Unable to create a directory with os.mkdir though it doesn't exist

Question

I tried to create a directory with os.mkdir, but it raised FileExistsError.

>>> import os
>>> os.mkdir('test')
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
FileExistsError: [Errno 17] File exists: 'test'

The file test does exist, but it is a regular file instead of a directory.

  0 -rw-r--r--  1 sparkandshine  staff       0 Jan 31 17:09 test

How do I create a directory test/ in this case?

You can't simultaneously have a file and directory with the same name inside the same directory. Delete or rename one. — Kevin, Jan 31 '17 at 16:55

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36

4

Operating systems do not allow files and directories with the same name. A directory is simply a special type of file.

See the following for more information: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/22447/why-cant-i-have-a-folder-and-a-file-with-the-same-name

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:36

Community

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answered Jan 31 '17 at 16:58

Jake Sebright

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 31 '17 at 16:56

2

You can't have a file and a directory named the same thing. If you had the file called test.txt or something it would work

~> touch test
~> mkdir test
mkdir: test: File exists

answered Jan 31 '17 at 16:56

quikst3r

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Unable to create a directory with os.mkdir though it doesn't exist

2 Answers2