Rename Files Using Python

I want to rename a file from say {file1} to {file2}. I read about os.rename(file1,file2) in python and is able to do so. I succeeded only when the the file is placed in the same fo

Solution 1:

Just use the full path, instead of the relative path:

oldFile = 'C:\\folder\\subfolder\\inFile.txt'
newFile = 'C:\\foo\\bar\\somewhere\\other\\outFile.txt'

os.rename(oldFile, newFile)

To get the double-slash behavior, you can do the following

import os
oldFile = r'C:\folder\subfolder\inFile.txt'  # note the r character for raw string
os.path.normpath(oldFile)

Output

'C:\\folder\\subfolder\\inFile.txt'

Solution 2:

As others have noted, you need to use full path.

On the other note, take a look at shutil.move documentation, it can also be used for renaming.