Flask structure -- can't import application from init.py

Question

I'm a beginner with python and I've been having a lot of trouble setting up the structure of my applications using __init__.py even after searching through several tutorials.

At the moment, my current directory structure looks like the following

/parent
   /myapp
       __init__.py
       views.py
   /virtualenv

Previously, I had (if it makes any difference)

/parent
   /myapp
   /bin
   /include
   /lib

The contents of __init__.py are below:

 from flask import Flask
 app = Flask(__name__)

and my views.py

 from myapp import app
 @app.route('/')
 def test():
    return 'This is a new test'

 if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

If myapp is being initialized with the init file, why can't I call it into the views? I get an error stating 'I cannot import app and I have no module named myapp'. If I remove the init file and copy the contents into the top of the views.py file, everything works fine.

you might also want to consider following an "application factory" pattern for what you're trying to do. [fbone](https://github.com/imwilsonxu/fbone/blob/master/fbone/app.py) has a great example of it. If you want something simpler here's what I tend to use. https://github.com/DarkCrowz/innovation_center/blob/master/innovation_center/app/__init__.py — corvid, Jul 06 '14 at 18:56
@corvid the DarkCrowz link is dead, can you find and update it? — sAguinaga, Jun 01 '17 at 06:07

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 05 '14 at 18:12

You are using views as the main script. You cannot put a script inside a package; the directory it is in cannot be treated as such. Python adds the parent/myapp directory to the Python path, not the parent path.

Add a separate script at the top level (next to myapp):

from myapp import app

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(debug=True)

and add an import to __init__.py to import your views:

from flask import Flask
app = Flask(__name__)

import views

and remove the if __name__ == '__main__': block from views.py.

Flask structure -- can't import application from init.py

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Flask structure -- can't import application from __init__.py

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Flask structure -- can't import application from init.py