How do you create a new file in Python

API
,
1

I am attempting to send my first API request to use the OpenAI API. The instructions (Step 3) in the Developer Quickstart says that I need to create a new file in Python. When I enter the code file = open(‘openai-test.py’, ‘w’) in Python, I get this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: ‘openai-test.py’

What am I missing in my code? Thank you.

1 Like
2

Welcome to the community, manigault71!

The error you’re encountering, PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: ‘openai-test.py’, suggests that your Python environment does not have the necessary permissions to create a file in the directory where you’re currently running your code.

Here are a few steps you can take to resolve this issue:

  1. Check your current working directory: Ensure that you’re trying to create the file in a directory where you have write permissions. You can check your current working directory in Python with the following command:
import os
print(os.getcwd())
  • This will print the path of the directory from which your Python script is running.
  • Change the directory or adjust permissions: If the directory is not appropriate (e.g., a system directory or a directory where you don’t have write permissions), you can either change your working directory to one where you have write permissions or adjust the permissions of the current directory (if possible and appropriate).To change the directory in Python, you can use os.chdir(path). For example:

os.chdir('/path/to/desired/directory')

  • Make sure to replace '/path/to/desired/directory' with the path to the directory where you want to create your file.
  • Create the file in a suitable directory: Once you’re in a directory where you have write permissions, you can try creating the file again. Here’s the correct syntax for your reference:
file = open('openai-test.py', 'w')
file.close()
  1. This code opens a new file named openai-test.py for writing ('w' mode) and then closes it. Make sure the filename and path are correct and accessible.

If you’re still encountering issues, it might be helpful to know more about your operating environment (e.g., which operating system you’re using) as different systems have different permission models and considerations.

Source: ChatGPT

1 Like
3

Hi and welcome to dev forum @manigault71

The step 3 is simply asking to create a new file in a code editor, paste the code that’s provided, I cannot find any mention of file = open(‘openai-test.py’, ‘w’) there.

Step 3: Sending your first API request

After you have Python configured and an API key setup, the final step is to send a request to the OpenAI API using the Python library. To do this, create a file named openai-test.py using th terminal or an IDE.

Inside the file, copy and paste one of the examples below:

ChatCompletions

from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI()

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="gpt-3.5-turbo",
  messages=[
    {"role": "system", "content": "You are a poetic assistant, skilled in explaining complex programming concepts with creative flair."},
    {"role": "user", "content": "Compose a poem that explains the concept of recursion in programming."}
  ]
)

print(completion.choices[0].message)

To run the code, enter python openai-test.py into the terminal / command line.

The Chat Completions example highlights just one area of strength for our models: creative ability. Explaining recursion (the programming topic) in a well formatted poem is something both the best developers and best poets would struggle with. In this case, gpt-3.5-turbo does it effortlessly.

1 Like
4

Thank you for your reply. I was able to find my current directory which is C:\WINDOWS\System32. However, I’ve run into another problem. When I try to change the direct using the code os.chdir(‘/path/to/desired/directory’), it also did not
work. I’m a little confused about whether I use forward ‘/’ or backward '' to indicate my desired new directory path. Also, how much should I show to specify the path?

This is my operating system: Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.22621.3007]

Appreciate your assistance!

5

One more piece of information. I checked the current directory which is where Python is supposed to be according to the code I ran. However, it is not in that directory.

6

@sps has a much better answer here…

Let us know if you’re still having problems.

7

This topic was automatically closed 7 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.