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Level 3 / Project 07 - Batch File Auditor

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— This project — — Flashcards — Browser

Estimated time: 45 minutes

Focus

  • scan many files with diagnostics

Why this project exists

This project gives you level-appropriate practice in a realistic operations context. Goal: run the baseline, alter behavior, break one assumption, recover safely, and explain the fix.

Run (copy/paste)

Use <repo-root> as the folder containing this repository's README.md.

cd <repo-root>/projects/level-3/07-batch-file-auditor
python project.py audit .
python project.py audit . --pattern "*.py" --json
python project.py scan .
pytest -q

Expected terminal output

Audit: .
Files: 5, Total size: 12,345 bytes
Issues (2):
  [WARNING] empty.txt: File is empty (0 bytes)
  [INFO   ] notes: File has no extension
10 passed

Expected artifacts

  • Audit report on stdout
  • Passing tests
  • Updated notes.md

Checkpoint: Baseline code runs and all tests pass. Commit your work before continuing.

Alter it (required) — Extension

  1. Add CSV export of audit results with columns: filename, size, last_modified, status.
  2. Add a --recursive flag to scan subdirectories.
  3. Add a check_encoding function that flags non-UTF-8 files.

Break it (required) — Core

  1. Point the auditor at a file instead of a directory — what error appears?
  2. Audit a directory with no files — does the summary handle zero files?
  3. Use a glob pattern that matches nothing — what does the report show?

Fix it (required) — Core

  1. Add a clear error message for non-directory input.
  2. Handle permission errors when scanning protected directories.
  3. Show "No files match pattern" instead of an empty report.

Checkpoint: All modifications done, tests still pass. Good time to review your changes.

Explain it (teach-back)

  1. How does Path.glob() differ from Path.rglob()?
  2. Why separate each check into its own function (check_empty, check_large, etc.)?
  3. What is Path.stat() and what metadata does it provide?
  4. How does the @dataclass field(default_factory=list) pattern work?

Mastery check

You can move on when you can: - scan directories with pathlib and glob patterns, - build composable check functions that return structured results, - aggregate check results into a summary report, - use dataclasses for structured audit data.

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