- 1 year ago
Windows file starting with dot raises PermissionError?
In Windows, file and folder names that start with a dot (.) are considered hidden files or folders by convention. By default, Windows Explorer and many file-related APIs, including Python's file-related functions, treat files starting with a dot as hidden.
When you attempt to access or manipulate a hidden file in Python, such as renaming or deleting it, you may encounter a PermissionError
because the file is marked as hidden and requires additional permissions to perform those operations.
To work with hidden files in Python, you can use the os
module's functions with the appropriate flags or attributes. For example, you can use os.rename()
to rename a hidden file:
pythonimport os
# Rename a hidden file
os.rename(".hidden.txt", "newname.txt")
If you want to access or manipulate hidden files in a script, you may need to run the script with administrative privileges or adjust the file's attributes to remove the hidden flag. Be cautious when working with hidden files, as they are typically hidden for a reason, and modifying them may have unintended consequences.