How to Find the Real User Home Directory Using Python?

A home directory is a location of the file system that stores the specific to a particular user in the multiuser operating system. Another name of the home directory is the login directory. There are many ways to obtain the home directory with the help of Python.

Using os Module:

The function provided by the os module os.path.expanduser() in Python helps in getting the user home directory across all platforms. The os.path.expanduser('') is used to get the home directory. This also functions if it is a part of a longer path. The unchanged path is returned if there is no ~ in the path.

Code:

Output:

 
C:\Users\Aditya Shakya

Explanation:

In the above code, the os module is imported, and a variable is made with the name home_directory and with the help of os.path.expanduser() function, and the '~' operator is passed in the directory and is used to get the home directory.

Let's see how to file inside the home directory.

Code:

Output:

 
C:\Users\Aditya Shakya\Documents

Explanation:

In the above code, with the help of os.path.expanduser() function provided by the os module gets the home directory, and this directory is joined with the document directory, and the path of the directory is printed.

If the path is already given as a string such as C:\Users\Aditya Shakya\Documents, and this path is to be replaced with the home directory path, then with the help of .expanduser(), the path can get a directory using the safe way to generate paths, which is os.path.join().

Code:

Output:

 
C:\Users\Aditya Shakya\Documents

Explanation:

In the above code, the path '~' is replaced by the document path and the whole home path is printed.

With The Help of the Pathlib Module:

The pathlib module provided by Python can be used to obtain the user's home directory.

Code:

Output:

 
Path: C:\Users\Aditya Shakya!

Explanation:

In the above code, the path is imported from the pathlib module and with the help of the home() function provided by the Path class, the home directory is printed.

The path inside the home directory can also be printed.

Code:

Output:

 
Path: C:\Users\Aditya Shakya\Documents!

Explanation:

In the above code, the home path is joined with the document path and the home directory is printed.

If the path string is already given, the expanduser() function can be used to print the home path.

Code:

Output:

 
Path: C:\Users\Aditya Shakya\Documents!

Explanation:

In the above code, the path_string is passed to the Path function and with the help of expanduser(), the home directory is printed.