How to Check File Size in Python

1. Check File Size in Python Using the pathlib Module
2. Check File Size in Python Using the os.path() Method
3. Check File Size in Python Using the os.stat Method
4. Check File Size Using the File Object Method in Python

A file is a collection of different data stored in one unit. The file size evaluates how much space a file will take to store in a storage medium like a hard disk. It can be measured in different memory units like kilo bytes(kB), mega bytes(MB), and gigabytes(GB) etc.

This article will introduce different methods to check the file size in Python.

Check File Size in Python Using the pathlib Module

The stat() method of the Path object returns the detailed properties of the file like st_mode, st_dev etc. st_size attribute of the stat method gives the file size in bytes.

The complete example code is as follows:

from pathlib import Path

Path(r"C:\test\file1.txt").stat()
file_size = Path(r"C:\test\file1.txt").stat().st_size
print("The file size is:", file_size, "bytes")

We must place r before making the file path as the raw string; otherwise, we need to escape the backslash, like C:\\test\\file1.txt.

Output:

The file size is: 40 bytes

Check File Size in Python Using the os.path() Method

This Python’s module os.path has a function getsize) that returns the file size in bytes by taking the file path as the argument.

The complete example code is as follows:

import os

file_size = os.path.getsize(r"C:\test\file1.txt")
print("File Size:", file_size, "bytes")

Output:

File Size: 20 bytes

Check File Size in Python Using the os.stat Method

This Python os module also provides a stat method to check the file size. It also takes the file path as the argument and returns a structure type object. This object has a st_size attribute giving the file size in bytes.

The complete example code is as follows:

import os

file_size = os.stat(r"C:\test\file1.txt")
print("File Size is", file_size.st_size, "bytes")

Output:

Size of file is 40 bytes

Check File Size Using the File Object Method in Python

We pass the file path to the open() function and get the file object that can be used for file handling operations.

The complete example code is as follows:

import os

with open(r"C:\test\file1.txt") as file_obj:
    file_obj.seek(0, os.SEEK_END)
    print("File Size is", file_obj.tell(), "bytes")

Output:

File Size is 40 bytes

After the desired file is open, the file cursor is at the start of the file. The seek method of the file object will set the file cursor to the desired position.

file_obj.seek(0, os.SEEK_END)

The first argument of the seek() method is the offset of the File object, and the second argument is the reference position of the file. os.SEEK_END specifies the reference position to the end of the file object.

Therefore, the above script line sets the cursor to the end of the file object.

The tell() method of the file object returns the current cursor position. Because the cursor is already set to the end, so the result here is equal to the file size.