How can I remove the last character of a string in python?

Question

I have a file path as a string and trying to remove the last '/' from the end.

my_file_path = '/home/ro/A_Python_Scripts/flask-auto/myDirectory/scarlett Johanson/1448543562.17.jpg/'

I've been trying it with regex but it just keeps removing all the '/'. Is there any easier way to just remove the last character without regex?

score 43 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:21

43

The easiest is

as @greggo pointed out

string="mystring";
string[:-1]

answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:21

sarath joseph

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Alasdair · Answer 2 · 2015-11-26T14:23:49.557

38

As you say, you don't need to use a regex for this. You can use rstrip.

my_file_path = my_file_path.rstrip('/')

If there is more than one / at the end, this will remove all of them, e.g. '/file.jpg//' -> '/file.jpg'. From your question, I assume that would be ok.

edited Nov 26 '15 at 14:23

answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:19

Alasdair

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score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:57

Answering the question: to remove the last character, just use:string = string[:-1].

If you want to remove the last '\' if there is one (or if there is more than one):

while string[-1]=='\\':
    string = string[:-1]

If it's a path, then use the os.path functions:

dir = "dir1\\dir2\\file.jpg\\"   #I'm using windows by the way
os.path.dirname(dir)

although I would 'add' a slash in the end to prevent missing the filename in case there's no slash at the end of the original string:

dir = "dir1\\dir2\\file.jpg"
os.path.dirname(dir + "\\")

When using abspath, (if the path isn't absolute I guess,) will add the current working directory to the path.

os.path.abspath(dir)

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:20

3

You could use String.rstrip.

result = string.rstrip('/')

answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:20

joksnet

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score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:21

3

For a path use os.path.abspath

import os    
print os.path.abspath(my_file_path)

answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:21

djangoliv

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`os.path.abspath()` will also turn all forward slashes into backslashes on Windows platforms, so it may not always be the right solution. – Frédéric Hamidi Nov 26 '15 at 14:24
except if the real goal is having a valid path (even on windows) – djangoliv Nov 26 '15 at 14:27
You're right. It's a path. I was thinking it was an URL for some reason. `abspath()` is appropriate here. – Frédéric Hamidi Nov 26 '15 at 14:28

Host0 · Answer 6 · 2021-10-21T07:47:00.833

3

The simplest way is to use slice. If x is your string variable then x[:-1] will return the string variable without the last character. (BTW, x[-1] is the last character in the string variable) You are looking for

my_file_path = '/home/ro/A_Python_Scripts/flask-auto/myDirectory/scarlett Johanson/1448543562.17.jpg/'
my_file_path = my_file_path[:-1]

edited Oct 21 '21 at 07:47

answered Nov 26 '15 at 16:41

Host0

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score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:21

To remove the last character, just use a slice: my_file_path[:-1]. If you only want to remove a specific set of characters, use my_file_path.rstrip('/'). If you see the string as a file path, the operation is os.path.dirname. If the path is in fact a filename, I rather wonder where the extra slash came from in the first place.

SIslam · Answer 8 · 2015-11-26T14:35:03.420

0

No need to use expensive regex, if barely needed then try- Use r'(/)(?=$)' pattern that is capture last / and replace with r'' i.e. blank character.

>>>re.sub(r'(/)(?=$)',r'','/home/ro/A_Python_Scripts/flask-auto/myDirectory/scarlett Johanson/1448543562.17.jpg/')
>>>'/home/ro/A_Python_Scripts/flask-auto/myDirectory/scarlett Johanson/1448543562.17.jpg'

edited Nov 26 '15 at 14:35

answered Nov 26 '15 at 14:28

SIslam

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How can I remove the last character of a string in python?

8 Answers8