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How to write a text file

Updated September 2026 · Beginner-friendly guide

Write new content

Mode "w" creates a file or completely replaces an existing file. Newline characters must be included explicitly.

with open("report.txt", "w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
    file.write("Course report\n")
    file.write("Status: complete\n")

Append content

Mode "a" adds at the end without deleting existing data. It is useful for simple logs.

from datetime import datetime

with open("activity.log", "a", encoding="utf-8") as file:
    file.write(f"Started at {datetime.now()}\n")

Write several lines

writelines() does not add separators, so include newlines yourself. A generator can add them cleanly.

items = ["strings", "lists", "files"]
with open("topics.txt", "w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
    file.writelines(f"{item}\n" for item in items)

Avoid accidental overwrites

Mode "x" creates a new file and raises FileExistsError if it already exists. It is safer when replacing data would be harmful.

try:
    with open("settings.txt", "x", encoding="utf-8") as file:
        file.write("theme=dark\n")
except FileExistsError:
    print("settings.txt already exists")

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