How to get the list of files in a ftp directory

Code

from ftplib import FTP            #1
ftp = FTP(host='ftp.bls.gov')     #2
ftp.login()                       #3
ftp.cwd('pub/time.series/ap')     #4
print ftp.nlst()                  #5

How this works, line by line

from ftplib import FTP            #1

This imports FTP from the standard ftplib module

ftp = FTP(host='ftp.bls.gov')     #2

This defines lowercase ftp as a FTP connection to the host

ftp.login()                       #3

This statement logs in.

ftp.cwd('pub/time.series/ap')     #4

this changes the directory used in the ftp site

print ftp.nlst()                  #5

this prints a list of the files in the directory