:mod:`!importlib` --- The implementation of :keyword:`!import` ============================================================== .. module:: importlib :synopsis: The implementation of the import machinery. .. moduleauthor:: Brett Cannon .. sectionauthor:: Brett Cannon .. versionadded:: 3.1 **Source code:** :source:`Lib/importlib/__init__.py` -------------- Introduction ------------ The purpose of the :mod:`importlib` package is two-fold. One is to provide the implementation of the :keyword:`import` statement (and thus, by extension, the :func:`__import__` function) in Python source code. This provides an implementation of :keyword:`!import` which is portable to any Python interpreter. This also provides an implementation which is easier to comprehend than one implemented in a programming language other than Python. Two, the components to implement :keyword:`import` are exposed in this package, making it easier for users to create their own custom objects (known generically as an :term:`importer`) to participate in the import process. .. seealso:: :ref:`import` The language reference for the :keyword:`import` statement. `Packages specification `__ Original specification of packages. Some semantics have changed since the writing of this document (e.g. redirecting based on ``None`` in :data:`sys.modules`). The :func:`.__import__` function The :keyword:`import` statement is syntactic sugar for this function. :pep:`235` Import on Case-Insensitive Platforms :pep:`263` Defining Python Source Code Encodings :pep:`302` New Import Hooks :pep:`328` Imports: Multi-Line and Absolute/Relative :pep:`366` Main module explicit relative imports :pep:`420` Implicit namespace packages :pep:`451` A ModuleSpec Type for the Import System :pep:`488` Elimination of PYO files :pep:`489` Multi-phase extension module initialization :pep:`552` Deterministic pycs :pep:`3120` Using UTF-8 as the Default Source Encoding :pep:`3147` PYC Repository Directories Functions --------- .. function:: __import__(name, globals=None, locals=None, fromlist=(), level=0) An implementation of the built-in :func:`__import__` function. .. note:: Programmatic importing of modules should use :func:`import_module` instead of this function. .. function:: import_module(name, package=None) Import a module. The *name* argument specifies what module to import in absolute or relative terms (e.g. either ``pkg.mod`` or ``..mod``). If the name is specified in relative terms, then the *package* argument must be set to the name of the package which is to act as the anchor for resolving the package name (e.g. ``import_module('..mod', 'pkg.subpkg')`` will import ``pkg.mod``). The :func:`import_module` function acts as a simplifying wrapper around :func:`importlib.__import__`. This means all semantics of the function are derived from :func:`importlib.__import__`. The most important difference between these two functions is that :func:`import_module` returns the specified package or module (e.g. ``pkg.mod``), while :func:`__import__` returns the top-level package or module (e.g. ``pkg``). If you are dynamically importing a module that was created since the interpreter began execution (e.g., created a Python source file), you may need to call :func:`invalidate_caches` in order for the new module to be noticed by the import system. .. versionchanged:: 3.3 Parent packages are automatically imported. .. function:: find_loader(name, path=None) Find the loader for a module, optionally within the specified *path*. If the module is in :attr:`sys.modules`, then ``sys.modules[name].__loader__`` is returned (unless the loader would be ``None`` or is not set, in which case :exc:`ValueError` is raised). Otherwise a search using :attr:`sys.meta_path` is done. ``None`` is returned if no loader is found. A dotted name does not have its parents implicitly imported as that requires loading them and that may not be desired. To properly import a submodule you will need to import all parent packages of the submodule and use the correct argument to *path*. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.4 If ``__loader__`` is not set, raise :exc:`ValueError`, just like when the attribute is set to ``None``. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :func:`importlib.util.find_spec` instead. .. function:: invalidate_caches() Invalidate the internal caches of finders stored at :data:`sys.meta_path`. If a finder implements ``invalidate_caches()`` then it will be called to perform the invalidation. This function should be called if any modules are created/installed while your program is running to guarantee all finders will notice the new module's existence. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. function:: reload(module) Reload a previously imported *module*. The argument must be a module object, so it must have been successfully imported before. This is useful if you have edited the module source file using an external editor and want to try out the new version without leaving the Python interpreter. The return value is the module object (which can be different if re-importing causes a different object to be placed in :data:`sys.modules`). When :func:`reload` is executed: * Python module's code is recompiled and the module-level code re-executed, defining a new set of objects which are bound to names in the module's dictionary by reusing the :term:`loader` which originally loaded the module. The ``init`` function of extension modules is not called a second time. * As with all other objects in Python the old objects are only reclaimed after their reference counts drop to zero. * The names in the module namespace are updated to point to any new or changed objects. * Other references to the old objects (such as names external to the module) are not rebound to refer to the new objects and must be updated in each namespace where they occur if that is desired. There are a number of other caveats: When a module is reloaded, its dictionary (containing the module's global variables) is retained. Redefinitions of names will override the old definitions, so this is generally not a problem. If the new version of a module does not define a name that was defined by the old version, the old definition remains. This feature can be used to the module's advantage if it maintains a global table or cache of objects --- with a :keyword:`try` statement it can test for the table's presence and skip its initialization if desired:: try: cache except NameError: cache = {} It is generally not very useful to reload built-in or dynamically loaded modules. Reloading :mod:`sys`, :mod:`__main__`, :mod:`builtins` and other key modules is not recommended. In many cases extension modules are not designed to be initialized more than once, and may fail in arbitrary ways when reloaded. If a module imports objects from another module using :keyword:`from` ... :keyword:`import` ..., calling :func:`reload` for the other module does not redefine the objects imported from it --- one way around this is to re-execute the :keyword:`!from` statement, another is to use :keyword:`!import` and qualified names (*module.name*) instead. If a module instantiates instances of a class, reloading the module that defines the class does not affect the method definitions of the instances --- they continue to use the old class definition. The same is true for derived classes. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.7 :exc:`ModuleNotFoundError` is raised when the module being reloaded lacks a :class:`~importlib.machinery.ModuleSpec`. :mod:`importlib.abc` -- Abstract base classes related to import --------------------------------------------------------------- .. module:: importlib.abc :synopsis: Abstract base classes related to import **Source code:** :source:`Lib/importlib/abc.py` -------------- The :mod:`importlib.abc` module contains all of the core abstract base classes used by :keyword:`import`. Some subclasses of the core abstract base classes are also provided to help in implementing the core ABCs. ABC hierarchy:: object +-- Finder (deprecated) | +-- MetaPathFinder | +-- PathEntryFinder +-- Loader +-- ResourceLoader --------+ +-- InspectLoader | +-- ExecutionLoader --+ +-- FileLoader +-- SourceLoader .. class:: Finder An abstract base class representing a :term:`finder`. .. deprecated:: 3.3 Use :class:`MetaPathFinder` or :class:`PathEntryFinder` instead. .. abstractmethod:: find_module(fullname, path=None) An abstract method for finding a :term:`loader` for the specified module. Originally specified in :pep:`302`, this method was meant for use in :data:`sys.meta_path` and in the path-based import subsystem. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Returns ``None`` when called instead of raising :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. deprecated:: 3.10 Implement :meth:`MetaPathFinder.find_spec` or :meth:`PathEntryFinder.find_spec` instead. .. class:: MetaPathFinder An abstract base class representing a :term:`meta path finder`. For compatibility, this is a subclass of :class:`Finder`. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.10 No longer a subclass of :class:`Finder`. .. method:: find_spec(fullname, path, target=None) An abstract method for finding a :term:`spec ` for the specified module. If this is a top-level import, *path* will be ``None``. Otherwise, this is a search for a subpackage or module and *path* will be the value of :attr:`__path__` from the parent package. If a spec cannot be found, ``None`` is returned. When passed in, ``target`` is a module object that the finder may use to make a more educated guess about what spec to return. :func:`importlib.util.spec_from_loader` may be useful for implementing concrete ``MetaPathFinders``. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. method:: find_module(fullname, path) A legacy method for finding a :term:`loader` for the specified module. If this is a top-level import, *path* will be ``None``. Otherwise, this is a search for a subpackage or module and *path* will be the value of :attr:`__path__` from the parent package. If a loader cannot be found, ``None`` is returned. If :meth:`find_spec` is defined, backwards-compatible functionality is provided. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Returns ``None`` when called instead of raising :exc:`NotImplementedError`. Can use :meth:`find_spec` to provide functionality. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`find_spec` instead. .. method:: invalidate_caches() An optional method which, when called, should invalidate any internal cache used by the finder. Used by :func:`importlib.invalidate_caches` when invalidating the caches of all finders on :data:`sys.meta_path`. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Returns ``None`` when called instead of ``NotImplemented``. .. class:: PathEntryFinder An abstract base class representing a :term:`path entry finder`. Though it bears some similarities to :class:`MetaPathFinder`, ``PathEntryFinder`` is meant for use only within the path-based import subsystem provided by :class:`importlib.machinery.PathFinder`. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.10 No longer a subclass of :class:`Finder`. .. method:: find_spec(fullname, target=None) An abstract method for finding a :term:`spec ` for the specified module. The finder will search for the module only within the :term:`path entry` to which it is assigned. If a spec cannot be found, ``None`` is returned. When passed in, ``target`` is a module object that the finder may use to make a more educated guess about what spec to return. :func:`importlib.util.spec_from_loader` may be useful for implementing concrete ``PathEntryFinders``. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. method:: find_loader(fullname) A legacy method for finding a :term:`loader` for the specified module. Returns a 2-tuple of ``(loader, portion)`` where ``portion`` is a sequence of file system locations contributing to part of a namespace package. The loader may be ``None`` while specifying ``portion`` to signify the contribution of the file system locations to a namespace package. An empty list can be used for ``portion`` to signify the loader is not part of a namespace package. If ``loader`` is ``None`` and ``portion`` is the empty list then no loader or location for a namespace package were found (i.e. failure to find anything for the module). If :meth:`find_spec` is defined then backwards-compatible functionality is provided. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Returns ``(None, [])`` instead of raising :exc:`NotImplementedError`. Uses :meth:`find_spec` when available to provide functionality. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`find_spec` instead. .. method:: find_module(fullname) A concrete implementation of :meth:`Finder.find_module` which is equivalent to ``self.find_loader(fullname)[0]``. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`find_spec` instead. .. method:: invalidate_caches() An optional method which, when called, should invalidate any internal cache used by the finder. Used by :meth:`importlib.machinery.PathFinder.invalidate_caches` when invalidating the caches of all cached finders. .. class:: Loader An abstract base class for a :term:`loader`. See :pep:`302` for the exact definition for a loader. Loaders that wish to support resource reading should implement a ``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` method as specified by :class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`. .. versionchanged:: 3.7 Introduced the optional ``get_resource_reader()`` method. .. method:: create_module(spec) A method that returns the module object to use when importing a module. This method may return ``None``, indicating that default module creation semantics should take place. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.5 Starting in Python 3.6, this method will not be optional when :meth:`exec_module` is defined. .. method:: exec_module(module) An abstract method that executes the module in its own namespace when a module is imported or reloaded. The module should already be initialized when ``exec_module()`` is called. When this method exists, :meth:`~importlib.abc.Loader.create_module` must be defined. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.6 :meth:`~importlib.abc.Loader.create_module` must also be defined. .. method:: load_module(fullname) A legacy method for loading a module. If the module cannot be loaded, :exc:`ImportError` is raised, otherwise the loaded module is returned. If the requested module already exists in :data:`sys.modules`, that module should be used and reloaded. Otherwise the loader should create a new module and insert it into :data:`sys.modules` before any loading begins, to prevent recursion from the import. If the loader inserted a module and the load fails, it must be removed by the loader from :data:`sys.modules`; modules already in :data:`sys.modules` before the loader began execution should be left alone (see :func:`importlib.util.module_for_loader`). The loader should set several attributes on the module. (Note that some of these attributes can change when a module is reloaded): - :attr:`__name__` The name of the module. - :attr:`__file__` The path to where the module data is stored (not set for built-in modules). - :attr:`__cached__` The path to where a compiled version of the module is/should be stored (not set when the attribute would be inappropriate). - :attr:`__path__` A list of strings specifying the search path within a package. This attribute is not set on modules. - :attr:`__package__` The fully-qualified name of the package under which the module was loaded as a submodule (or the empty string for top-level modules). For packages, it is the same as :attr:`__name__`. The :func:`importlib.util.module_for_loader` decorator can handle the details for :attr:`__package__`. - :attr:`__loader__` The loader used to load the module. The :func:`importlib.util.module_for_loader` decorator can handle the details for :attr:`__package__`. When :meth:`exec_module` is available then backwards-compatible functionality is provided. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raise :exc:`ImportError` when called instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. Functionality provided when :meth:`exec_module` is available. .. deprecated:: 3.4 The recommended API for loading a module is :meth:`exec_module` (and :meth:`create_module`). Loaders should implement it instead of load_module(). The import machinery takes care of all the other responsibilities of load_module() when exec_module() is implemented. .. method:: module_repr(module) A legacy method which when implemented calculates and returns the given module's repr, as a string. The module type's default repr() will use the result of this method as appropriate. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Made optional instead of an abstractmethod. .. deprecated:: 3.4 The import machinery now takes care of this automatically. .. class:: ResourceReader *Superseded by TraversableResources* An :term:`abstract base class` to provide the ability to read *resources*. From the perspective of this ABC, a *resource* is a binary artifact that is shipped within a package. Typically this is something like a data file that lives next to the ``__init__.py`` file of the package. The purpose of this class is to help abstract out the accessing of such data files so that it does not matter if the package and its data file(s) are stored in a e.g. zip file versus on the file system. For any of methods of this class, a *resource* argument is expected to be a :term:`path-like object` which represents conceptually just a file name. This means that no subdirectory paths should be included in the *resource* argument. This is because the location of the package the reader is for, acts as the "directory". Hence the metaphor for directories and file names is packages and resources, respectively. This is also why instances of this class are expected to directly correlate to a specific package (instead of potentially representing multiple packages or a module). Loaders that wish to support resource reading are expected to provide a method called ``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` which returns an object implementing this ABC's interface. If the module specified by fullname is not a package, this method should return :const:`None`. An object compatible with this ABC should only be returned when the specified module is a package. .. versionadded:: 3.7 .. abstractmethod:: open_resource(resource) Returns an opened, :term:`file-like object` for binary reading of the *resource*. If the resource cannot be found, :exc:`FileNotFoundError` is raised. .. abstractmethod:: resource_path(resource) Returns the file system path to the *resource*. If the resource does not concretely exist on the file system, raise :exc:`FileNotFoundError`. .. abstractmethod:: is_resource(name) Returns ``True`` if the named *name* is considered a resource. :exc:`FileNotFoundError` is raised if *name* does not exist. .. abstractmethod:: contents() Returns an :term:`iterable` of strings over the contents of the package. Do note that it is not required that all names returned by the iterator be actual resources, e.g. it is acceptable to return names for which :meth:`is_resource` would be false. Allowing non-resource names to be returned is to allow for situations where how a package and its resources are stored are known a priori and the non-resource names would be useful. For instance, returning subdirectory names is allowed so that when it is known that the package and resources are stored on the file system then those subdirectory names can be used directly. The abstract method returns an iterable of no items. .. class:: ResourceLoader An abstract base class for a :term:`loader` which implements the optional :pep:`302` protocol for loading arbitrary resources from the storage back-end. .. deprecated:: 3.7 This ABC is deprecated in favour of supporting resource loading through :class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`. .. abstractmethod:: get_data(path) An abstract method to return the bytes for the data located at *path*. Loaders that have a file-like storage back-end that allows storing arbitrary data can implement this abstract method to give direct access to the data stored. :exc:`OSError` is to be raised if the *path* cannot be found. The *path* is expected to be constructed using a module's :attr:`__file__` attribute or an item from a package's :attr:`__path__`. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raises :exc:`OSError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. class:: InspectLoader An abstract base class for a :term:`loader` which implements the optional :pep:`302` protocol for loaders that inspect modules. .. method:: get_code(fullname) Return the code object for a module, or ``None`` if the module does not have a code object (as would be the case, for example, for a built-in module). Raise an :exc:`ImportError` if loader cannot find the requested module. .. note:: While the method has a default implementation, it is suggested that it be overridden if possible for performance. .. index:: single: universal newlines; importlib.abc.InspectLoader.get_source method .. versionchanged:: 3.4 No longer abstract and a concrete implementation is provided. .. abstractmethod:: get_source(fullname) An abstract method to return the source of a module. It is returned as a text string using :term:`universal newlines`, translating all recognized line separators into ``'\n'`` characters. Returns ``None`` if no source is available (e.g. a built-in module). Raises :exc:`ImportError` if the loader cannot find the module specified. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raises :exc:`ImportError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. method:: is_package(fullname) An optional method to return a true value if the module is a package, a false value otherwise. :exc:`ImportError` is raised if the :term:`loader` cannot find the module. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raises :exc:`ImportError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. staticmethod:: source_to_code(data, path='') Create a code object from Python source. The *data* argument can be whatever the :func:`compile` function supports (i.e. string or bytes). The *path* argument should be the "path" to where the source code originated from, which can be an abstract concept (e.g. location in a zip file). With the subsequent code object one can execute it in a module by running ``exec(code, module.__dict__)``. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.5 Made the method static. .. method:: exec_module(module) Implementation of :meth:`Loader.exec_module`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. method:: load_module(fullname) Implementation of :meth:`Loader.load_module`. .. deprecated:: 3.4 use :meth:`exec_module` instead. .. class:: ExecutionLoader An abstract base class which inherits from :class:`InspectLoader` that, when implemented, helps a module to be executed as a script. The ABC represents an optional :pep:`302` protocol. .. abstractmethod:: get_filename(fullname) An abstract method that is to return the value of :attr:`__file__` for the specified module. If no path is available, :exc:`ImportError` is raised. If source code is available, then the method should return the path to the source file, regardless of whether a bytecode was used to load the module. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raises :exc:`ImportError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. class:: FileLoader(fullname, path) An abstract base class which inherits from :class:`ResourceLoader` and :class:`ExecutionLoader`, providing concrete implementations of :meth:`ResourceLoader.get_data` and :meth:`ExecutionLoader.get_filename`. The *fullname* argument is a fully resolved name of the module the loader is to handle. The *path* argument is the path to the file for the module. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: name The name of the module the loader can handle. .. attribute:: path Path to the file of the module. .. method:: load_module(fullname) Calls super's ``load_module()``. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`Loader.exec_module` instead. .. abstractmethod:: get_filename(fullname) Returns :attr:`path`. .. abstractmethod:: get_data(path) Reads *path* as a binary file and returns the bytes from it. .. class:: SourceLoader An abstract base class for implementing source (and optionally bytecode) file loading. The class inherits from both :class:`ResourceLoader` and :class:`ExecutionLoader`, requiring the implementation of: * :meth:`ResourceLoader.get_data` * :meth:`ExecutionLoader.get_filename` Should only return the path to the source file; sourceless loading is not supported. The abstract methods defined by this class are to add optional bytecode file support. Not implementing these optional methods (or causing them to raise :exc:`NotImplementedError`) causes the loader to only work with source code. Implementing the methods allows the loader to work with source *and* bytecode files; it does not allow for *sourceless* loading where only bytecode is provided. Bytecode files are an optimization to speed up loading by removing the parsing step of Python's compiler, and so no bytecode-specific API is exposed. .. method:: path_stats(path) Optional abstract method which returns a :class:`dict` containing metadata about the specified path. Supported dictionary keys are: - ``'mtime'`` (mandatory): an integer or floating-point number representing the modification time of the source code; - ``'size'`` (optional): the size in bytes of the source code. Any other keys in the dictionary are ignored, to allow for future extensions. If the path cannot be handled, :exc:`OSError` is raised. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raise :exc:`OSError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. method:: path_mtime(path) Optional abstract method which returns the modification time for the specified path. .. deprecated:: 3.3 This method is deprecated in favour of :meth:`path_stats`. You don't have to implement it, but it is still available for compatibility purposes. Raise :exc:`OSError` if the path cannot be handled. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Raise :exc:`OSError` instead of :exc:`NotImplementedError`. .. method:: set_data(path, data) Optional abstract method which writes the specified bytes to a file path. Any intermediate directories which do not exist are to be created automatically. When writing to the path fails because the path is read-only (:attr:`errno.EACCES`/:exc:`PermissionError`), do not propagate the exception. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 No longer raises :exc:`NotImplementedError` when called. .. method:: get_code(fullname) Concrete implementation of :meth:`InspectLoader.get_code`. .. method:: exec_module(module) Concrete implementation of :meth:`Loader.exec_module`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. method:: load_module(fullname) Concrete implementation of :meth:`Loader.load_module`. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`exec_module` instead. .. method:: get_source(fullname) Concrete implementation of :meth:`InspectLoader.get_source`. .. method:: is_package(fullname) Concrete implementation of :meth:`InspectLoader.is_package`. A module is determined to be a package if its file path (as provided by :meth:`ExecutionLoader.get_filename`) is a file named ``__init__`` when the file extension is removed **and** the module name itself does not end in ``__init__``. .. class:: Traversable An object with a subset of pathlib.Path methods suitable for traversing directories and opening files. .. versionadded:: 3.9 .. abstractmethod:: name() The base name of this object without any parent references. .. abstractmethod:: iterdir() Yield Traversable objects in self. .. abstractmethod:: is_dir() Return True if self is a directory. .. abstractmethod:: is_file() Return True if self is a file. .. abstractmethod:: joinpath(child) Return Traversable child in self. .. abstractmethod:: __truediv__(child) Return Traversable child in self. .. abstractmethod:: open(mode='r', *args, **kwargs) *mode* may be 'r' or 'rb' to open as text or binary. Return a handle suitable for reading (same as :attr:`pathlib.Path.open`). When opening as text, accepts encoding parameters such as those accepted by :attr:`io.TextIOWrapper`. .. method:: read_bytes() Read contents of self as bytes. .. method:: read_text(encoding=None) Read contents of self as text. .. class:: TraversableResources An abstract base class for resource readers capable of serving the ``files`` interface. Subclasses ResourceReader and provides concrete implementations of the ResourceReader's abstract methods. Therefore, any loader supplying TraversableReader also supplies ResourceReader. Loaders that wish to support resource reading are expected to implement this interface. .. versionadded:: 3.9 :mod:`importlib.resources` -- Resources --------------------------------------- .. module:: importlib.resources :synopsis: Package resource reading, opening, and access **Source code:** :source:`Lib/importlib/resources.py` -------------- .. versionadded:: 3.7 This module leverages Python's import system to provide access to *resources* within *packages*. If you can import a package, you can access resources within that package. Resources can be opened or read, in either binary or text mode. Resources are roughly akin to files inside directories, though it's important to keep in mind that this is just a metaphor. Resources and packages **do not** have to exist as physical files and directories on the file system. .. note:: This module provides functionality similar to `pkg_resources `_ `Basic Resource Access `_ without the performance overhead of that package. This makes reading resources included in packages easier, with more stable and consistent semantics. The standalone backport of this module provides more information on `using importlib.resources `_ and `migrating from pkg_resources to importlib.resources `_. Loaders that wish to support resource reading should implement a ``get_resource_reader(fullname)`` method as specified by :class:`importlib.abc.ResourceReader`. The following types are defined. .. data:: Package The ``Package`` type is defined as ``Union[str, ModuleType]``. This means that where the function describes accepting a ``Package``, you can pass in either a string or a module. Module objects must have a resolvable ``__spec__.submodule_search_locations`` that is not ``None``. .. data:: Resource This type describes the resource names passed into the various functions in this package. This is defined as ``Union[str, os.PathLike]``. The following functions are available. .. function:: files(package) Returns an :class:`importlib.resources.abc.Traversable` object representing the resource container for the package (think directory) and its resources (think files). A Traversable may contain other containers (think subdirectories). *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. .. versionadded:: 3.9 .. function:: as_file(traversable) Given a :class:`importlib.resources.abc.Traversable` object representing a file, typically from :func:`importlib.resources.files`, return a context manager for use in a :keyword:`with` statement. The context manager provides a :class:`pathlib.Path` object. Exiting the context manager cleans up any temporary file created when the resource was extracted from e.g. a zip file. Use ``as_file`` when the Traversable methods (``read_text``, etc) are insufficient and an actual file on the file system is required. .. versionadded:: 3.9 .. function:: open_binary(package, resource) Open for binary reading the *resource* within *package*. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. *resource* is the name of the resource to open within *package*; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). This function returns a ``typing.BinaryIO`` instance, a binary I/O stream open for reading. .. function:: open_text(package, resource, encoding='utf-8', errors='strict') Open for text reading the *resource* within *package*. By default, the resource is opened for reading as UTF-8. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. *resource* is the name of the resource to open within *package*; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). *encoding* and *errors* have the same meaning as with built-in :func:`open`. This function returns a ``typing.TextIO`` instance, a text I/O stream open for reading. .. function:: read_binary(package, resource) Read and return the contents of the *resource* within *package* as ``bytes``. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. *resource* is the name of the resource to open within *package*; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). This function returns the contents of the resource as :class:`bytes`. .. function:: read_text(package, resource, encoding='utf-8', errors='strict') Read and return the contents of *resource* within *package* as a ``str``. By default, the contents are read as strict UTF-8. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. *resource* is the name of the resource to open within *package*; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). *encoding* and *errors* have the same meaning as with built-in :func:`open`. This function returns the contents of the resource as :class:`str`. .. function:: path(package, resource) Return the path to the *resource* as an actual file system path. This function returns a context manager for use in a :keyword:`with` statement. The context manager provides a :class:`pathlib.Path` object. Exiting the context manager cleans up any temporary file created when the resource needs to be extracted from e.g. a zip file. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. *resource* is the name of the resource to open within *package*; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). .. function:: is_resource(package, name) Return ``True`` if there is a resource named *name* in the package, otherwise ``False``. Remember that directories are *not* resources! *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. .. function:: contents(package) Return an iterable over the named items within the package. The iterable returns :class:`str` resources (e.g. files) and non-resources (e.g. directories). The iterable does not recurse into subdirectories. *package* is either a name or a module object which conforms to the ``Package`` requirements. :mod:`importlib.machinery` -- Importers and path hooks ------------------------------------------------------ .. module:: importlib.machinery :synopsis: Importers and path hooks **Source code:** :source:`Lib/importlib/machinery.py` -------------- This module contains the various objects that help :keyword:`import` find and load modules. .. attribute:: SOURCE_SUFFIXES A list of strings representing the recognized file suffixes for source modules. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: DEBUG_BYTECODE_SUFFIXES A list of strings representing the file suffixes for non-optimized bytecode modules. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. deprecated:: 3.5 Use :attr:`BYTECODE_SUFFIXES` instead. .. attribute:: OPTIMIZED_BYTECODE_SUFFIXES A list of strings representing the file suffixes for optimized bytecode modules. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. deprecated:: 3.5 Use :attr:`BYTECODE_SUFFIXES` instead. .. attribute:: BYTECODE_SUFFIXES A list of strings representing the recognized file suffixes for bytecode modules (including the leading dot). .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.5 The value is no longer dependent on ``__debug__``. .. attribute:: EXTENSION_SUFFIXES A list of strings representing the recognized file suffixes for extension modules. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. function:: all_suffixes() Returns a combined list of strings representing all file suffixes for modules recognized by the standard import machinery. This is a helper for code which simply needs to know if a filesystem path potentially refers to a module without needing any details on the kind of module (for example, :func:`inspect.getmodulename`). .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. class:: BuiltinImporter An :term:`importer` for built-in modules. All known built-in modules are listed in :data:`sys.builtin_module_names`. This class implements the :class:`importlib.abc.MetaPathFinder` and :class:`importlib.abc.InspectLoader` ABCs. Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation. .. versionchanged:: 3.5 As part of :pep:`489`, the builtin importer now implements :meth:`Loader.create_module` and :meth:`Loader.exec_module` .. class:: FrozenImporter An :term:`importer` for frozen modules. This class implements the :class:`importlib.abc.MetaPathFinder` and :class:`importlib.abc.InspectLoader` ABCs. Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Gained :meth:`~Loader.create_module` and :meth:`~Loader.exec_module` methods. .. class:: WindowsRegistryFinder :term:`Finder ` for modules declared in the Windows registry. This class implements the :class:`importlib.abc.MetaPathFinder` ABC. Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. deprecated:: 3.6 Use :mod:`site` configuration instead. Future versions of Python may not enable this finder by default. .. class:: PathFinder A :term:`Finder ` for :data:`sys.path` and package ``__path__`` attributes. This class implements the :class:`importlib.abc.MetaPathFinder` ABC. Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation. .. classmethod:: find_spec(fullname, path=None, target=None) Class method that attempts to find a :term:`spec ` for the module specified by *fullname* on :data:`sys.path` or, if defined, on *path*. For each path entry that is searched, :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` is checked. If a non-false object is found then it is used as the :term:`path entry finder` to look for the module being searched for. If no entry is found in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache`, then :data:`sys.path_hooks` is searched for a finder for the path entry and, if found, is stored in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` along with being queried about the module. If no finder is ever found then ``None`` is both stored in the cache and returned. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.5 If the current working directory -- represented by an empty string -- is no longer valid then ``None`` is returned but no value is cached in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache`. .. classmethod:: find_module(fullname, path=None) A legacy wrapper around :meth:`find_spec`. .. deprecated:: 3.4 Use :meth:`find_spec` instead. .. classmethod:: invalidate_caches() Calls :meth:`importlib.abc.PathEntryFinder.invalidate_caches` on all finders stored in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` that define the method. Otherwise entries in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` set to ``None`` are deleted. .. versionchanged:: 3.7 Entries of ``None`` in :data:`sys.path_importer_cache` are deleted. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Calls objects in :data:`sys.path_hooks` with the current working directory for ``''`` (i.e. the empty string). .. class:: FileFinder(path, *loader_details) A concrete implementation of :class:`importlib.abc.PathEntryFinder` which caches results from the file system. The *path* argument is the directory for which the finder is in charge of searching. The *loader_details* argument is a variable number of 2-item tuples each containing a loader and a sequence of file suffixes the loader recognizes. The loaders are expected to be callables which accept two arguments of the module's name and the path to the file found. The finder will cache the directory contents as necessary, making stat calls for each module search to verify the cache is not outdated. Because cache staleness relies upon the granularity of the operating system's state information of the file system, there is a potential race condition of searching for a module, creating a new file, and then searching for the module the new file represents. If the operations happen fast enough to fit within the granularity of stat calls, then the module search will fail. To prevent this from happening, when you create a module dynamically, make sure to call :func:`importlib.invalidate_caches`. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: path The path the finder will search in. .. method:: find_spec(fullname, target=None) Attempt to find the spec to handle *fullname* within :attr:`path`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. method:: find_loader(fullname) Attempt to find the loader to handle *fullname* within :attr:`path`. .. deprecated:: 3.10 Use :meth:`find_spec` instead. .. method:: invalidate_caches() Clear out the internal cache. .. classmethod:: path_hook(*loader_details) A class method which returns a closure for use on :attr:`sys.path_hooks`. An instance of :class:`FileFinder` is returned by the closure using the path argument given to the closure directly and *loader_details* indirectly. If the argument to the closure is not an existing directory, :exc:`ImportError` is raised. .. class:: SourceFileLoader(fullname, path) A concrete implementation of :class:`importlib.abc.SourceLoader` by subclassing :class:`importlib.abc.FileLoader` and providing some concrete implementations of other methods. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: name The name of the module that this loader will handle. .. attribute:: path The path to the source file. .. method:: is_package(fullname) Return ``True`` if :attr:`path` appears to be for a package. .. method:: path_stats(path) Concrete implementation of :meth:`importlib.abc.SourceLoader.path_stats`. .. method:: set_data(path, data) Concrete implementation of :meth:`importlib.abc.SourceLoader.set_data`. .. method:: load_module(name=None) Concrete implementation of :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.load_module` where specifying the name of the module to load is optional. .. deprecated:: 3.6 Use :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.exec_module` instead. .. class:: SourcelessFileLoader(fullname, path) A concrete implementation of :class:`importlib.abc.FileLoader` which can import bytecode files (i.e. no source code files exist). Please note that direct use of bytecode files (and thus not source code files) inhibits your modules from being usable by all Python implementations or new versions of Python which change the bytecode format. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: name The name of the module the loader will handle. .. attribute:: path The path to the bytecode file. .. method:: is_package(fullname) Determines if the module is a package based on :attr:`path`. .. method:: get_code(fullname) Returns the code object for :attr:`name` created from :attr:`path`. .. method:: get_source(fullname) Returns ``None`` as bytecode files have no source when this loader is used. .. method:: load_module(name=None) Concrete implementation of :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.load_module` where specifying the name of the module to load is optional. .. deprecated:: 3.6 Use :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.exec_module` instead. .. class:: ExtensionFileLoader(fullname, path) A concrete implementation of :class:`importlib.abc.ExecutionLoader` for extension modules. The *fullname* argument specifies the name of the module the loader is to support. The *path* argument is the path to the extension module's file. .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. attribute:: name Name of the module the loader supports. .. attribute:: path Path to the extension module. .. method:: create_module(spec) Creates the module object from the given specification in accordance with :pep:`489`. .. versionadded:: 3.5 .. method:: exec_module(module) Initializes the given module object in accordance with :pep:`489`. .. versionadded:: 3.5 .. method:: is_package(fullname) Returns ``True`` if the file path points to a package's ``__init__`` module based on :attr:`EXTENSION_SUFFIXES`. .. method:: get_code(fullname) Returns ``None`` as extension modules lack a code object. .. method:: get_source(fullname) Returns ``None`` as extension modules do not have source code. .. method:: get_filename(fullname) Returns :attr:`path`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. class:: ModuleSpec(name, loader, *, origin=None, loader_state=None, is_package=None) A specification for a module's import-system-related state. This is typically exposed as the module's ``__spec__`` attribute. In the descriptions below, the names in parentheses give the corresponding attribute available directly on the module object. E.g. ``module.__spec__.origin == module.__file__``. Note however that while the *values* are usually equivalent, they can differ since there is no synchronization between the two objects. Thus it is possible to update the module's ``__path__`` at runtime, and this will not be automatically reflected in ``__spec__.submodule_search_locations``. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. attribute:: name (``__name__``) A string for the fully-qualified name of the module. .. attribute:: loader (``__loader__``) The :term:`Loader ` that should be used when loading the module. :term:`Finders ` should always set this. .. attribute:: origin (``__file__``) Name of the place from which the module is loaded, e.g. "builtin" for built-in modules and the filename for modules loaded from source. Normally "origin" should be set, but it may be ``None`` (the default) which indicates it is unspecified (e.g. for namespace packages). .. attribute:: submodule_search_locations (``__path__``) List of strings for where to find submodules, if a package (``None`` otherwise). .. attribute:: loader_state Container of extra module-specific data for use during loading (or ``None``). .. attribute:: cached (``__cached__``) String for where the compiled module should be stored (or ``None``). .. attribute:: parent (``__package__``) (Read-only) The fully-qualified name of the package under which the module should be loaded as a submodule (or the empty string for top-level modules). For packages, it is the same as :attr:`__name__`. .. attribute:: has_location Boolean indicating whether or not the module's "origin" attribute refers to a loadable location. :mod:`importlib.util` -- Utility code for importers --------------------------------------------------- .. module:: importlib.util :synopsis: Utility code for importers **Source code:** :source:`Lib/importlib/util.py` -------------- This module contains the various objects that help in the construction of an :term:`importer`. .. attribute:: MAGIC_NUMBER The bytes which represent the bytecode version number. If you need help with loading/writing bytecode then consider :class:`importlib.abc.SourceLoader`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. function:: cache_from_source(path, debug_override=None, *, optimization=None) Return the :pep:`3147`/:pep:`488` path to the byte-compiled file associated with the source *path*. For example, if *path* is ``/foo/bar/baz.py`` the return value would be ``/foo/bar/__pycache__/baz.cpython-32.pyc`` for Python 3.2. The ``cpython-32`` string comes from the current magic tag (see :func:`get_tag`; if :attr:`sys.implementation.cache_tag` is not defined then :exc:`NotImplementedError` will be raised). The *optimization* parameter is used to specify the optimization level of the bytecode file. An empty string represents no optimization, so ``/foo/bar/baz.py`` with an *optimization* of ``''`` will result in a bytecode path of ``/foo/bar/__pycache__/baz.cpython-32.pyc``. ``None`` causes the interpreter's optimization level to be used. Any other value's string representation is used, so ``/foo/bar/baz.py`` with an *optimization* of ``2`` will lead to the bytecode path of ``/foo/bar/__pycache__/baz.cpython-32.opt-2.pyc``. The string representation of *optimization* can only be alphanumeric, else :exc:`ValueError` is raised. The *debug_override* parameter is deprecated and can be used to override the system's value for ``__debug__``. A ``True`` value is the equivalent of setting *optimization* to the empty string. A ``False`` value is the same as setting *optimization* to ``1``. If both *debug_override* an *optimization* are not ``None`` then :exc:`TypeError` is raised. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.5 The *optimization* parameter was added and the *debug_override* parameter was deprecated. .. versionchanged:: 3.6 Accepts a :term:`path-like object`. .. function:: source_from_cache(path) Given the *path* to a :pep:`3147` file name, return the associated source code file path. For example, if *path* is ``/foo/bar/__pycache__/baz.cpython-32.pyc`` the returned path would be ``/foo/bar/baz.py``. *path* need not exist, however if it does not conform to :pep:`3147` or :pep:`488` format, a :exc:`ValueError` is raised. If :attr:`sys.implementation.cache_tag` is not defined, :exc:`NotImplementedError` is raised. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.6 Accepts a :term:`path-like object`. .. function:: decode_source(source_bytes) Decode the given bytes representing source code and return it as a string with universal newlines (as required by :meth:`importlib.abc.InspectLoader.get_source`). .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. function:: resolve_name(name, package) Resolve a relative module name to an absolute one. If **name** has no leading dots, then **name** is simply returned. This allows for usage such as ``importlib.util.resolve_name('sys', __spec__.parent)`` without doing a check to see if the **package** argument is needed. :exc:`ImportError` is raised if **name** is a relative module name but **package** is a false value (e.g. ``None`` or the empty string). :exc:`ImportError` is also raised a relative name would escape its containing package (e.g. requesting ``..bacon`` from within the ``spam`` package). .. versionadded:: 3.3 .. versionchanged:: 3.9 To improve consistency with import statements, raise :exc:`ImportError` instead of :exc:`ValueError` for invalid relative import attempts. .. function:: find_spec(name, package=None) Find the :term:`spec ` for a module, optionally relative to the specified **package** name. If the module is in :attr:`sys.modules`, then ``sys.modules[name].__spec__`` is returned (unless the spec would be ``None`` or is not set, in which case :exc:`ValueError` is raised). Otherwise a search using :attr:`sys.meta_path` is done. ``None`` is returned if no spec is found. If **name** is for a submodule (contains a dot), the parent module is automatically imported. **name** and **package** work the same as for :func:`import_module`. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.7 Raises :exc:`ModuleNotFoundError` instead of :exc:`AttributeError` if **package** is in fact not a package (i.e. lacks a :attr:`__path__` attribute). .. function:: module_from_spec(spec) Create a new module based on **spec** and :meth:`spec.loader.create_module `. If :meth:`spec.loader.create_module ` does not return ``None``, then any pre-existing attributes will not be reset. Also, no :exc:`AttributeError` will be raised if triggered while accessing **spec** or setting an attribute on the module. This function is preferred over using :class:`types.ModuleType` to create a new module as **spec** is used to set as many import-controlled attributes on the module as possible. .. versionadded:: 3.5 .. decorator:: module_for_loader A :term:`decorator` for :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.load_module` to handle selecting the proper module object to load with. The decorated method is expected to have a call signature taking two positional arguments (e.g. ``load_module(self, module)``) for which the second argument will be the module **object** to be used by the loader. Note that the decorator will not work on static methods because of the assumption of two arguments. The decorated method will take in the **name** of the module to be loaded as expected for a :term:`loader`. If the module is not found in :data:`sys.modules` then a new one is constructed. Regardless of where the module came from, :attr:`__loader__` set to **self** and :attr:`__package__` is set based on what :meth:`importlib.abc.InspectLoader.is_package` returns (if available). These attributes are set unconditionally to support reloading. If an exception is raised by the decorated method and a module was added to :data:`sys.modules`, then the module will be removed to prevent a partially initialized module from being in left in :data:`sys.modules`. If the module was already in :data:`sys.modules` then it is left alone. .. versionchanged:: 3.3 :attr:`__loader__` and :attr:`__package__` are automatically set (when possible). .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Set :attr:`__name__`, :attr:`__loader__` :attr:`__package__` unconditionally to support reloading. .. deprecated:: 3.4 The import machinery now directly performs all the functionality provided by this function. .. decorator:: set_loader A :term:`decorator` for :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.load_module` to set the :attr:`__loader__` attribute on the returned module. If the attribute is already set the decorator does nothing. It is assumed that the first positional argument to the wrapped method (i.e. ``self``) is what :attr:`__loader__` should be set to. .. versionchanged:: 3.4 Set ``__loader__`` if set to ``None``, as if the attribute does not exist. .. deprecated:: 3.4 The import machinery takes care of this automatically. .. decorator:: set_package A :term:`decorator` for :meth:`importlib.abc.Loader.load_module` to set the :attr:`__package__` attribute on the returned module. If :attr:`__package__` is set and has a value other than ``None`` it will not be changed. .. deprecated:: 3.4 The import machinery takes care of this automatically. .. function:: spec_from_loader(name, loader, *, origin=None, is_package=None) A factory function for creating a :class:`~importlib.machinery.ModuleSpec` instance based on a loader. The parameters have the same meaning as they do for ModuleSpec. The function uses available :term:`loader` APIs, such as :meth:`InspectLoader.is_package`, to fill in any missing information on the spec. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. function:: spec_from_file_location(name, location, *, loader=None, submodule_search_locations=None) A factory function for creating a :class:`~importlib.machinery.ModuleSpec` instance based on the path to a file. Missing information will be filled in on the spec by making use of loader APIs and by the implication that the module will be file-based. .. versionadded:: 3.4 .. versionchanged:: 3.6 Accepts a :term:`path-like object`. .. function:: source_hash(source_bytes) Return the hash of *source_bytes* as bytes. A hash-based ``.pyc`` file embeds the :func:`source_hash` of the corresponding source file's contents in its header. .. versionadded:: 3.7 .. class:: LazyLoader(loader) A class which postpones the execution of the loader of a module until the module has an attribute accessed. This class **only** works with loaders that define :meth:`~importlib.abc.Loader.exec_module` as control over what module type is used for the module is required. For those same reasons, the loader's :meth:`~importlib.abc.Loader.create_module` method must return ``None`` or a type for which its ``__class__`` attribute can be mutated along with not using :term:`slots <__slots__>`. Finally, modules which substitute the object placed into :attr:`sys.modules` will not work as there is no way to properly replace the module references throughout the interpreter safely; :exc:`ValueError` is raised if such a substitution is detected. .. note:: For projects where startup time is critical, this class allows for potentially minimizing the cost of loading a module if it is never used. For projects where startup time is not essential then use of this class is **heavily** discouraged due to error messages created during loading being postponed and thus occurring out of context. .. versionadded:: 3.5 .. versionchanged:: 3.6 Began calling :meth:`~importlib.abc.Loader.create_module`, removing the compatibility warning for :class:`importlib.machinery.BuiltinImporter` and :class:`importlib.machinery.ExtensionFileLoader`. .. classmethod:: factory(loader) A static method which returns a callable that creates a lazy loader. This is meant to be used in situations where the loader is passed by class instead of by instance. :: suffixes = importlib.machinery.SOURCE_SUFFIXES loader = importlib.machinery.SourceFileLoader lazy_loader = importlib.util.LazyLoader.factory(loader) finder = importlib.machinery.FileFinder(path, (lazy_loader, suffixes)) .. _importlib-examples: Examples -------- Importing programmatically '''''''''''''''''''''''''' To programmatically import a module, use :func:`importlib.import_module`. :: import importlib itertools = importlib.import_module('itertools') Checking if a module can be imported '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' If you need to find out if a module can be imported without actually doing the import, then you should use :func:`importlib.util.find_spec`. :: import importlib.util import sys # For illustrative purposes. name = 'itertools' if name in sys.modules: print(f"{name!r} already in sys.modules") elif (spec := importlib.util.find_spec(name)) is not None: # If you chose to perform the actual import ... module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec) sys.modules[name] = module spec.loader.exec_module(module) print(f"{name!r} has been imported") else: print(f"can't find the {name!r} module") Importing a source file directly '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' To import a Python source file directly, use the following recipe (Python 3.5 and newer only):: import importlib.util import sys # For illustrative purposes. import tokenize file_path = tokenize.__file__ module_name = tokenize.__name__ spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(module_name, file_path) module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec) sys.modules[module_name] = module spec.loader.exec_module(module) Implementing lazy imports ''''''''''''''''''''''''' The example below shows how to implement lazy imports:: >>> import importlib.util >>> import sys >>> def lazy_import(name): ... spec = importlib.util.find_spec(name) ... loader = importlib.util.LazyLoader(spec.loader) ... spec.loader = loader ... module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec) ... sys.modules[name] = module ... loader.exec_module(module) ... return module ... >>> lazy_typing = lazy_import("typing") >>> #lazy_typing is a real module object, >>> #but it is not loaded in memory yet. >>> lazy_typing.TYPE_CHECKING False Setting up an importer '''''''''''''''''''''' For deep customizations of import, you typically want to implement an :term:`importer`. This means managing both the :term:`finder` and :term:`loader` side of things. For finders there are two flavours to choose from depending on your needs: a :term:`meta path finder` or a :term:`path entry finder`. The former is what you would put on :attr:`sys.meta_path` while the latter is what you create using a :term:`path entry hook` on :attr:`sys.path_hooks` which works with :attr:`sys.path` entries to potentially create a finder. This example will show you how to register your own importers so that import will use them (for creating an importer for yourself, read the documentation for the appropriate classes defined within this package):: import importlib.machinery import sys # For illustrative purposes only. SpamMetaPathFinder = importlib.machinery.PathFinder SpamPathEntryFinder = importlib.machinery.FileFinder loader_details = (importlib.machinery.SourceFileLoader, importlib.machinery.SOURCE_SUFFIXES) # Setting up a meta path finder. # Make sure to put the finder in the proper location in the list in terms of # priority. sys.meta_path.append(SpamMetaPathFinder) # Setting up a path entry finder. # Make sure to put the path hook in the proper location in the list in terms # of priority. sys.path_hooks.append(SpamPathEntryFinder.path_hook(loader_details)) Approximating :func:`importlib.import_module` ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Import itself is implemented in Python code, making it possible to expose most of the import machinery through importlib. The following helps illustrate the various APIs that importlib exposes by providing an approximate implementation of :func:`importlib.import_module` (Python 3.4 and newer for the importlib usage, Python 3.6 and newer for other parts of the code). :: import importlib.util import sys def import_module(name, package=None): """An approximate implementation of import.""" absolute_name = importlib.util.resolve_name(name, package) try: return sys.modules[absolute_name] except KeyError: pass path = None if '.' in absolute_name: parent_name, _, child_name = absolute_name.rpartition('.') parent_module = import_module(parent_name) path = parent_module.__spec__.submodule_search_locations for finder in sys.meta_path: spec = finder.find_spec(absolute_name, path) if spec is not None: break else: msg = f'No module named {absolute_name!r}' raise ModuleNotFoundError(msg, name=absolute_name) module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec) sys.modules[absolute_name] = module spec.loader.exec_module(module) if path is not None: setattr(parent_module, child_name, module) return module