VSCode: how to structure a simple python package with few modules and tests, debugging and linting?

Question

I'm having more trouble than I'd like to admit to structure a simple project in Python to develop using Visual Studio Code.

How should I structure in my file system a project that is a simple Python package with a few modules? Just a bunch of *.py files together. My requisites are:

1. I must be able to step debug it in vscode.
2. It has a bunch of unit tests using pytest.
3. I can select to debug a specific test from vscode tab and it must stop in breakpoints.
4. pylint must not show any false positives.
5. The test files must be in a different directory of the main module files.
6. I must be able to run all the tests from the console.
7. The module is executed inside a virtual environment using python standard lib module venv
8. The code will use type hints

I may use another linter, even another test framework.

Nothing fancy, but I'm really having trouble to get it right. I want to know:

• How should I organize my subdirectory: a folder with the main files and a sibling folder with the tests? Or a subfolder with the code and a subsubfolder with the tests?
• Which dirs must have a init.py file?
• How the tests should import the files from the module? Should I use relative imports?
• Should I create a pytest.ini file?
• Should I create a .env file?
• What's the content of my launch.json the debugger file config in vscode?

Answer 1

Some years later, I now think that the best option is to use Poetry package and environment manager. You must start your projects just using poetry new <my-package> that it will create the structure for you.

Now everything just works.