Use python with mobaxterm to copy 25 random files from one folder to another

Question

I'm trying to write a python script that I can run using mobaxterm to grab 25 random files from a folder and copy them to another folder.

I am very new to using mobaxterm, my internship has been mostly writing small scripts to help my coworkers automate daily stuff, so any advice is appreciated! I can open mobaxterm and navigate to the folder where this python script is held but I get these errors:

IOError: [Errno 21] Is a directory:

my code right now is as follows

import shutil, random, os

dirpath = '/SSH_folder_where_stuff_is/images/' 

destDirectory = '/SSH_folder_where_stuff_should_go/'

filenames = random.sample(os.listdir(dirpath), 25)
for fname in filenames:
    srcpath = os.path.join(dirpath, fname)
    shutil.copyfile(srcpath, destDirectory)
    print('done!')

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

How are you running the script? It looks like it's trying to run it through `bash` and not `python`. You may want to add a [shebang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix)) to the top of the script. — 0x5453, Apr 15 '20 at 19:48
@0x5453 hi there! I am running it by calling python then the filepath, you were right about it originally running bash. — pbthehuman, Apr 15 '20 at 19:51

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 16 '20 at 03:59

2

You need to change your shutil usage. shutil takes two filenames, but in your code the second one is a directory.

Here is a corrected version.

import shutil, random, os

dirpath = '/SSH_folder_where_stuff_is/images/' 
destDirectory = '/SSH_folder_where_stuff_should_go/'

filenames = random.sample(os.listdir(dirpath), 5)
for fname in filenames:
    srcpath = os.path.join(dirpath, fname)
    # Change the second parameter here.
    shutil.copyfile(srcpath, destDirectory+fname)
    print('done!')

edited Apr 16 '20 at 03:59

mcskinner

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answered Apr 15 '20 at 20:17

amir askari

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I feel very silly for not realizing that is the issue, thank you very very much! – pbthehuman Apr 15 '20 at 20:25

Use python with mobaxterm to copy 25 random files from one folder to another

1 Answers1