Knowing where a project is stored on disk helps you run scripts outside PyCharm and find files created by a program.
Understanding the Concept
The Project panel presents your project hierarchy. You can right-click a folder and choose to reveal it in the operating-system file manager, or inspect the path from PyCharm’s project settings. Do not confuse the source folder with the project interpreter directory. When a script creates an output file using a relative path, the file goes to the current working directory specified by the run configuration.
When and Why You Would Use This
Use pathlib to inspect an absolute working directory and an absolute source file path. The script reveals where it is running and where it is stored; these locations can be different.
Practical Example
from pathlib import Path
print("Working directory:", Path.cwd())
print("This file:", Path(__file__).resolve())Understanding the Example
Run this example from a saved .py file. The special __file__ variable is defined for normal Python script files, but it may be missing in some interactive or notebook environments. Compare the two paths.
Example Output
Working directory: /tmp/knowstuff_python_qa_ra95x87f
This file: /tmp/knowstuff_python_qa_ra95x87f/example.pyTry It Yourself
Reveal your project folder in the file manager. Find main.py and compare its location with the script output.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Assuming the Run window folder is the same as the source folder.
- Losing files by creating projects under temporary download directories.
- Using __file__ in the interactive shell where it may not exist.
Key Takeaways
- A project folder stores your source and IDE project files.
- Working directory and source-file location are different concepts.
- Use Path.cwd() and file-manager reveal actions to locate files reliably.