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1. Read File2. Write File3. Append to File4. Read CSV File5. Write CSV File6. JSON Read7. JSON Write8. File Copy9. File Rename10. Read Binary File11. Write Binary File12. Count Words in File13. Count Lines in File14. Count Characters in File15. Search Substring in File16. Iterate File Lines17. File Metadata18. File Compression19. File Decompression20. Delete File

File Metadata in Python

Retrieve basic file metadata like size and modification time.

IntermediateFile Handling ProgramsExample 17 of 20
file-metadata.py
1# Program to get file metadata
2

3import os
4import time
5

6filename = input("Enter filename: ")
7

8try:
9    stats = os.stat(filename)
10    print("Size (bytes):", stats.st_size)
11    print("Last modified:", time.ctime(stats.st_mtime))
12except FileNotFoundError:
13    print("File not found.")

Output

Enter filename: notes.txt
Size (bytes): 120
Last modified: Mon Nov 25 10:30:00 2025

What's going on

os.stat returns an object with size, timestamps, and other low-level metadata; time.ctime renders timestamps nicely.

After this program

If the idea is still fuzzy, read Day 14: File Handling in the Python course. For a short check, try the Python quiz (300 questions). Stay with all 20 file handling programs, or see every topic on Python exercises.

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