Ways To Save Python Terminal Output To A Text File

Python provides various methods for redirecting and saving the output generated in the terminal to a text file. This functionality can be useful for logging, debugging, or simply capturing the results of a script. In this article, we’ll explore different ways to save Python terminal output to a text file.

Save Python Terminal Output to a Text File in Python

Below are some of the ways by which we can save Python terminal output to a text file in Python:

Using the > Operator in the Terminal

The > operator is used in the terminal to redirect the standard output to a file. This approach is simple and effective for quickly saving the output.

Python3

for i in range(10):
    print("printing line ", i)

Command

python script.py > output.txt

Output:

Using the tee Command

The tee command is used to redirect output to both the terminal and a file. This approach is useful for real-time monitoring in the terminal while saving the output to a file.

Python3

for i in range(10):
    print("printing line ", i)

Command

python script.py | tee output.txt

Output:

Redirecting sys.stdout in the Python Script

The sys.stdout stream is redirected to a file using the with open(...) block. This approach allows programmatically controlling where the output goes within the script.

Python3

import sys

# Save the original stdout
original_stdout = sys.stdout

# Redirect stdout to a file
with open('output.txt', 'w') as f:
    sys.stdout = f
    for i in range(10):
        print("printing line ", i)

Output:

Using the logging Module

The logging module is used to configure a log file. This approach is beneficial for more extensive projects where logging is a standard practice.

Python3

import logging

# Configure logging to save to a file
logging.basicConfig(filename='output.log', level=logging.INFO)

for i in range(10):
    logging.info("printing line %d", i)

Output: