Python | os.getcwdb() method

Last Updated : 15 Jun, 2026

os.getcwdb() method returns the current working directory as a bytes object. It is similar to os.getcwd(), but instead of returning a string, it returns the directory path in bytes format.

Example: In the following example, we get the current working directory as a bytes object.

Python
import os
print(os.getcwdb())

Output

b'/home/user'

Explanation: os.getcwdb() returns the current working directory in bytes format. The prefix b indicates that the result is a bytes object.

Syntax

os.getcwdb()

Return Value: Returns the current working directory as a bytes object.

Examples

Example 1: The following example stores the current working directory in a variable and prints it. This can be useful when the directory path is needed later in the program.

Python
import os
cwd = os.getcwdb()
print(cwd)

Output

b'/home/user/projects'

Explanation: os.getcwdb() returns the current directory as bytes and stores it in cwd.

Example 2: The following example verifies the data type returned by os.getcwdb().

Python
import os
cwd = os.getcwdb()
print(type(cwd))

Output
<class 'bytes'>

Explanation: type(cwd) shows that os.getcwdb() returns a bytes object, not a string.

Example 3: The following example converts the bytes path returned by os.getcwdb() into a regular string.

Python
import os
cwd = os.getcwdb()
print(cwd.decode())

Output

/home/user/projects

Explanation: cwd.decode() converts the bytes object returned by os.getcwdb() into a string representation of the directory path.

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