Difference in Directory Listings between PowerShell and Python

[gyuta]

Description:

I recently installed Poetry on Windows and everything seemed to install correctly. However, while trying to set the PATH, I couldn't find the relevant directory. After some trial and error, I noticed a discrepancy in the directory listings between PowerShell and Python.

PS C:\Users\me> (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://install.python-poetry.org -UseBasicParsing).Content | python -
Retrieving Poetry metadata

The latest version (1.8.3) is already installed.

When listing the contents of the C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming directory, there are discrepancies between the outputs of PowerShell and Python.

PowerShell Output:

PS C:\Users\me> Get-ChildItem C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\

    Directory: C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d-----        2024/06/14      9:53                Adobe
d-----        2024/06/14      9:54                Ahkun.Pasolog.Google.Apis.Auth
d-----        2024/10/13     11:48                Code
d-----        2024/07/16     11:56                DBeaverData
d---s-        2024/10/02     14:45                Microsoft
d-----        2024/07/09     11:21                teraterm5

Python Output:

import os
print(os.listdir("C:/Users/me/AppData/Roaming/"))
# Output: ['Adobe', 'Ahkun.Pasolog.Google.Apis.Auth', 'Code', 'DBeaverData', 'Microsoft', 'pypoetry', 'Python', 'teraterm5']

Observations:

1. Differences in Output:

   • The Python output includes additional directories: pypoetry and Python.
   • PowerShell's output shows the Microsoft directory with special attributes (d---s-).

2. Potential Issues:

   • The difference in outputs might be due to:
     • Hidden or system files not being displayed in PowerShell by default.
     • Access permissions affecting what is listed.
     • Different execution contexts (user accounts, privileges) for PowerShell and Python.

Request for Help:

• Can anyone provide insights into why there might be discrepancies between the two outputs?
• Are there specific configurations or commands in PowerShell that would allow for consistent listings with Python's os.listdir()?

[schneebuzz]

Are there specific configurations or commands in PowerShell that would allow for consistent listings with Python's os.listdir()?

By default, Get-ChildItem does not include empty or hidden directories/files. See Get-ChildItem. There you can also see that the s in the listing is for system.

[gyuta]

Thank you for your response! However, even after showing hidden folders, the situation remains unchanged...

PS C:\Users\me> Get-ChildItem C:\Users\me\AppData\Roaming\ -force


    Directory: C:\me\20057\AppData\Roaming


Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d-----        2024/06/14      9:53                Adobe
d-----        2024/06/14      9:54                Ahkun.Pasolog.Google.Apis.Auth
d-----        2024/10/15     14:52                Code
d-----        2024/07/16     11:56                DBeaverData
d---s-        2024/10/15     14:37                Microsoft
d-----        2024/07/09     11:21                teraterm5

[schneebuzz]

This doesn't seem like a problem with Poetry. Could you confirm that you are operating on the same directory? On Windows, the installation is performed to %AppData% unless overridden through environment variables. Therefore, the installation depends on the executing user.

[gyuta]

Thank you for your feedback. I understand that this is not a problem related to Poetry. However, I chose this location because I'm not aware of a more appropriate place, and I hope that other users who have faced similar issues while installing Poetry on Windows will see this.

I have confirmed that I am operating in the same directory, but I’m still struggling to resolve the issue. If you have any other suggestions or advice, I would greatly appreciate it.