Python | os.path.getatime() method (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 15 Jun, 2026

os.path.getatime() method is used to get the last access time of a file or directory. It returns the time as the number of seconds since the Unix epoch.

**Example: In the following example, we get the last access time of a file.

Python `

import os t = os.path.getatime("sample.txt") print(t)

`

**Output

1750123456.245891

**Explanation: os.path.getatime("sample.txt") returns the last access time of the file as a floating-point value.

Syntax

os.path.getatime(path)

• **Parameters: path - Path of the file or directory whose last access time is required.
• **Return Value: Returns a floating-point value representing the last access time in seconds since the epoch.

Examples

**Example 1: The following example retrieves and displays the last access time of a file.

Python `

import os t = os.path.getatime("data.txt") print(t)

`

**Output

1750123456.245891

**Explanation: os.path.getatime("data.txt") returns the timestamp of the file's most recent access.

**Example 2: The following example converts the access timestamp into a human-readable date and time.

Python `

import os import time

t = os.path.getatime("data.txt") print(time.ctime(t))

`

**Output

Mon Jun 13 10:25:16 2026

**Explanation: time.ctime(t) converts the timestamp returned by os.path.getatime() into a readable date and time string.

**Example 3: The following example checks a file's access time and handles the error if the file does not exist.

Python `

import os

try: t = os.path.getatime("test.txt") print(t) except OSError: print("File not found")

`

**Output

File not found

**Explanation: If the specified file does not exist, os.path.getatime() raises an OSError, which is handled using the try-except block.