Run Python Script From Script Directory/Current Directory

Question

I'm writing a Python script to automate installation of UWP-Apps. The script uses Dependencies inside the script directory; my older scripts use this code:

os.chdir(os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0]))

The above code doesn't work on my current script but works fine on older scripts. It shows:

OSError: [WinError 123] The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect: ''

Researching this topic, I only found talk about running the script from outer/different directory.

Answer 1

import os
from os.path import abspath, dirname
os.chdir(dirname(abspath(__file__)))

You can use dirname(abspath(__file__))) to get the parent directory of the python script and os.chdir into it to make the script run in the directory where it is located.

Answer 2

The easiest answer is probably to change your working directory, then call the .py file from where it is:

cd path/to/python/file && python ../.py

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Of course you might find it even easier to write a script that does it all for you, like so:

Save this as runPython.sh in the directory where you're running the python script from, is:

#!/bin/sh
cd path/to/python/file
python ../script.py

Make it executable (for yourself):

chmod +x ./runPython.sh

Then you can simply enter your directory and run it:

./runPython.sh

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If you want to only make changes to the python script:

mydir = os.getcwd() # would be the folder where you're running the file
mydir_tmp = "path/to/python/file" # get the path
mydir_new = os.chdir(mydir_tmp) # change the current working directory
mydir = os.getcwd() 

The reason you got an error was because sys.argv[0] is the name of the file itself, instead you can pass the directory as a string and use sys.argv[1] instead.