Python merging files in directory

Python merging files in directory

Merging multiple files in a directory in Python can be done using various approaches depending on the specific requirements and the format of the files. Here's a general approach using Python's built-in libraries:

Example: Merging Text Files into One

Assume you have a directory with several text files (file1.txt, file2.txt, etc.), and you want to merge them into a single file merged.txt.

import os # Directory containing files to merge directory = '/path/to/your/files' # Output merged file output_file = '/path/to/your/output/merged.txt' # List files in the directory files_to_merge = [os.path.join(directory, file) for file in os.listdir(directory) if file.endswith('.txt')] # Function to merge files def merge_files(files, output_file): with open(output_file, 'w') as outfile: for file in files: with open(file, 'r') as infile: outfile.write(infile.read() + '\n') # Add newline after each file # Merge files merge_files(files_to_merge, output_file) print(f"Merged {len(files_to_merge)} files into {output_file}")

Explanation

  1. Directory Setup:

    • Replace '/path/to/your/files' with the path to your directory containing the files you want to merge.
    • Replace '/path/to/your/output/merged.txt' with the path where you want to save the merged file.

  2. List Files:

    • os.listdir(directory) lists all files in the specified directory.
    • files_to_merge is a list comprehension that filters files ending with .txt and creates full paths to each file.

  3. Merge Function:

    • merge_files function opens each file in the list, reads its content, and writes it to the output_file.
    • It appends a newline ('\n') after each file to separate their contents in the merged file.

  4. Output:

    • After running the script, you'll get a confirmation message printing the number of files merged and the path to the output file.

Notes

  • File Handling: Ensure files are closed properly after reading and writing operations to prevent resource leaks.

  • File Formats: Adjust the file reading and writing methods (open(), read(), write()) according to the specific format of your files (e.g., binary files require 'rb' and 'wb' modes).

  • Error Handling: Add error handling (try-except blocks) for file operations to handle potential exceptions like file not found, permission denied, etc.

This example demonstrates a basic approach to merging text files. For merging other file formats (e.g., CSVs, Excel files), you would need to adapt the reading and writing methods accordingly, possibly using libraries like csv, pandas, or specialized modules for handling different file formats in Python.

Examples

  1. Merge Text Files in a Directory: Combine multiple text files into a single file using Python.

    import os def merge_text_files(directory, output_file): with open(output_file, 'w') as outfile: for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".txt"): with open(os.path.join(directory, filename), 'r') as infile: outfile.write(infile.read() + '\n') # Usage example merge_text_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.txt')

    This Python function merges all .txt files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single output file (/path/to/output.txt).

  2. Merge CSV Files in a Directory: Concatenate CSV files in a directory into a single CSV file.

    import os import pandas as pd def merge_csv_files(directory, output_file): all_data = pd.DataFrame() for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".csv"): df = pd.read_csv(os.path.join(directory, filename)) all_data = pd.concat([all_data, df], ignore_index=True) all_data.to_csv(output_file, index=False) # Usage example merge_csv_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.csv')

    This Python script reads all CSV files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory), merges them into a single DataFrame using pd.concat(), and saves the result to output_file.

  3. Merge Excel Files in a Directory: Combine multiple Excel files into a single Excel file using pandas.

    import os import pandas as pd def merge_excel_files(directory, output_file): all_data = pd.DataFrame() for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".xlsx"): df = pd.read_excel(os.path.join(directory, filename)) all_data = pd.concat([all_data, df], ignore_index=True) all_data.to_excel(output_file, index=False) # Usage example merge_excel_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.xlsx')

    This Python function merges all .xlsx files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single Excel file (/path/to/output.xlsx) using pandas.

  4. Merge JSON Files in a Directory: Combine JSON files in a directory into a single JSON file.

    import os import json def merge_json_files(directory, output_file): merged_data = [] for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".json"): with open(os.path.join(directory, filename), 'r') as infile: merged_data.extend(json.load(infile)) with open(output_file, 'w') as outfile: json.dump(merged_data, outfile) # Usage example merge_json_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.json')

    This Python code merges all .json files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single JSON file (/path/to/output.json).

  5. Merge XML Files in a Directory: Concatenate XML files in a directory into a single XML file.

    import os from xml.etree import ElementTree as ET def merge_xml_files(directory, output_file): root = None for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".xml"): tree = ET.parse(os.path.join(directory, filename)) if root is None: root = tree.getroot() else: root.extend(tree.getroot()) if root is not None: merged_tree = ET.ElementTree(root) merged_tree.write(output_file, xml_declaration=True, encoding='utf-8') # Usage example merge_xml_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.xml')

    This Python function merges all .xml files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single XML file (/path/to/output.xml) using ElementTree.

  6. Merge PDF Files in a Directory: Concatenate PDF files in a directory into a single PDF file using PyPDF2.

    import os from PyPDF2 import PdfFileMerger def merge_pdf_files(directory, output_file): merger = PdfFileMerger() for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(".pdf"): merger.append(os.path.join(directory, filename)) merger.write(output_file) merger.close() # Usage example merge_pdf_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.pdf')

    This Python script merges all .pdf files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single PDF file (/path/to/output.pdf) using PyPDF2.

  7. Merge Images in a Directory: Concatenate image files (e.g., JPG, PNG) in a directory into a single image or PDF.

    import os from PIL import Image def merge_images(directory, output_file): images = [] for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(('.jpg', '.png')): images.append(Image.open(os.path.join(directory, filename))) if images: images[0].save(output_file, save_all=True, append_images=images[1:]) # Usage example merge_images('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.jpg')

    This Python code merges all .jpg and .png files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single JPEG image (/path/to/output.jpg) using Pillow (PIL).

  8. Merge Audio Files in a Directory: Combine audio files (e.g., MP3, WAV) in a directory into a single audio file.

    import os from pydub import AudioSegment def merge_audio_files(directory, output_file): combined = None for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(('.mp3', '.wav')): audio = AudioSegment.from_file(os.path.join(directory, filename)) if combined is None: combined = audio else: combined += audio combined.export(output_file, format="mp3") # Adjust format as needed # Usage example merge_audio_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.mp3')

    This Python script merges all .mp3 and .wav files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single MP3 audio file (/path/to/output.mp3) using PyDub.

  9. Merge Binary Files in a Directory: Concatenate binary files (e.g., .bin, .dat) in a directory into a single binary file.

    import os def merge_binary_files(directory, output_file): with open(output_file, 'wb') as outfile: for filename in os.listdir(directory): if filename.endswith(('.bin', '.dat')): with open(os.path.join(directory, filename), 'rb') as infile: outfile.write(infile.read()) # Usage example merge_binary_files('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output.bin')

    This Python function merges all .bin and .dat files in the specified directory (/path/to/directory) into a single binary file (/path/to/output.bin).

  10. Merge Specific File Types with Custom Logic: Merge files based on specific criteria or custom logic in a directory.

    import os import shutil def merge_files_with_criteria(directory, output_file): # Example: Merge only files modified within the last 30 days cutoff_time = time.time() - (30 * 24 * 60 * 60) with open(output_file, 'wb') as outfile: for filename in os.listdir(directory): filepath = os.path.join(directory, filename) if os.path.isfile(filepath) and os.path.getmtime(filepath) > cutoff_time: with open(filepath, 'rb') as infile: shutil.copyfileobj(infile, outfile) # Usage example merge_files_with_criteria('/path/to/directory', '/path/to/output')

    This Python script demonstrates merging files from a directory based on custom criteria, such as modification time, into a single output file.

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