How to check the file size?

Files are used to store certain data based on user requirement. A file can contain any type of information such as audio, text, images, video or program. Depending on the data present in a file, the size of a file varies.

The size of a file is measured in bits or bytes. A bit is the smallest unit of information which is typically represented by a single value: either 0 or 1. Bytes are used to measure the amount of data in a file and the bytes are denoted by 8 bits. There are several ways to check the file size in Python ?

Using os.path.getsize()

The os.path module in Python provides a function named getsize(), which is used to find the size of the file.

Syntax

from os import path
path.getsize(file_name)

Where,

• os is the module in Python.

• path is the method in os module.

• getsize is the function used to calculate the file size.

• file_name is the input file path.

Example

In this example, we will create a sample file and then check its size using os.path.getsize() ?

import os
from os import path

# Create a sample file
with open("sample.txt", "w") as f:
    f.write("Hello, this is a sample file content!")

# Get file size
file_location = "sample.txt"
file_size = path.getsize(file_location)
print("File size in bytes:", file_size)

# Clean up
os.remove("sample.txt")

File size in bytes: 37

Using os.stat()

In Python, os.stat() method accepts a file path as an argument and returns a stat object containing various attributes describing its structure. The st_size attribute contains the size of the file.

Example

In the following example we are retrieving the size of a file using st_size attribute ?

import os

# Create a sample file
with open("sample.txt", "w") as f:
    f.write("This is sample content for testing file size.")

# Get file size using os.stat()
file_path = "sample.txt"
file_stats = os.stat(file_path)
file_size = file_stats.st_size
print("File size in bytes:", file_size)

# Clean up
os.remove("sample.txt")

File size in bytes: 45

Using pathlib Module

Python also provides the pathlib module, which offers an object-oriented approach to handle file paths. The stat().st_size method can be used to calculate the size of a file.

Example

from pathlib import Path

# Create a sample file
sample_file = Path("sample.txt")
sample_file.write_text("Sample content using pathlib module!")

# Get file size
file_size = sample_file.stat().st_size
print("File size in bytes:", file_size)

# Clean up
sample_file.unlink()

File size in bytes: 37

Using os.fstat()

The os.fstat() method is used to retrieve the status of a file descriptor. It accepts a file descriptor as an argument and returns a stat object with attributes describing the file status. You can retrieve the file size using st_size.

Example

import os

# Create a sample file
with open("sample.txt", "w") as f:
    f.write("Content for testing os.fstat() method.")

# Get file size using os.fstat()
file_path = "sample.txt"
with open(file_path, "rb") as f:
    file_stats = os.fstat(f.fileno())
    file_size = file_stats.st_size
    print("File size in bytes:", file_size)

# Clean up
os.remove("sample.txt")

File size in bytes: 36

Comparison

Conclusion

Use os.path.getsize() for simple file size checks. Use pathlib for modern, object-oriented file operations. Use os.fstat() when working with open file descriptors.