Monitor a Folder for New Files and Trigger Actions Based on File Type

In this blog post, we will explore how to monitor a folder for new files and trigger actions based on the file type using Python.

What is Folder Monitoring?

Folder monitoring is a process where you continuously check a folder for new files and take actions accordingly. This can be useful in a variety of situations, such as:

• Automating tasks based on new file uploads
• Monitoring log files for errors
• Triggering workflows based on new file creations

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you will need:

• A Python environment
• A folder you want to monitor
• A basic understanding of Python programming

Using Python to Monitor a Folder

Python provides a few libraries that can be used to monitor a folder for new files. One such library is `watchdog`. You can install it using pip:

pip install watchdog

Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates how to use `watchdog` to monitor a folder for new files:

import time
from watchdog.observers import Observer
from watchdog.events import FileSystemEventHandler

class Watcher:
    def __init__(self, folder_to_watch):
        self.observer = Observer()
        self.folder_to_watch = folder_to_watch

    def run(self):
        event_handler = Handler(self.folder_to_watch)
        self.observer.schedule(event_handler, self.folder_to_watch, recursive=True)
        self.observer.start()
        try:
            while True:
                time.sleep(5)
        except:
            self.observer.stop()
            print("Error")

        self.observer.join()


class Handler(FileSystemEventHandler):

    @staticmethod
    def on_any_event(event):
        if event.is_directory:
            return None

        elif event.event_type == 'created':
            # Take any action here when a file is created.
            print("Received created event - %s." % event.src_path)

        elif event.event_type == 'modified':
            # Taken any action here when a file is modified.
            print("Received modified event - %s." % event.src_path)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    w = Watcher(".")
    w.run()

In this example, we create a `Watcher` class that monitors a folder for new files. The `Handler` class is responsible for handling file events. When a new file is created, the `on_any_event` method is called, which prints a message to the console. You can modify this method to perform any action you want based on the file type.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we explored how to monitor a folder for new files and trigger actions based on the file type using Python. We used the `watchdog` library to monitor a folder and take actions based on file events. This technique can be applied to a variety of situations, from automating tasks to monitoring log files. With this knowledge, you can automate tasks and streamline your workflow.

We’d love to hear from you!

How do you currently handle monitoring folders for new files?

What actions do you wish you could automate based on file types?

Have you ever wanted to trigger a specific action when a new file is added to a folder?