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pythonimport

Import with dot name in python

How can I import a dotted name file in python?

I don't mean a relative path, but a filename starting or containing a dot "."

For example: '.test.py' is the filename.

import .test will search for a test package with a py module in a parent package.

Solution

  • The situation is tricky, because dots mean sub-package structure to Python. I recommend simply renaming your modules instead, if that's an option!

    However, importing a source file directly is still possible:

    Python 2

    Using imp:

    import imp
my_module = imp.load_source("my_module", ".test.py")

    Python 3

    The imp module was deprecated in favor of importlib and has been removed in Python 3.12. Here is a Python 3 replacement:

    import importlib.util 
    
spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
    name="my_module",  # note that ".test" is not a valid module name
    location="/path/to/.test.py",
)
my_module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
spec.loader.exec_module(my_module)