Get Folder Size in Python: Easy Code Examples

Ever needed to check how much disk space a folder is consuming? Whether you’re managing server storage, analyzing project directories, or building a file management tool, Python makes it easy to calculate folder sizes. In this guide, you’ll learn multiple methods to get folder sizes using Python’s built-in modules—no external libraries required.

Get Folder Size in Python

Why Calculate Folder Size Programmatically?

Manually checking folder sizes via file explorers isn’t practical for automation tasks. With Python, you can:

Monitor disk usage on servers.
Clean up large temporary folders.
Build custom file management utilities.
Analyze storage trends over time.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of Python.
Python 3.x installed.
A folder with files to test.

Get Folder Size in Python Code

# using python default module
import os, getpass
username = getpass.getuser()

def folderSize(path):
    total_size = 0
    for root, dirs, files in os.walk(path):

        for name in files:
            file_path = os.path.join(root, name)
            if os.path.isfile(file_path):
                total_size+=os.path.getsize(file_path)

    return total_size

folderName="Trash"
path="/home/"+username+"/.local/share/Trash/files"
size=folderSize(path)  # size in bytes
size=size / (1024*1024)
print(f"{folderName} folder size is {size:.0f}MB")

Save file name as trash.py
and run command given below in terminal from same directory

python ./trash.py

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