How do I find out which directories are listed in my system’s `PYTHONPATH` variable, from within a Python script (or the interactive shell)?

How do I find out my PYTHONPATH using Python?

I have a directory which hosts all of my Django apps (`C:\My_Projects`). I want to add this directory to my `PYTHONPATH` so I can call the apps directly.

I tried adding `C:\My_Projects\;` to my Windows `Path` variable from the Windows GUI (`My Computer &gt; Properties &gt; Advanced System Settings &gt; Environment Variables`). But it still doesn&#39;t read the coltrane module and generates this error:

&gt;Error: No module named coltrane

How to add to the PYTHONPATH in Windows, so it finds my modules/packages?

Whenever I use `sys.path.append`, the new directory will be added. However, once I close python, the list will revert to the previous (default?) values. How do I permanently add a directory to `PYTHONPATH`?

Permanently add a directory to PYTHONPATH?

I would like to see what is the best way to determine the current script directory in Python.

I discovered that, due to the many ways of calling Python code, it is hard to find a good solution.

Here are some problems:

* `__file__` is not defined if the script is executed with `exec`, `execfile`
* `__module__` is defined only in modules

Use cases: 

* `./myfile.py`
* `python myfile.py`
* `./somedir/myfile.py`
* `python somedir/myfile.py`
* `execfile(&#39;myfile.py&#39;)` (from another script, that can be located in another directory and that can have another current directory.

I know that there is no perfect solution, but I&#39;m looking for the best approach that solves most of the cases.

The most used approach is `os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))` but this really doesn&#39;t work if you execute the script from another one with `exec()`.

## Warning
Any solution that uses current directory will fail, this can be different based on the way the script is called or it can be changed inside the running script.

How do you properly determine the current script directory?

I&#39;m running PyLint from inside Wing IDE on Windows. I have a sub-directory (package) in my project and inside the package I import a module from the top level, ie.

    __init__.py
    myapp.py
    one.py
    subdir\
        __init__.py
        two.py

Inside `two.py` I have `import one` and this works fine at runtime, because the top-level directory (from which `myapp.py` is run) is in the Python path. However, when I run PyLint on two.py it gives me an error:

    F0401: Unable to import &#39;one&#39;

How do I fix this?

PyLint &quot;Unable to import&quot; error - how to set PYTHONPATH?

Ok, I see plenty of these errors around. I have tried everything I know to do and have yet to figure this out.

I am working on a development server running python 2.5 and Django 1.3. Django 1.3 was installed using python setup.py install after unpacking the tar.gz download.

All works well, I seldom have the need to run `manage.py` but am trying to use the new staticfiles app and am running into problems.

    python manage.py collectstatic
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File &quot;manage.py&quot;, line 2, in &lt;module&gt;
        from django.core.management import execute_manager
    ImportError: No module named core.management

Ok, so I have `PATH` issue.

From [Django install][1] I double check my `site-packages` directory.

    python -c &quot;from distutils.sysconfig import get_python_lib; print get_python_lib()&quot;
    /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages

Ok, let&#39;s check out what I have, echo $PYTHON_PATH was empty, so I set it

    export PYTHON_PATH=/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django

Still no luck. Lets check what sys.path has to say

    &gt;&gt;&gt; import sys
    &gt;&gt;&gt; print sys.path
    [&#39;&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/plat-linux2&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/lib-tk&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/lib-dynload&#39;, &#39;/usr/local/lib/python2.5/site-packages&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/PIL&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django&#39;, &#39;/var/lib/python-support/python2.5&#39;]

path is there, I even created /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django.pth with contents

    cat /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django.pth 
    /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django/

Anyone got an clues to what is going on here? 

I found a symlink further up the path that was getting in the way, but no on to a new error.

    python manage.py collectstatic
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File &quot;manage.py&quot;, line 14, in &lt;module&gt;
        execute_manager(settings)
      File &quot;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py&quot;, line 438, in execute_manager
        utility.execute()
      File &quot;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django/core/management/__init__.py&quot;, line 349, in execute
        version=get_version(),
      File &quot;/usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/django/__init__.py&quot;, line 12, in get_version
        from django.utils.version import get_svn_revision
    ImportError: No module named utils.version

I also tried creating a new project to see if there were any issues there and get the same utils.version error.


Side node: Unode from #django helped me a bit, set up virtualenv on same machine and got past the errors so still not sure what is up with this actual install here, but it seems to not be in the django projects but in the django/python install.



  [1]: http://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev//topics/install/#finding-site-packages

django import error - No module named core.management

I am trying to import a module from a particular directory. 

The problem is that if I use `sys.path.append(mod_directory)` to append the path and then open the python interpreter, the directory `mod_directory` gets added to the end of the list sys.path. If I export the `PYTHONPATH` variable before opening the python interpreter, the  directory gets added to the start of the list. In the latter case I can import the module but in the former, I cannot.

Can somebody explain why this is happening and give me a solution to add the `mod_directory` to the start, *inside* a python script ?

adding directory to sys.path /PYTHONPATH

Another developer and I disagree about whether `PYTHONPATH` or `sys.path` should be used to allow Python to find a Python package in a user (e.g., development) directory.

We have a Python project with a typical directory structure:

    Project
        setup.py
        package
            __init__.py
            lib.py
            script.py

In script.py, we need to do `import package.lib`.  When the package is installed in site-packages, script.py can find `package.lib`.

When working from a user directory, however, something else needs to be done.  My solution is to set my `PYTHONPATH` to include `&quot;~/Project&quot;`.  Another developer wants to put this line of code in the beginning of script.py:

    sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))

So that Python can find the local copy of `package.lib`.  

I think this is a bad idea, as this line is only useful for developers or people running from a local copy, but I can&#39;t give a good reason why it is a bad idea.

Should we use `PYTOHNPATH`, `sys.path`, or is either fine?

PYTHONPATH vs. sys.path

I want to run:


    python somescript.py somecommand

But, when I run this I need `PYTHONPATH` to include a certain directory. I can&#39;t just add it to my environment variables because the directory I want to add changes based on what project I&#39;m running. Is there a way to alter `PYTHONPATH` while running a script? Note: I don&#39;t even have a `PYTHONPATH` variable, so I don&#39;t need to worry about appending to it vs overriding it during running of this script.


Python - add PYTHONPATH during command line module run

**Edit:** based on a Ulf Rompe&#39;s comment, **it is important you use &quot;1&quot; instead of &quot;0&quot;**, otherwise you will break [sys.path][1].

I have been doing python for quite a while now (over a year), and I am always confused as to why people recommend you use `sys.path.append()` instead of `sys.path.insert()`.  Let me demonstrate.

Let&#39;s say I am working on a module named PyWorkbooks (that is installed on my computer), but I am simultaneously working on a different module (let&#39;s say PyJob) that incorporates PyWorkbooks.  As I&#39;m working on PyJob I find errors in PyWorkbooks that I am correcting, so I would like to import a development version.

There are multiple ways to work on both (I could put my PyWorkbooks project inside of PyJob, for instance), but sometimes I will still need to play with the path.  However, **I cannot simply do a `sys.path.append()` to the folder where PyWorkbooks is at**.  Why?  Because python will find my installed PyWorkbooks first!

This is why you have to do a sys.path.insert(1, path_to_dev_pyworkbooks)

In summary:

    sys.path.append(path_to_dev_pyworkbooks)
    import PyWorkbooks # does NOT import dev pyworkbooks, imports installed one
   
or:

    sys.path.insert(1, path_to_dev_pyworkbooks) # based on comments you should use **1 not 0**
    import PyWorkbooks # imports correct file

This has caused a few hangups for me in the past, and I would really like it if we (as a community) started recommending `sys.path.insert(1, path)`, as if you are manually inserting a path I think it is safe to say that that is the path you want to use!

Or do I have something wrong?  It&#39;s a question that sometimes bothers me and I wanted it in the open!

  [1]: http://docs.python.org/library/sys.html#sys.path

Why use sys.path.append(path) instead of sys.path.insert(1, path)?

I am using IntelliJ with the Python plugin and the [Remote Interpreter feature](http://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/quickstart/configuring_interpreter.html#remote_ssh) to communicate with my Vagrant VM. It sets up the remote interpreter correctly to use my VM&#39;s interpreter. But, I use a custom PYTHONPATH in my VM, and I would like IntelliJ to recognize that path and include the modules in that path when developing.

How do I configure IntelliJ/PyCharm&#39;s remote interpreter to use a custom PYTHONPATH on the VM?

How to configure custom PYTHONPATH with VM and PyCharm?

How do I correctly set up the `$PYTHONPATH` variable for my workspace in VisualStudio Code?

**Background Information**

I have installed two versions of GNURadio:

1. GNURadio version 3.7.11 installed by the Linux Mint package manager in `/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gnuradio`

2. GNURadio version 3.7.13.4 installed by PyBOMBS in `/home/tejul/Documents/gr13/default/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gnuradio` (my prefix directory is `~/Documents/gr13/default`)

I can use the newer version of GNURadio version only after I run the `setup_env.sh` script (which -- among other things -- adds `/home/tejul/Documents/gr13/default/lib/python2.7/dist-packages` to `$PYTHONPATH`) and then start python in the terminal

    tejul@Wacom:~/Documents/gr13/default$ ls
    bin  etc  include  lib  libexec  setup_env.sh  share  src
    tejul@Wacom:~/Documents/gr13/default$ source ./setup_env.sh 
    tejul@Wacom:~/Documents/gr13/default$ python
    Python 2.7.15rc1 (default, Nov 12 2018, 14:31:15) 
    [GCC 7.3.0] on linux2
    Type &quot;help&quot;, &quot;copyright&quot;, &quot;credits&quot; or &quot;license&quot; for more information.
    &gt;&gt;&gt; from gnuradio import gr
    &gt;&gt;&gt; gr.version()
    &#39;3.7.13.4&#39;
    &gt;&gt;&gt; 

Without modifying the $PYTHONPATH python -- naturally -- imports the older version of GNURadio.

I want to write, run, and debug python scripts for the new version of GNURadio in the VisualStudio Code. I&#39;ve been trying to understand the selection of [python interpreters][1], [workspaces][2], and [environments][3] for VSCode.

As far as I understand it, the VSCode workspace setting `python.pythonPath` is not to be confused with the environment variable `$PYTHONPATH`. `python.pythonPath` is the path to the *python interpreter* used for debugging or running the code, while `$PYTHONPATH` is the environment variable which python uses to *search for modules*. 

It looks like PyBOMBS did not install its own python interpreter into my prefix directory. So I need to use VSCode with my normal python interpreter located in `/usr/bin/python2.7`. So redefining VSCode&#39;s `python.pythonPath` or selecting another python interpreter would not help me.

I need to let VSCode use my own version of the environment variable `$PYTHONPATH` which would tell my regular python interpreter to import modules preferably from `/home/tejul/Documents/gr13/default/lib/python2.7/dist-packages`.

**Problem**

Following the [documentation][3], I have created my own `.env` file in the workspace directory which sets the order of preference for locations from which python should import the modules. Alas, it has no effect on the python interpreter.

[![Showing that VSCode is ignoring my $PYTHONPATH setting][4]][4]

Can you see anything that I am doing wrong here? I have also tried:

 - Setting the PYTHONPATH to one folder level higher, i.e. `/home/tejul/Documents/gr13/default/lib/python2.7`, this did not help
 - Calling the variable `$PYTHONPATH` instead of `PYTHONPATH`, this did not help
 - Restarting VSCode after each change of the `.env` file, this did not help
 - Using double quotes around the path string, e.g. `PYTHONPATH=&quot;/home/tejul/Documents/gr13/default/lib/python2.7:/usr/lib/python2.7&quot;`, this did not help

  [1]: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/debugging#_pythonpath
  [2]: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings
  [3]: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/environments#_environment-variable-definitions-file
  [4]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/YQOYS.png

How to correctly set PYTHONPATH for Visual Studio Code

In Jupyter my own little module is not loaded but in python/bpython is everything is fine. When typing

    import sys
    print(sys.path)

the path to my module will not in show in Jupyter but in python/bpython it is still there.

I am using:

 1. PYTHONPATH in .bashrc to include my module,
 2. Jupyter and bpython inside a virtualenv.


The most similar questions is this
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/34389029/cannot-import-modules-in-jupyter-notebook-wrong-sys-path

How to configure Jupyter to load my modules automagically?


sys.path different in Jupyter and Python - how to import own modules in Jupyter?

Let&#39;s say I have the following directory structure:

```none
parent_dir/
    foo_dir/
        foo.py
    bar_dir/
        bar.py
```

If I wanted to import `bar.py` from within `foo.py`, how would I do that?


How do I import a Python script from a sibling directory?

In development mode, I have the following directory tree :

    | my_project/
    | setup.py
    | my_project/
        | __init__.py
        | main.py
        | conf/
            | myproject.conf

I use [ConfigParser][1] to parse the `myproject.conf` file.

In my code, it&#39;s easy to load the file with a good path : `my_project/conf/myproject.conf`

The problem is : When I install my project using the setup.py, the configuration file are situated (thanks to setup.py) in the `/etc/my_project/myproject.conf` and my application in the `/usr/lib/python&lt;version&gt;/site-packages/my_project/`.

How can I refer my `my_project/conf/myproject.conf` file in my project in &quot;production&quot; mode, and refer to the local file (`my_project/conf/myproject.conf`) in &quot;devel&quot; mode.

In addition, I would like to be portable if possible (Work on windows for example).

What&#39;s the good practice to do that ?




  [1]: http://docs.python.org/library/configparser.html

Where to put a configuration file in Python?

My code is:

    import scriptlib.abc
    import scriptlib.xyz

    def foo():
      ... some operations


but the scriptlib is in some other directory, so I will have to include that directory in environment variable &quot;PYTHONPATH&quot;.

Is there anyway in which I can first add the scriptlib directory in environment variable &quot;PYTHONPATH&quot; before import statement getting executed like :

    import sys
    sys.path.append(&#39;/mypath/scriptlib&#39;)
    import scriptlib.abc
    import scriptlib.xyz

    def foo():
      ... some operations

If so, is the value only for that command prompt or is it global ?

Thanks in advance

set pythonpath before import statements

I was recently having a problem with a python ImportError, where the module was found when running on my local computer but not found on the CI server. I solved this problem by swapping `sys.path.append(path)` in my script with `sys.path.insert(0, path)` where `path` is the string module location.

Since this is my module and not an installed package ([related question][1]), why does the order of paths fix this problem?


  [1]: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10095037/why-use-sys-path-appendpath-instead-of-sys-path-insert1-path

Effect of using sys.path.insert(0, path) and sys.path(append) when loading modules

Everywhere I see Python code importing modules using `import sys` or `import mymodule`

How does the interpreter find the correct file if no directory or path is provided?

How does python find a module file if the import statement only contains the filename?

    debian@debian:~$ echo $PYTHONPATH  
    /home/qiime/lib/:  
    debian@debian:~$ python  
    Python 2.7.3 (default, Jan  2 2013, 16:53:07)   
    [GCC 4.7.2] on linux2  
    Type &quot;help&quot;, &quot;copyright&quot;, &quot;credits&quot; or &quot;license&quot; for more information.  
    &gt;&gt;&gt; import sys  
    &gt;&gt;&gt; sys.path  
    [&#39;&#39;, &#39;/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/feedparser-5.1.3-py2.7.egg&#39;,   
    &#39;/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/stripogram-1.5-py2.7.egg&#39;, &#39;/home/qiime/lib&#39;, 
    &#39;/home/debian&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/plat-linux2&#39;,   
    &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/lib-tk&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/lib-old&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/lib-
    dynload&#39;,   &#39;/usr/local/lib/python2.7/dist-packages&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages&#39;, 
    &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/PIL&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gst-0.10&#39;,  
    &#39;/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/gtk-2.0&#39;, &#39;/usr/lib/pymodules/python2.7&#39;]    
      

How can I get all of `PYTHONPATH` output in bash?  
Why  `echo  $PYTHONPATH  ` can not get all of them?

How to get the PYTHONPATH in shell?

I thought

    import sys
    sys.path.append(&quot;/home/me/mydir&quot;)

is appending a dir to my pythonpath

if I print sys.path my dir is in there.

Then I open a new command and it is not there anymore.

But somehow Python cant import modules I saved in that dir.

What Am I doing wrong?

I read .profile or .bash_profile will do the trick. 

Do I have to add: 

    PATH=&quot;/Me//Documents/mydir:$PYTHONPATH&quot;
    export PATH

To make it work?




Add to python path mac os x

I&#39;m novice in this, and I have started learning Python, but I have some questions that I&#39;m not be able to understand,

1. What exactly is the PYTHONPATH (on Ubuntu)? Is it a folder?
2. Is Python provided by default on Ubuntu, or does it have to be installed explicitly?
3. Where is the folder in which all modules are (I have a lot folders called `python_`)?
4. If I wish a new module to work when I&#39;m programming (such as pyopengl) where should I go to introduce all the folders I&#39;ve got in the folder downloaded?
5. Coming back from the PYTHONPATH issue, how do I configure the PYTHONPATH in order to start working on my new module?



PYTHONPATH on Linux

I&#39;m trying to create a virtualenv with `virtualenvwrapper`, but when I use `mkvirtualenv` I get the following :

    ERROR: virtualenvwrapper could not find virtualenv in your path

I assumed it was a **PYTHONPATH** problem.
But if I do a `pip show virtualenv` I get the following :

    ---
    Metadata-Version: 2.0
    Name: virtualenv
    Version: 13.1.0
    Summary: Virtual Python Environment builder
    Home-page: https://virtualenv.pypa.io/
    Author: Jannis Leidel, Carl Meyer and Brian Rosner
    Author-email: python-virtualenv@groups.google.com
    License: MIT
    Location: /Volumes/Data/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages
    Requires:

And here is my **PYTHONPATH** :

*/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/bin:/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/bin:/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages:/Volumes/Data/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages:~/.brew/Cellar*

It contains the directory containing virtualenv!

(i-e : **/Volumes/Data/nfs/zfs-student-3/users/2013_paris/vmonteco/Library/Python/2.7/lib/python/site-packages** )

My **~/.zshrc** contains :

    export WORKON_HOME=~/Envs
    export PROJECT_HOME=$HOME/Devel
    source $HOME&quot;/Library/Python/2.7/bin/virtualenvwrapper.sh&quot;


**EDIT :**
virtualenvwrapper.sh is written in bash, perhaps should I check my **PATH** instead of my **PYTHONPATH** ?


So, what could the problem be? How could I fix it?

Thank you in advance for your help.


ERROR: virtualenvwrapper could not find virtualenv in your path

I am on ubuntu 13.04, bash, python2.7.4

**The interpreter doesn&#39;t see variables I set.**

Here is an example:

    $ echo $A
    5
    $ python -c &#39;import os; print os.getenv( &quot;A&quot; )&#39;
    None
    $ python -c &#39;import os; print os.environ[ &quot;A&quot; ]&#39;
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File &quot;&lt;string&gt;&quot;, line 1, in &lt;module&gt;
      File &quot;/usr/lib/python2.7/UserDict.py&quot;, line 23, in __getitem__
        raise KeyError(key)
    KeyError: &#39;A&#39;

But everything works fine with the `PATH` variable:

    $ echo $PATH 
    /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games
    $ python -c &#39;import os; print os.getenv(&quot;PATH&quot;)&#39;
    /usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games

And it notices changes in `PATH`:

    $ PATH=&quot;/home/alex/tests/:$PATH&quot;
    $ echo $PATH 
    /home/alex/tests/:/usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games
    $ python -c &#39;import os; print os.getenv(&quot;PATH&quot;)&#39;
    /home/alex/tests/:/usr/lib/lightdm/lightdm:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games

What could be wrong?

PS  the problem comes when using `$PYTHONPATH`:

    $ python -c &#39;import os; print os.getenv(&quot;PYTHONPATH&quot;)&#39;
    None


python - os.getenv and os.environ don&#39;t see environment variables of my bash shell

I want to add a specific library path only to python2. After adding `export PYTHONPATH=&quot;/path/to/lib/&quot;` to my `.bashrc`, however, executing python3 gets the error: Your PYTHONPATH points to a site-packages dir for Python 2.x but you are running Python 3.x!

I think it is due to that python2 and python3 share the common `PYTHONPATH` variable.

So, can I set different `PYTHONPATH` variables respectively for python2 and python3. If not, how can I add a library path exclusively to a particular version of python?

All Pythonpath Solutions on Gang of Coders

Total of 24 Pythonpath Solutions