Import Modules From Another Folder in Python

In this article, we are going to see how to import a module from another folder, While working on big projects we may confront a situation where we want to import a module from a different directory, here we will see the different ways to import a module form different folder.

It can be done in two ways:

• Using sys.path
• Using PythonPath.

Create a module for demonstration:

File name: module0.py

def run():
    print("Module 0 imported successfully")

Method 1: Using sys.path

sys.path: It is a built-in variable within the python sys module. It contains a list of directories that the interpreter will search in for the required modules.

import sys

# Prints the list of directories that the 
# interpreter will search for the required module. 
print(sys.path)

Output:

In this approach, Insert or Append the path of the directory containing the modules in sys.path.

Syntax:

sys.path.insert(0, path)

sys.path.append(path)

Example: Suppose we need to import the following modules from "Desktop\\Task\\modules" in "Desktop\\VScode\\Projects\\ImportModule\\main.py".

Insert/Append the path to sys.path and import module0 present in the directory and call its run function.

import sys

# Insert the path of modules folder 
sys.path.insert(0, "C:\\Users\\anila\\Desktop\\Task\\modules")

# Import the module0 directly since 
# the current path is of modules.
import module0

# Prints "Module0 imported successfully"
module0.run()

Output:

Method 2: Using PYTHONPATH

PYTHONPATH : It is an environment variable which you can set to add additional directories where python will look for modules and packages.

Open a terminal or command prompt and enter the following command:

Syntax: set PYTHONPATH=path_to_module_folder

Add the path to PYTHONPATH and import module0 present in the directory and call its run function.

Below is the implementation:

# Import the module0 directly since 
# the current path is of modules.
import module0

# Prints "Module0 imported successfully"
module0.run()

Output: