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:mod:`tempfile` --- Generate temporary files and directories
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============================================================
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.. sectionauthor:: Zack Weinberg <zack@codesourcery.com>
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:synopsis: Generate temporary files and directories.
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pair: temporary; file name
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**Source code:** :source:`Lib/tempfile.py`
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This module generates temporary files and directories. It works on all
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In version 2.3 of Python, this module was overhauled for enhanced security. It
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now provides three new functions, :func:`NamedTemporaryFile`, :func:`mkstemp`,
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and :func:`mkdtemp`, which should eliminate all remaining need to use the
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insecure :func:`mktemp` function. Temporary file names created by this module
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no longer contain the process ID; instead a string of six random characters is
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Also, all the user-callable functions now take additional arguments which
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allow direct control over the location and name of temporary files. It is
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no longer necessary to use the global *tempdir* and *template* variables.
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To maintain backward compatibility, the argument order is somewhat odd; it
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is recommended to use keyword arguments for clarity.
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The module defines the following user-callable functions:
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.. function:: TemporaryFile([mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None]]]]])
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Return a file-like object that can be used as a temporary storage area.
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The file is created using :func:`mkstemp`. It will be destroyed as soon
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as it is closed (including an implicit close when the object is garbage
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collected). Under Unix, the directory entry for the file is removed
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immediately after the file is created. Other platforms do not support
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this; your code should not rely on a temporary file created using this
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function having or not having a visible name in the file system.
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The *mode* parameter defaults to ``'w+b'`` so that the file created can
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be read and written without being closed. Binary mode is used so that it
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behaves consistently on all platforms without regard for the data that is
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stored. *bufsize* defaults to ``-1``, meaning that the operating system
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The *dir*, *prefix* and *suffix* parameters are passed to :func:`mkstemp`.
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The returned object is a true file object on POSIX platforms. On other
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platforms, it is a file-like object whose :attr:`!file` attribute is the
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underlying true file object. This file-like object can be used in a
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:keyword:`with` statement, just like a normal file.
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.. function:: NamedTemporaryFile([mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None[, delete=True]]]]]])
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This function operates exactly as :func:`TemporaryFile` does, except that
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the file is guaranteed to have a visible name in the file system (on
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Unix, the directory entry is not unlinked). That name can be retrieved
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from the :attr:`name` attribute of the returned
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file-like object. Whether the name can be
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used to open the file a second time, while the named temporary file is
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still open, varies across platforms (it can be so used on Unix; it cannot
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on Windows NT or later). If *delete* is true (the default), the file is
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deleted as soon as it is closed.
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The returned object is always a file-like object whose :attr:`!file`
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attribute is the underlying true file object. This file-like object can
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be used in a :keyword:`with` statement, just like a normal file.
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The *delete* parameter.
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.. function:: SpooledTemporaryFile([max_size=0, [mode='w+b'[, bufsize=-1[, suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None]]]]]])
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This function operates exactly as :func:`TemporaryFile` does, except that
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data is spooled in memory until the file size exceeds *max_size*, or
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until the file's :func:`fileno` method is called, at which point the
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contents are written to disk and operation proceeds as with
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:func:`TemporaryFile`. Also, it's ``truncate`` method does not
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accept a ``size`` argument.
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The resulting file has one additional method, :func:`rollover`, which
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causes the file to roll over to an on-disk file regardless of its size.
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The returned object is a file-like object whose :attr:`_file` attribute
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is either a :class:`~StringIO.StringIO` object or a true file object, depending on
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whether :func:`rollover` has been called. This file-like object can be
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used in a :keyword:`with` statement, just like a normal file.
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.. versionadded:: 2.6
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.. function:: mkstemp([suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None[, text=False]]]])
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Creates a temporary file in the most secure manner possible. There are
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no race conditions in the file's creation, assuming that the platform
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properly implements the :const:`os.O_EXCL` flag for :func:`os.open`. The
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file is readable and writable only by the creating user ID. If the
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platform uses permission bits to indicate whether a file is executable,
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the file is executable by no one. The file descriptor is not inherited
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Unlike :func:`TemporaryFile`, the user of :func:`mkstemp` is responsible
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for deleting the temporary file when done with it.
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If *suffix* is specified, the file name will end with that suffix,
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otherwise there will be no suffix. :func:`mkstemp` does not put a dot
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between the file name and the suffix; if you need one, put it at the
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beginning of *suffix*.
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If *prefix* is specified, the file name will begin with that prefix;
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otherwise, a default prefix is used.
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If *dir* is specified, the file will be created in that directory;
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otherwise, a default directory is used. The default directory is chosen
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from a platform-dependent list, but the user of the application can
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control the directory location by setting the *TMPDIR*, *TEMP* or *TMP*
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environment variables. There is thus no guarantee that the generated
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filename will have any nice properties, such as not requiring quoting
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when passed to external commands via ``os.popen()``.
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If *text* is specified, it indicates whether to open the file in binary
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mode (the default) or text mode. On some platforms, this makes no
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:func:`mkstemp` returns a tuple containing an OS-level handle to an open
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file (as would be returned by :func:`os.open`) and the absolute pathname
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of that file, in that order.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. function:: mkdtemp([suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None]]])
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Creates a temporary directory in the most secure manner possible. There
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are no race conditions in the directory's creation. The directory is
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readable, writable, and searchable only by the creating user ID.
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The user of :func:`mkdtemp` is responsible for deleting the temporary
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directory and its contents when done with it.
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The *prefix*, *suffix*, and *dir* arguments are the same as for
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:func:`mkdtemp` returns the absolute pathname of the new directory.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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.. function:: mktemp([suffix=''[, prefix='tmp'[, dir=None]]])
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Use :func:`mkstemp` instead.
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Return an absolute pathname of a file that did not exist at the time the
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call is made. The *prefix*, *suffix*, and *dir* arguments are the same
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as for :func:`mkstemp`.
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Use of this function may introduce a security hole in your program. By
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the time you get around to doing anything with the file name it returns,
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someone else may have beaten you to the punch. :func:`mktemp` usage can
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be replaced easily with :func:`NamedTemporaryFile`, passing it the
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``delete=False`` parameter::
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>>> f = NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
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<open file '<fdopen>', mode 'w+b' at 0x384698>
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'/var/folders/5q/5qTPn6xq2RaWqk+1Ytw3-U+++TI/-Tmp-/tmpG7V1Y0'
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>>> f.write("Hello World!\n")
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>>> os.unlink(f.name)
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>>> os.path.exists(f.name)
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The module uses a global variable that tell it how to construct a
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temporary name. They are initialized at the first call to any of the
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functions above. The caller may change them, but this is discouraged; use
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the appropriate function arguments, instead.
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When set to a value other than ``None``, this variable defines the
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default value for the *dir* argument to all the functions defined in this
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If ``tempdir`` is unset or ``None`` at any call to any of the above
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functions, Python searches a standard list of directories and sets
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*tempdir* to the first one which the calling user can create files in.
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TMPDIR` environment variable.
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TEMP` environment variable.
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#. The directory named by the :envvar:`TMP` environment variable.
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#. A platform-specific location:
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* On RiscOS, the directory named by the :envvar:`Wimp$ScrapDir` environment
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* On Windows, the directories :file:`C:\\TEMP`, :file:`C:\\TMP`,
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:file:`\\TEMP`, and :file:`\\TMP`, in that order.
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* On all other platforms, the directories :file:`/tmp`, :file:`/var/tmp`, and
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:file:`/usr/tmp`, in that order.
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#. As a last resort, the current working directory.
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.. function:: gettempdir()
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Return the directory currently selected to create temporary files in. If
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:data:`tempdir` is not ``None``, this simply returns its contents; otherwise,
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the search described above is performed, and the result returned.
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.. versionadded:: 2.3
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Use :func:`gettempprefix` instead.
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When set to a value other than ``None``, this variable defines the prefix of the
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final component of the filenames returned by :func:`mktemp`. A string of six
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random letters and digits is appended to the prefix to make the filename unique.
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The default prefix is :file:`tmp`.
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Older versions of this module used to require that ``template`` be set to
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``None`` after a call to :func:`os.fork`; this has not been necessary since
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.. function:: gettempprefix()
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Return the filename prefix used to create temporary files. This does not
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contain the directory component. Using this function is preferred over reading
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the *template* variable directly.
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.. versionadded:: 1.5.2
added
removed
python-2.7.12-docs-html/_sources/library/tempfile.txt
