# Python, how to write to a file

> Learn how to write to a file in Python using open() with append or write mode, then the write() and writelines() methods, and remember to close the file.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2021-02-12 | Topics: [Python](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/python/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/python-write-to-file/

To write content to a file, first you need to open it using the `open()` global function, which accepts 2 parameters: the file path, and the **mode**.

You can use `a` as the mode, to tell [Python](https://flaviocopes.com/python-introduction/) to open the file in _append mode_ and **add content to the file**

```python
filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

file = open(filename, 'a')

#or

file = open(filename, mode='a')
```

Or you can use the `w` flag to clear the existing content:

```python
filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

file = open(filename, 'w')

#or

file = open(filename, mode='w')
```

Once you have the file open, you can use the `write()` and `writelines()` methods.

`write()` accepts a string.

`writelines()` accepts a list of strings:

```python
filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

file = open(filename, 'w')

file.write('This is a line\n')

file.writelines(['One\n', 'Two'])

file.close()
```

> `\n` is a special character used to go to a new line

Remember to close a file after writing to it, using the file's `close()` method.