How to Move a File in Python (shutil and pathlib)

The easiest way to move a file in Python is shutil.move(source, destination). Give it a folder and the file goes inside it; give it a full path and the file is moved and renamed in one step:

import shutil

shutil.move("invoice.pdf", "archive")              # into the archive folder
shutil.move("invoice.pdf", "archive/INV-1042.pdf") # move and rename

These examples created, moved and checked real files with Python 3.12.5 on Windows; the screenshots show each script’s Command Prompt run.

I’ll cover shutil.move(), pathlib‘s rename(), what happens when the destination already exists, moving many files by pattern, and moving whole folders.

How to move a file in Python with shutil.move()

shutil.move() returns the file’s new path, which is handy for logging. I like that it works across drives too, by copying the file and then deleting the original:

import os
import shutil

os.makedirs("archive", exist_ok=True)
with open("invoice.pdf", "w") as f:
    f.write("INV-1042 total $249.99")

new_path = shutil.move("invoice.pdf", "archive")             # into a folder
print("moved to:", new_path)
print("still here?", os.path.exists("invoice.pdf"))

shutil.move(os.path.join("archive", "invoice.pdf"), os.path.join("archive", "INV-1042.pdf"))
print(os.listdir("archive"))                                  # moved and renamed

Output:

moved to: archive\invoice.pdf
still here? False
['INV-1042.pdf']

If you want to keep your original, you’re copying, not moving. See shutil copy file in Python for that.

Moving a file with pathlib

Path.rename() moves a file to a new path and returns a Path for it. It’s a thin wrapper around os.rename(), so it only works within the same drive:

from pathlib import Path

Path("processed").mkdir(exist_ok=True)
src = Path("notes.txt")
src.write_text("call the Denver store", encoding="utf-8")

dst = src.rename(Path("processed") / "notes-2026-10-26.txt")   # returns the new path
print("new path:", dst)
print("old exists?", src.exists(), "| new exists?", dst.exists())

Output:

new path: processed\notes-2026-10-26.txt
old exists? False | new exists? True

You’ll want shutil.move() instead when the destination might be on another drive, such as a USB stick or network share.

What if the destination file already exists?

This is where the functions differ. On Windows, os.rename() and Path.rename() refuse to overwrite. os.replace() and Path.replace() overwrite on every OS:

import os

for name, text in [("draft.txt", "v2"), ("final.txt", "v1")]:
    with open(name, "w") as f:
        f.write(text)

try:
    os.rename("draft.txt", "final.txt")          # Windows refuses to overwrite
except FileExistsError as err:
    print("FileExistsError:", err)

os.replace("draft.txt", "final.txt")             # replace overwrites on every OS
print(open("final.txt").read(), "| draft left?", os.path.exists("draft.txt"))

Output:

FileExistsError: [WinError 183] Cannot create a file when that file already exists: 'draft.txt' -> 'final.txt'
v2 | draft left? False

Function	Destination exists (Windows)	Across drives?
shutil.move(src, file)	Overwrites	Yes
shutil.move(src, folder)	shutil.Error if same name inside	Yes
os.rename() / Path.rename()	FileExistsError	No
os.replace() / Path.replace()	Overwrites	No

On macOS and Linux, os.rename() silently overwrites, so code that works there can fail on Windows. If you expect to overwrite, I’d say so explicitly with replace().

Moving multiple files in Python

Combine Path.glob() with shutil.move() to move every file that matches a pattern, like all the CSVs in a downloads folder:

import shutil
from pathlib import Path

inbox = Path("inbox")
inbox.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
for name in ["jan.csv", "feb.csv", "mar.csv", "readme.txt", "logo.png"]:
    (inbox / name).write_text("sample", encoding="utf-8")

reports = Path("reports")
reports.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
for csv_file in inbox.glob("*.csv"):
    shutil.move(csv_file, reports / csv_file.name)

print("reports:", sorted(p.name for p in reports.iterdir()))
print("inbox:  ", sorted(p.name for p in inbox.iterdir()))

Output:

reports: ['feb.csv', 'jan.csv', 'mar.csv']
inbox:   ['logo.png', 'readme.txt']

Use rglob("*.csv") to include subfolders. To see what’s in a folder first, check listing files in a directory.

Moving a folder (and the shutil.Error trap)

shutil.move() works on folders too, moving everything inside. But if a file with the same name already exists in the destination folder, it raises shutil.Error:

import shutil
from pathlib import Path

(Path("old_reports") / "2026").mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
(Path("old_reports") / "2026" / "q3.csv").write_text("sales", encoding="utf-8")

shutil.move("old_reports", "new_reports")               # renames the whole folder tree
print([str(p) for p in Path("new_reports").rglob("*")])

Path("dest").mkdir(exist_ok=True)
(Path("dest") / "summary.csv").write_text("old", encoding="utf-8")
Path("summary.csv").write_text("new", encoding="utf-8")
try:
    shutil.move("summary.csv", "dest")                   # same name already inside dest
except shutil.Error as err:
    print("shutil.Error:", err)

Output:

['new_reports\\2026', 'new_reports\\2026\\q3.csv']
shutil.Error: Destination path 'dest\summary.csv' already exists

To overwrite in that case, pass the full destination file path instead of the folder. For creating destination folders safely, see how to make a directory in Python.

Other file-handling guides you can use alongside this one:

• Copy files to another directory
• Check if a file exists in Python
• os.path.join() in Python
• Get the filename from a path

Frequently asked questions