rglob

Lightweight recursive glob helpers for Python. Find files recursively, count lines, and sum sizes with simple functions.

Python 3 users should install the latest release. For Python 2, the final supported version is 1.4 (links below).

—

Installation

pip install rglob

Quick Start

import rglob

# List all Python files under a base directory
files = rglob.rglob("/path/to/project", "*.py")

# Same, starting from the current working directory
files_cwd = rglob.rglob_("*.py")

# Count non-empty, non-comment lines across matching files
non_empty_non_comment = rglob.lcount(
    "/path/to/project",
    "*.py",
    lambda line: bool(line.strip()) and not line.lstrip().startswith("#"),
)

# Total size of all JPGs in megabytes (use provided unit helpers)
total_mb = rglob.tsize("/path/to/photos", "*.jpg", rglob.megabytes)

Note: When invoking from a shell, quote or escape glob patterns so your shell doesn’t expand them before Python runs, e.g. "*.py".

API

• rglob.rglob(base: str, pattern: str) -> list[str]: Recursively returns a list of paths matching pattern under base.
• rglob.rglob_(pattern: str) -> list[str]: Same as rglob, using the current working directory as base.
• rglob.lcount(base: str, pattern: str, func: Callable[[str], bool] = lambda _: True) -> int: Counts lines across all matching files, applying func as a per-line predicate.
• rglob.tsize(base: str, pattern: str, func: Callable[[float], float] = rglob.megabytes) -> float: Sums sizes (in bytes) of matching files, then converts using func.
• Unit helpers: rglob.kilobytes, rglob.megabytes, rglob.gigabytes, rglob.terabytes.

Command-Line Interface

rglob can also be used as a command-line tool.

Important: quote your patterns

• Always quote or escape glob patterns so your shell does not expand them before Python runs.
• Wrong: python3 -m rglob.cli find *.py (the shell expands *.py first)
• Right: python3 -m rglob.cli find "*.py"
• Installed entry point works the same: rglob find "*.py"

Find files

rglob find "*.py"

Count lines

rglob lcount "*.py" --no-empty --no-comments

Get total size

rglob tsize "*.py" --unit mb

Tips

• Paths returned are not guaranteed to be sorted; call sorted(...) if ordering matters.
• Patterns use Python’s glob syntax (e.g., "*.py", "**/*.py" is not supported here; recursion is handled by rglob).
• Line counting opens files in text mode; ensure your files are decodable with the system default encoding.

Compatibility

• Python 3: Use the latest release (e.g., 1.7+ on PyPI).
• Python 2: Final supported release is 1.4.

Links:

• PyPI (Py3): https://pypi.org/project/rglob/1.7/
• PyPI (Py2): https://pypi.org/project/rglob/1.4/

Development

git clone https://github.com/chris-piekarski/python-rglob.git
cd python-rglob
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Running examples/tests

This repo includes BDD tests using behave.

pip install behave
behave

Note: The core library supports Python 3 (see setup.py).

Why use this?

rglob predates glob.glob(..., recursive=True) and offers a tiny, easy-to-read implementation with convenient helpers for line counting and size aggregation. It’s useful for quick scripts and small utilities where pulling in heavier tools is unnecessary.

License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.