Python os.path.getsize() Method

Python os.path.getsize() method is the most efficient way of finding the size of a file/path/link. The os.path.getsize() method throws an OSError if the specified file does not exist or is inaccessible.

Syntax of the os.path.getsize() Method

os.path.getsize(path)

Parameters

Return

The return type of this method is an integer value. The integer represents the size of the specified path in bytes.

Example 1: Working With the os.path.getsize() Method in Python

import os

path = "/home/User/Desktop/file.txt"

size = os.path.getsize(path)

print("The size, in bytes, of '%s':" % path, size)

Output:

The size, in bytes, of '/home/User/Desktop/file.txt': 243

The os.path.getsize() method will return the size of the directory and not the size of its content.

Example 2: Handling OSError While Using the os.path.getsize() Method in Python

import os

import sys

path = "/home/Admin/Documents/file.txt"

try:
    size = os.path.getsize(path)

except OSError:
    print("The path '%s' does not exist or is inaccessible." % path)
    sys.exit()

print("The size, in bytes, of '% s':" % path, size)

Output:

The path '/home/Admin/Documents/file.txt' does not exist or is inaccessible.

The bytes returned by the os.path.getsize() method can be converted to KBs, MBs, and GBs, for a better understanding by users.

Example 3: Set the Path as Empty in the os.path.getsize() Method in Python

import os

path = ""

size = os.path.getsize(path)

print("File size:", size)

Output:

FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: ''

An alternative to this method is using the os.stat() Python function. It returns some information about the file path, which includes the size of the path.