ignore_patterns('*.pyc', 'tmp*'))

This will copy everything except ".pyc" files and files or directories
whose name starts with "tmp".

Another example that uses the *ignore* argument to add a logging call:

   from shutil import copytree
   import logging

   def _logpath(path, names):
       logging.info('Working in %s' % path)
       return []   # nothing will be ignored

   copytree(source, destination, ignore=_logpath)


11.10.2. Archiving operations
=============================

New in version 3.2.

High-level utilities to create and read compressed and archived files
are also provided.  They rely on the "zipfile" and "tarfile" modules.

shutil.make_archive(base_name, format[, root_dir[, base_dir[, verbose[, dry_run[, owner[, group[, logger]]]]]]])

   Create an archive file (such as zip or tar) and return its name.

   *base_name* is the name of the file to create, including the path,
   minus any format-specific extension. *format* is the archive
   format: one of “zip”, “tar”, “bztar” (if the "bz2" module is
   available) or “gztar”.

   *root_dir* is a directory that will be the root directory of the
   archive; for example, we typically chdir into *root_dir* before
   creating the archive.

   *base_dir* is the directory where we start archiving from; i.e.
   *base_dir* will be the common prefix of all files and directories
   in the archive.

   *root_dir* and *base_dir* both default to the current directory.

   If *dry_run* is true, no archive is created, but the operations
   that would be executed are logged to *logger*.

   *owner* and *group* are used when creating a tar archive. By
   default, uses the current owner and group.

   *logger* must be an object compatible with **PEP 282**, usually an
   instance of "logging.Logger".

   The *verbose* argument is unused and deprecated.

shutil.get_archive_formats()

   Return a list of supported formats for archiving. Each element of
   the returned sequence is a tuple "(name, description)".

   By default "shutil" provides these formats:

   * *gztar*: gzip’ed tar-file

   * *bztar*: bzip2’ed tar-file (if the "bz2" module is available.)

   * *tar*: uncompressed tar file

   * *zip*: ZIP file

   You can register new formats or provide your own archiver for any
   existing formats, by using "register_archive_format()".

shutil.register_archive_format(name, function[, extra_args[, description]])

   Register an archiver for the format *name*.

   *function* is the callable that will be used to unpack archives.
   The callable will receive the *base_name* of the file to create,
   followed by the *base_dir* (which defaults to "os.curdir") to start
   archiving from. Further arguments are passed as keyword arguments:
   *owner*, *group*, *dry_run* and *logger* (as passed in
   "make_archive()").

   If given, *extra_args* is a sequence of "(name, value)" pairs that
   will be used as extra keywords arguments when the archiver callable
   is used.

   *description* is used by "get_archive_formats()" which returns the
   list of archivers.  Defaults to an empty string.

shutil.unregister_archive_format(name)

   Remove the archive format *name* from the list of supported
   formats.

shutil.unpack_archive(filename[, extract_dir[, format]])

   Unpack an archive. *filename* is the full path of the archive.

   *extract_dir* is the name of the target directory where the archive
   is unpacked. If not provided, the current working directory is
   used.

   *format* is the archive format: one of “zip”, “tar”, or “gztar”. Or
   any other format registered with "register_unpack_format()". If not
   provided, "unpack_archive()" will use the archive file name
   extension and see if an unpacker was registered for that extension.
   In case none is found, a "ValueError" is raised.

shutil.register_unpack_format(name, extensions, function[, extra_args[, description]])

   Registers an unpack format. *name* is the name of the format and
   *extensions* is a list of extensions corresponding to the format,
   like ".zip" for Zip files.

   *function* is the callable that will be used to unpack archives.
   The callable will receive the path of the archive, followed by the
   directory the archive must be extracted to.

   When provided, *extra_args* is a sequence of "(name, value)" tuples
   that will be passed as keywords arguments to the callable.

   *description* can be provided to describe the format, and will be
   returned by the "get_unpack_formats()" function.

shutil.unregister_unpack_format(name)

   Unregister an unpack format. *name* is the name of the format.

shutil.get_unpack_formats()

   Return a list of all registered formats for unpacking. Each element
   of the returned sequence is a tuple "(name, extensions,
   description)".

   By default "shutil" provides these formats:

   * *gztar*: gzip’ed tar-file

   * *bztar*: bzip2’ed tar-file (if the "bz2" module is available.)

   * *tar*: uncompressed tar file

   * *zip*: ZIP file

   You can register new formats or provide your own unpacker for any
   existing formats, by using "register_unpack_format()".


11.10.2.1. Archiving example
----------------------------

In this example, we create a gzip’ed tar-file archive containing all
files found in the ".ssh" directory of the user:

   >>> from shutil import make_archive
   >>> import os
   >>> archive_name = os.path.expanduser(os.path.join('~', 'myarchive'))
   >>> root_dir = os.path.expanduser(os.path.join('~', '.ssh'))
   >>> make_archive(archive_name, 'gztar', root_dir)
   '/Users/tarek/myarchive.tar.gz'

The resulting archive contains:

   $ tar -tzvf /Users/tarek/myarchive.tar.gz
   drwx------ tarek/staff       0 2010-02-01 16:23:40 ./
   -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff     609 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./authorized_keys
   -rwxr-xr-x tarek/staff      65 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./config
   -rwx------ tarek/staff     668 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_dsa
   -rwxr-xr-x tarek/staff     609 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_dsa.pub
   -rw------- tarek/staff    1675 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_rsa
   -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff     397 2008-06-09 13:26:54 ./id_rsa.pub
   -rw-r--r-- tarek/staff   37192 2010-02-06 18:23:10 ./known_hosts


11.10.3. Querying the size of the output terminal
=================================================

New in version 3.3.

shutil.get_terminal_size(fallback=(columns, lines))

   Get the size of the terminal window.

   For each of the two dimensions, the environment variable, "COLUMNS"
   and "LINES" respectively, is checked. If the variable is defined
   and the value is a positive integer, it is used.

   When "COLUMNS" or "LINES" is not defined, which is the common case,
   the terminal connected to "sys.__stdout__" is queried by invoking
   "os.get_terminal_size()".

   If the terminal size cannot be successfully queried, either because
   the system doesn’t support querying, or because we are not
   connected to a terminal, the value given in "fallback" parameter is
   used. "fallback" defaults to "(80, 24)" which is the default size
   used by many terminal emulators.

   The value returned is a named tuple of type "os.terminal_size".

   See also: The Single UNIX Specification, Version 2, Other
   Environment Variables.
