Getting list of layer names using PyQGIS [duplicate]

Question

I need a list containing the names of all the layers in a QGIS session. I did the task as

layersNames = []
for i in self.iface.mapCanvas().layers():
   layersNames.append(str(i.name()))

but this has the problem that only the names for the visible layers are extracted. How can I get a list with the names of all (visible or not) layers using PyQGIS?

Answer 1

Since version 3, QgsMapLayerRegistry funcionalities have been moved to QgsProject: https://qgis.org/api/api_break.html

Update for QGIS3.x:

from qgis.core import QgsProject

names = [layer.name() for layer in QgsProject.instance().mapLayers().values()]
print(names)

as per @Nathan W's answer, this produces a list of layers in the current project:

['GoogleSat', 'MyPointsLayer', 'Roads', 'House_numbers']

Answer 2

QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayers() will give you all layers that are opened.

If you want the names then:

names = [layer.name() for layer in QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayers().values()]

names will be a list of layer names

or using a normal function:

for layer in QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayers().values():
    print layer.name()