Remove __pycache__ folders and .pyc files in Python Project

# Remove __pycache__ folders and .pyc files in Python Project

To remove the __pycache__ folders and .pyc files in a Python project:

1. Open your terminal in your project's root directory.
2. Issue the following command.

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find . | grep -E "(/__pycache__$|\.pyc$|\.pyo$)" | xargs rm -rf

The command uses a regular expression to find and remove the __pycache__ directories, .pyc and .pyo files.

If you are on Linux, you can also use the find command with a regular expression.

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find . -regex '^.*\(__pycache__\|\.py[co]\)$' -delete

# Using the -name parameter to delete __pycache__ and .pyc files

You can also use the -name parameter to delete the __pycache__ directories and the .pyc files.

1. Open your terminal in your project's root directory.
2. Issue the following command.

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find . -type f -name '*.py[co]' -delete -o -type d -name __pycache__ -delete

You can also try the following command for deleting all __pycache__ directories.

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find . -type d -name __pycache__ -exec rm -r {} \+

# Adding the command to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc file

If you have to do this often, add the command to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc profile file.

For example, you can edit your ~/.bashrc file by using one of the following commands.

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# with `gedit`
sudo gedit ~/.bashrc

# or with `nano`
sudo nano ~/.bashrc

And you can edit your ~/.zshrc profile file by issuing one of the following commands.

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sudo gedit ~/.zshrc

sudo nano ~/.zshrc

Once you open the profile file in your preferred text editor, add the following command to it.

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rm-pycache () {
    find . -type f -name '*.py[co]' -delete -o -type d -name __pycache__ -delete
}

Save the file and close it.

Anytime you make changes to your profile file, you have to source it.

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# BASH
source ~/.bashrc

source ~/.bash_profile

# ZSH
source ~/.zshrc

Once you've sourced your profile file (or restarted your terminal), you can use the rm-pycache command.

1. Open your terminal in your project's root directory.
2. Issue the rm-pycache command.

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rm-pycache

You can name the command as you see fit, it doesn't have to be named rm-pycache.

However, make sure to source your profile file anytime you make changes to it.

# Using the python interpreter to delete all __pycache__ folders and .pyc files

You can also use the python interpreter to delete all __pycache__ folders and .pyc files.

1. Open your terminal in your project's root directory.
2. Issue the following commands.

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python -Bc "import pathlib; [p.unlink() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('*.py[co]')]"

python -Bc "import pathlib; [p.rmdir() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('__pycache__')]"

Depending on your Python installation, you might have to use python3 instead of python.

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python3 -Bc "import pathlib; [p.unlink() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('*.py[co]')]"

python3 -Bc "import pathlib; [p.rmdir() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('__pycache__')]"

If you are on Windows, you might have to use the py alias.

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py -Bc "import pathlib; [p.unlink() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('*.py[co]')]"

py -Bc "import pathlib; [p.rmdir() for p in pathlib.Path('.').rglob('__pycache__')]"

The first command finds and deletes all .pyc and .pyo files and the second deletes all __pycache__ directories.

# Using the py3clean command to delete __pycache__ and .pyc files

You can also use the py3clean command to delete __pycache__ directories and .pyc files.

1. Open your terminal in your project's root directory.
2. Run the py3clean . command.

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py3clean .

You can also try to use the pyclean module.

First, install the module by running the following command.

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pip install pyclean

# Or with pip3
pip3 install pyclean

Open your terminal in your project's root directory and run the following command.

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pyclean -v .

The -v flag stands for "verbose".

You can remove the flag if you don't want to get the output in verbose mode.

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pyclean .

# Setting the PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX environment variable

Since Python 3.8, you can also set the PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX environment variable.

If the environment variable is set, Python writes .pyc files in a mirror directory tree at the specified path, instead of in __pycache__ directories within the source tree.

For example, on macOS and Linux, you could add something like this to your profile file(~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc).

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export PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX="$HOME/.cache/pycache"

Make sure the specified directory exists.

Now, Python won't write your .pyc files in a __pycache__ directory within the source tree.

Instead, your .pyc files will be in a mirror directory tree at the specified path.

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