Show directory in Tree structure view in Python

In this tutorial, I will show you how easily we can show directory in Tree structure view in Python.

Here is the code:

from pathlib import Path

  # Define the tree components
space = '    '
branch = '│   '
tee = '├── '
last = '└── '

def tree(directory: Path, prefix: str = ''):
      """
      A recursive generator to yield a visual tree structure line by line
      for a given directory Path object, each line prefixed appropriately.
      """
      contents = list(directory.iterdir())
      pointers = [tee] * (len(contents) - 1) + [last]
      for pointer, path in zip(pointers, contents):
          yield prefix + pointer + path.name
          if path.is_dir():
              extension = branch if pointer == tee else space
              yield from tree(path, prefix=prefix+extension)

  # Call the function and print each line
for line in tree(Path.home()):
      print(line)

If you wish you can change the root directory like this:

for line in tree(Path.home() / 'foldername_here'):
    print(line)

Output:

Explanation:

space = ' '
branch = '│ '
tee = '├── '
last = '└── '

These lines define string variables that will be used to create the visual parts of our tree structure. They represent the spaces and branch symbols of the tree.

def tree(directory: Path, prefix: str = ''):

Here, we define a function named tree that takes two parameters: directory, which is a Path object representing the directory we want to display, and prefix, which is a string used to format the tree structure.

contents = list(directory.iterdir())

This line lists all items in the given directory. directory.iterdir() returns an iterator over the items in the directory, and we convert it into a list.

pointers = [tee] * (len(contents) - 1) + [last]

Here, we create a list of pointers (tee and last) that will visually connect the items in the tree. For all items except the last one, we use tee. For the last item, we use last.

Then in the for loop, for each item in the directory, we yield a line that combines the prefix, pointer, and the item name. If the item is a directory, we recursively call tree to list its contents, updating the prefix to maintain the correct visual structure.