How can I invoke my script from anywhere, when it has relative imports?

Question

Let's say I have a script I've written:

~/workspace/myscript/script.py

If I have, for example, a ~/bin which I have added to my $PATH, then I could create a symbolic link

~/bin/script -> ~/workspace/myscript/script.py

And everything works fine, I can call my script from anywhere.

Then, say my script starts to grow, and I separate it out

~/workspace/myscript/
    script.py
    mylib.py

I now run into a problem, as described here, that if I am calling my python script directly (as opposed to importing it as a module) then I cannot do a relative import.

The only solution I have seen is to package up the whole program into a fully fledged python package with a setup.py and installing it system-wide (or managing a home directory python library folder).

This seems like a lot of extra work for the sake of breaking my code into multiple python files.

Is there some way I can:

Call the script from anywhere (have it callable on path),
Have the code sparated into multiple files,
Not have to manage a full python package and installation.

All at once?

Why do you need relative imports for a script consisting of maybe two or three files? — Michael Butscher, Nov 06 '18 at 01:07
If another developer checks out the files, the home path will be different, so absolute won't work. — Alex, Nov 06 '18 at 03:37
The path of the main script is automatically added to `sys.path`. Therefore modules in the same directory can be imported absolutely. — Michael Butscher, Nov 06 '18 at 11:58
@MichaelButscher, are you saying that it should just work as is? Because it throws an error when I try this. — Alex, Nov 08 '18 at 00:29
It should work with an absolute import. What is the error exactly? — Michael Butscher, Nov 08 '18 at 01:36
`ImportError: No module named mylib`. I have `import mylib`, is that what you mean by absolute? — Alex, Nov 08 '18 at 06:40
Yes, this should actually work. I tried it with a Python 3.4 on Windows and a Python 2.7 on Linux and it works as expected. — Michael Butscher, Nov 08 '18 at 13:33
You are correct this does work. There was a bug in my code. Thanks! — Alex, Nov 09 '18 at 00:00

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 06 '18 at 01:30

1

You can add the root directory of your module to the Python path:

export PYTHONPATH="$PYTHONPATH:~/workspace/myscript/"

answered Nov 06 '18 at 01:30

Cory Nezin

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How can I invoke my script from anywhere, when it has relative imports?

1 Answers1