List Directory Tree Structure in Python

The given task is to list the directory tree structure, i.e., we need to print the hierarchy of folders and files starting from a specified root directory. This is similar to how the tree command works in Linux or Windows by showing nested folders and files in a structured and indented format.

In this article, we will see all the possible methods in Python to list the directory tree structure.

Using os.walk() Method

The os.walk() method in Python is used to generate the file names and folder names in a directory tree by parsing through the tree in either a top-down or bottom-up approach.

Example

Following is the example, which shows how to use the os.walk() method of the os module to list the directory tree structure of the specified input directory path -

import os

def list_dir_tree(start_path):
   for root, dirs, files in os.walk(start_path):
      # Determine indentation level
      level = root.replace(start_path, '').count(os.sep)
      indent = ' ' * 4 * level
      # Print folder name
      print(f'{indent}{os.path.basename(root)}/')
      sub_indent = ' ' * 4 * (level + 1)
      # Print files in the folder
      for f in files:
         print(f'{sub_indent}{f}')

# Example usage
list_dir_tree(r"D:\Tutorialspoint\sample") 

Following is the output of the above program -

sample/
   folder1/
      sample1.txt
      sample2.txt
   folder2/
      sample.txt

Using pathlib.Path.iterdir() method

The pathlib.Path.iterdir() method in Python is used to iterate over the contents of a directory. It returns an iterator of all files and subdirectories in a given directory and can be used recursively to build a directory tree structure in an object-oriented way.

Example

Below is an example that shows how to use pathlib.Path.iterdir() method of the pathlib module to list the directory tree structure of the specified input directory path -

from pathlib import Path

def list_tree(path, level=0):
   for item in sorted(path.iterdir()):
      print('    ' * level + item.name)
      if item.is_dir():
         list_tree(item, level + 1)

# Example usage
list_tree(Path(r"D:\Tutorialspoint\sample"))

Here is the output of the above program -

folder1
   sample1.txt
   sample2.txt
folder2
   sample.txt