Explain the Python File Write

Anubhav Sharma 232 30 Oct 2025

Anubhav Sharma

Student

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1 Answers

Anubhav Sharma 30 Oct 2025

In Python, writing to a file is simple using the built-in open() function.
Here’s a quick guide with examples for writing, appending, and creating files.

1. Write to a File (Overwrite Mode)

# This will create a file if it doesn't exist or overwrite it if it does
with open("example.txt", "w") as file:
    file.write("Hello, world!\n")
    file.write("This is a new line.")

"w" → write mode
It overwrites the file if it already exists.

2. Append to a File (Add New Content)

# This will create the file if it doesn't exist, or append if it does
with open("example.txt", "a") as file:
    file.write("\nThis line will be appended.")

"a" → append mode
It adds new content without removing old data.

3. Read and Write (Combined Mode)

# Opens the file for both reading and writing
with open("example.txt", "r+") as file:
    data = file.read()
    file.write("\nAdded after reading content.")

"r+" → read and write mode
File must already exist.

4. Write Multiple Lines at Once

lines = ["Line 1\n", "Line 2\n", "Line 3\n"]

with open("example.txt", "w") as file:
    file.writelines(lines)

writelines() doesn’t add \n automatically — include it in each string.

5. Create a File Only If It Doesn’t Exist

try:
    with open("example.txt", "x") as file:
        file.write("New file created.")
except FileExistsError:
    print("File already exists.")

"x" → exclusive creation mode.

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