Cross-platform file locking support in Python

On occasion, one requires the need to lock a file. Now, this is relatively easy if you're targeting a specific platform because there is often a function in the library to do it for you. But what if you want to target a larger set of platforms? The following is a solution I wrote up today. It's lockfile creation is an atomic operation and thus doesn't suffer from any race conditions. It should work in both Windows and Unix environments.

import os
import time
import errno
 
class FileLockException(Exception):
    pass
 
class FileLock(object):
    """ A file locking mechanism that has context-manager support so 
        you can use it in a with statement. This should be relatively cross
        compatible as it doesn't rely on msvcrt or fcntl for the locking.
    """
 
    def __init__(self, file_name, timeout=10, delay=.05):
        """ Prepare the file locker. Specify the file to lock and optionally
            the maximum timeout and the delay between each attempt to lock.
        """
        self.is_locked = False
        self.lockfile = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "%s.lock" % file_name)
        self.file_name = file_name
        self.timeout = timeout
        self.delay = delay
 
 
    def acquire(self):
        """ Acquire the lock, if possible. If the lock is in use, it check again
            every `wait` seconds. It does this until it either gets the lock or
            exceeds `timeout` number of seconds, in which case it throws 
            an exception.
        """
        start_time = time.time()
        while True:
            try:
                self.fd = os.open(self.lockfile, os.O_CREAT|os.O_EXCL|os.O_RDWR)
                break;
            except OSError as e:
                if e.errno != errno.EEXIST:
                    raise 
                if (time.time() - start_time) >= self.timeout:
                    raise FileLockException("Timeout occured.")
                time.sleep(self.delay)
        self.is_locked = True
 
 
    def release(self):
        """ Get rid of the lock by deleting the lockfile. 
            When working in a `with` statement, this gets automatically 
            called at the end.
        """
        if self.is_locked:
            os.close(self.fd)
            os.unlink(self.lockfile)
            self.is_locked = False
 
 
    def __enter__(self):
        """ Activated when used in the with statement. 
            Should automatically acquire a lock to be used in the with block.
        """
        if not self.is_locked:
            self.acquire()
        return self
 
 
    def __exit__(self, type, value, traceback):
        """ Activated at the end of the with statement.
            It automatically releases the lock if it isn't locked.
        """
        if self.is_locked:
            self.release()
 
 
    def __del__(self):
        """ Make sure that the FileLock instance doesn't leave a lockfile
            lying around.
        """
        self.release()

The above class is best used in a context manager fashion through the with statement like in the example below:

with FileLock("test.txt", timeout=2) as lock:
    print("Lock acquired.")
    # Do something with the locked file

The largest downside of this is that the directory the file is located in must be writable. I hope this code helps you. Of course, if you have a better recipe, please share it in the comments. ;)

 

 

11 Comments

  1. Ville Kaseva wrote,

    Is there bug in acquire() method? Can timeout occur without entering Except: ??

  2. Evan wrote,

    Ville,

    There shouldn't be any bug in acquire(). It may seem that there would be a race condition, but the following line is actually atomic:

    os.open(self.lockfile, os.O_CREAT|os.O_EXCL|os.O_RDWR)

    A timeout hasn't occured outside the Except block when I've used it, but if it has for you, I'd love to see the trackback.

  3. Pat wrote,

    Could you please indicate the license under which this cross-platform file-locking code is available? Thanks!

  4. Dan wrote,

    Thanks for the code. The only change I made was to use os.mkdir and os.rmdir instead of os.open and os.unlink.

  5. Evan wrote,

    Pat, the code is lisenced under the BSD license.

    Dan, so I'm guessing that you're using a "lockfolder" instead of a lockfile? Be sure that is an atomic operation otherwise you may run into problems.

  6. John Giotta wrote,

    This is a very useful script. Now to make it work for my environments running 2.4

  7. Steve wrote,

    Evan,
    What would happen when the process dies but never unlocked the file? I am wanting to use your solution but need to make sure that this case is handled.

  8. Matt Chaput wrote,

    This (and directory creation, which is also atomic and IMHO makes for clearer code) will leave behind a stale lock file/directory if your code doesn't delete it (e.g. if you get an error and the process quits), preventing anyone else from locking the resource until you clean it up manually.

  9. Vinay Sajip wrote,

    @John Giotta: There's a simpler version of this which I wrote back in 2007, which works on older Pythons but has no bells/whistles/context manager. See here: http://code.activestate.com/recipes/519626-simple-file-based-mutex-for-very-basic-ipc/

    Note that it writes the PID of the locking process to the file, so you can see who's got it (and this also allows cleanup - e.g. if there's no such process).

  10. PP wrote,

    It works very well!
    Many thanks!
    PP

  11. Rick Harris wrote,

    Evan, thanks for posting this, was a big help. I ended up using your FileLock to build a file-based counting semaphore which is used by http://github.com/rconradharris/filecache.

    Great job!

Leave a comment

Take Albuterol Inhaler
Order Inhaler Albuterol
Buy Albuterol Online no Prescription
Online Buy Albuterol Without a Prescription
Purchase Online Without a Prescription Albuterol
Online Buying Aldactone
Purchase Online Without a Prescription Aldactone
Aldactone for Acne
Buying Aldactone Legally
Buy Tablets Aldactone Online
Cheapest Buy Allopurinol
Purchase Allopurinol Online no Prescription
Buy Without a Prescription Allopurinol
Buy Allopurinol Free Delivery
Legally Order Allopurinol
Buy Anafranil Without a Prescription
Buy Anafranil Pills
Buy Anafranil Medication
Buying Without a Prescription Anafranil Online
Take no Prescription Anafranil
Buying Atarax Overnight Delivery
Purchase Atarax Free Delivery
Alternative Purchase Atarax
Purchase Atarax by Phone
Legally Purchase Atarax
Order Avodart Without a Prescription
Tablets Order Avodart
Pills Buying Avodart
Buy Avodart Medication
Tablets Purchase Avodart
Alternative Purchase Bactrim
Take Bactrim Next Day Delivery
Online Buying Bactrim
Cheapest Buy Bactrim
Purchase Bactrim Without a Prescription
Buy Celecoxib Overnight Delivery
Purchase Cheapest Celecoxib
Tablets Buy Celecoxib
Buying Without Prescription Celecoxib
Order Online Without a Prescription Celecoxib
Take Cipro Legally
Purchase Cipro by Phone
Purchase Online no Prescription Cipro
Buy Pills Cipro
Order Cipro COD
Purchase Clomid Serophene Generic
100 Clomid Serophene
Cheapest Buy Clomid Serophene
Order Clomid Serophene by Phone
Take Clomid Serophene Medication
Buying Dapsone
Purchase Dapsone COD
Buy Dapsone Free Delivery
Take Dapsone Next Day Delivery
Order Cheapest Dapsone
Generic Buying Desyrel
Order Cheap Desyrel
Take Desyrel Next Day Delivery
Buy Desyrel Tablets
Buy Desyrel Cheapest
Buy Diflucan Medication
Buy Diflucan Pills
Take Diflucan Pills
Purchase no Prescription Diflucan
Order Cheapest Diflucan
Buying Dilantin Next Day Delivery
Dilantin Phenytoin
Buying Dilantin Overnight Delivery
Legally Purchase Dilantin
Purchase Dilantin Alternative
Purchase Diovan Pills
Buy Diovan Pills
Order no Prescription Diovan
Purchase Online Without Prescription Diovan
Buy Cheap Diovan
Buy Doxycycline Medication
Order Doxycycline Without a Prescription
Take Doxycycline Daily Dose
100 Doxycycline
Buying Doxycycline
Buy Elavil COD
Buy Elavil Medication
Order Elavil Generic
Order Elavil Pills
Purchase Elavil Drug
Order Generic Erythromycin
Buy Erythromycin Medication
Buy Erythromycin Without a Prescription
Purchase Online Without a Prescription Erythromycin
Buying Erythromycin Overnight Delivery
Order no Prescription Estrace
Buying Without Prescription Estrace
Take Estrace Drug
Purchase Estrace Alternative
Order Generic Estrace
Order Furosemide Pills
Buy Alternative Furosemide
Order Pills Furosemide
Take Furosemide Medication
Order Cheapest Furosemide
Buy Glucophage Pills
Tablets Order Glucophage
Take Glucophage Legally
Purchase no Prescription Glucophage
Why Take Glucophage
Purchase Imitrex Free Delivery
Buying Imitrex Without Prescription
Buying Without a Prescription Imitrex Online
Buy Cheapest Imitrex
Imitrex Generic
Buying Pills Inderal
Buy Inderal no Prescription
Purchase Inderal COD
Alternative Purchase Inderal
Purchase no Prescription Inderal
Order Lasix no Prescription
Purchase Lasix COD
Purchase Lasix Without a Prescription
Buying Lasix Without Prescription
Tablets Purchase Lasix
Buy no Prescription Levaquin
Buy Levaquin Next Day Delivery
Take no Prescription Levaquin
Purchase Levaquin Generic
Buy Alternative Levaquin
Buying Lexapro no Prescription
Generic Buying Lexapro
Purchase Lexapro COD
Purchase Lexapro no Prescription
Tablets Purchase Lexapro
Buy Lipitor Free Delivery
Order Lipitor no Prescription
Online Buy Lipitor Without a Prescription
Tablets Buying Lipitor
Generic Purchase Lipitor
Purchase Lisinopril Free Delivery
Purchase Lisinopril Alternative
Take Lisinopril Without Prescription
Online Order Lisinopril Without Prescription
Tablets Buying Lisinopril
Alternative Order Methotrexate
Purchase Methotrexate COD
Why Take Methotrexate
Purchase Methotrexate Online Without Prescription
Purchase Methotrexate Online no Prescription
Cheapest Buy Nizoral
Order Nizoral Free Delivery
Purchase Nizoral by Phone
Alternative Order Nizoral
Purchase Nizoral Drug
Take Nolvadex Without Prescription
Cheapest Order Nolvadex
Take Nolvadex Drug
Purchase Online no Prescription Nolvadex
Purchase Nolvadex Medication
Nortriptyline Antidepressant
Buy Tablets Nortriptyline Online
When to Take Nortriptyline
Purchase Nortriptyline Pills
Buying Without Prescription Nortriptyline
Tablets Buy Ortho Tri-Cyclen
Order Ortho Tri-Cyclen Generic
Take no Prescription Ortho Tri-Cyclen
Purchase Ortho Tri-Cyclen COD
Take Ortho Tri-Cyclen Without Prescription
Purchase Online Without a Prescription Premarin
Pills Buying Premarin
Tablets Buying Premarin
Order Premarin COD
Tablets Buy Premarin
Buy Tablets Proscar Online
Buy Tablets Proscar
Buy no Prescription Proscar Online
Purchase Proscar Alternative
Purchase Cheapest Proscar
Buy Risperdal by Phone
Order Risperdal Medication
Generic Order Risperdal
Purchase Risperdal Online no Prescription
Buy Risperdal Next Day Delivery
Take Synthroid Free Delivery
Take Synthroid Pills
Buy Without a Prescription Synthroid
Purchase Synthroid Alternative
Take Synthroid Legally
Generic Order Topamax
Order Online Without a Prescription Topamax
Take no Prescription Topamax
Order Cheap Topamax
Buy Topamax Without a Prescription
Valtrex Acyclovir
Pills Purchase Valtrex
Generic Buying Valtrex
Online Buy Valtrex Without a Prescription
Order Valtrex COD
Purchase Online no Prescription Zithromax
Buy Zithromax Next Day Delivery
Purchase Zithromax Pills
Buy Zithromax Free Delivery
Buying Without a Prescription Zithromax Online