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# 29.6. `importlib` – An implementation of `import`

New in version 3.1.

## 29.6.1. Introduction

The purpose of the `importlib` package is two-fold. One is to provide an implementation of the `import` statement (and thus, by extension, the `__import__()` function) in Python source code. This provides an implementation of `import` which is portable to any Python interpreter. This also provides a reference implementation which is easier to comprehend than one implemented in a programming language other than Python.

Two, the components to implement `import` are exposed in this package, making it easier for users to create their own custom objects (known generically as an importer) to participate in the import process. Details on custom importers can be found in PEP 302.

See also

The import statement
  The language reference for the `import` statement.
Packages specification
  Original specification of packages. Some semantics have changed since the writing of this document (e.g. redirecting based on `None` in `sys.modules`).
The `__import__()` function
  The `import` statement is syntactic sugar for this function.
PEP 235
  Import on Case-Insensitive Platforms
PEP 263
  Defining Python Source Code Encodings
PEP 302
  New Import Hooks
PEP 328
  Imports: Multi-Line and Absolute/Relative
PEP 366
  Main module explicit relative imports
PEP 3120
  Using UTF-8 as the Default Source Encoding
PEP 3147
  PYC Repository Directories

## 29.6.2. Functions

`importlib.``__import__`(name, globals={}, locals={}, fromlist=list(), level=0)

  An implementation of the built-in `__import__()` function.

`importlib.``import_module`(name, package=None)

  Import a module. The name argument specifies what module to import in absolute or relative terms (e.g. either `pkg.mod` or `..mod`). If the name is specified in relative terms, then the package argument must be set to the name of the package which is to act as the anchor for resolving the package name (e.g. `import_module('..mod', 'pkg.subpkg')` will import `pkg.mod`).

  The `import_module()` function acts as a simplifying wrapper around `importlib.__import__()`. This means all semantics of the function are derived from `importlib.__import__()`, including requiring the package from which an import is occurring to have been previously imported (i.e., package must already be imported). The most important difference is that `import_module()` returns the most nested package or module that was imported (e.g. `pkg.mod`), while `__import__()` returns the top-level package or module (e.g. `pkg`).

## 29.6.3. `importlib.abc` – Abstract base classes related to import

The `importlib.abc` module contains all of the core abstract base classes used by `import`. Some subclasses of the core abstract base classes are also provided to help in implementing the core ABCs.

class `importlib.abc.``Finder`

  An abstract base class representing a finder. See PEP 302 for the exact definition for a finder.

  `find_module`(fullname, path=None)

    An abstract method for finding a loader for the specified module. If the finder is found on `sys.meta_path` and the module to be searched for is a subpackage or module then path will be the value of `__path__` from the parent package. If a loader cannot be found, `None` is returned.

class `importlib.abc.``Loader`

  An abstract base class for a loader. See PEP 302 for the exact definition for a loader.

  `load_module`(fullname)

    An abstract method for loading a module. If the module cannot be loaded, `ImportError` is raised, otherwise the loaded module is returned.

    If the requested module already exists in `sys.modules`, that module should be used and reloaded. Otherwise the loader should create a new module and insert it into `sys.modules` before any loading begins, to prevent recursion from the import. If the loader inserted a module and the load fails, it must be removed by the loader from `sys.modules`; modules already in `sys.modules` before the loader began execution should be left alone. The `importlib.util.module_for_loader()` decorator handles all of these details.

    The loader should set several attributes on the module. (Note that some of these attributes can change when a module is reloaded.)

    - `__name__`

        The name of the module.

    - `__file__`

        The path to where the module data is stored (not set for built-in modules).

    - `__path__`

        A list of strings specifying the search path within a package. This attribute is not set on modules.

    - `__package__`

        The parent package for the module/package. If the module is top-level then it has a value of the empty string. The `importlib.util.set_package()` decorator can handle the details for `__package__`.

    - `__loader__`

        The loader used to load the module. (This is not set by the built-in import machinery, but it should be set whenever a loader is used.)

class `importlib.abc.``ResourceLoader`

  An abstract base class for a loader which implements the optional PEP 302 protocol for loading arbitrary resources from the storage back-end.

  `get_data`(path)

    An abstract method to return the bytes for the data located at path. Loaders that have a file-like storage back-end that allows storing arbitrary data can implement this abstract method to give direct access to the data stored. `IOError` is to be raised if the path cannot be found. The path is expected to be constructed using a module’s `__file__` attribute or an item from a package’s `__path__`.

class `importlib.abc.``InspectLoader`

  An abstract base class for a loader which implements the optional PEP 302 protocol for loaders that inspect modules.

  `get_code`(fullname)

    An abstract method to return the `code` object for a module. `None` is returned if the module does not have a code object (e.g. built-in module). `ImportError` is raised if loader cannot find the requested module.

  `get_source`(fullname)

    An abstract method to return the source of a module. It is returned as a text string using universal newlines, translating all recognized line separators into `'\n'` characters. Returns `None` if no source is available (e.g. a built-in module). Raises `ImportError` if the loader cannot find the module specified.

  `is_package`(fullname)

    An abstract method to return a true value if the module is a package, a false value otherwise. `ImportError` is raised if the loader cannot find the module.

class `importlib.abc.``ExecutionLoader`

  An abstract base class which inherits from `InspectLoader` that, when implemented, helps a module to be executed as a script. The ABC represents an optional PEP 302 protocol.

  `get_filename`(fullname)

    An abstract method that is to return the value of `__file__` for the specified module. If no path is available, `ImportError` is raised.

    If source code is available, then the method should return the path to the source file, regardless of whether a bytecode was used to load the module.

class `importlib.abc.``SourceLoader`

  An abstract base class for implementing source (and optionally bytecode) file loading. The class inherits from both `ResourceLoader` and `ExecutionLoader`, requiring the implementation of:

  - `ResourceLoader.get_data()`

  - `ExecutionLoader.get_filename()`

      Should only return the path to the source file; sourceless loading is not supported.

  The abstract methods defined by this class are to add optional bytecode file support. Not implementing these optional methods causes the loader to only work with source code. Implementing the methods allows the loader to work with source and bytecode files; it does not allow for sourceless loading where only bytecode is provided. Bytecode files are an optimization to speed up loading by removing the parsing step of Python’s compiler, and so no bytecode-specific API is exposed.

  `path_mtime`(self, path)

    Optional abstract method which returns the modification time for the specified path.

  `set_data`(self, path, data)

    Optional abstract method which writes the specified bytes to a file path. Any intermediate directories which do not exist are to be created automatically.

    When writing to the path fails because the path is read-only (`errno.EACCES`), do not propagate the exception.

  `get_code`(self, fullname)

    Concrete implementation of `InspectLoader.get_code()`.

  `load_module`(self, fullname)

    Concrete implementation of `Loader.load_module()`.

  `get_source`(self, fullname)

    Concrete implementation of `InspectLoader.get_source()`.

  `is_package`(self, fullname)

    Concrete implementation of `InspectLoader.is_package()`. A module is determined to be a package if its file path is a file named `__init__` when the file extension is removed.

class `importlib.abc.``PyLoader`

  An abstract base class inheriting from `ExecutionLoader` and `ResourceLoader` designed to ease the loading of Python source modules (bytecode is not handled; see `SourceLoader` for a source/bytecode ABC). A subclass implementing this ABC will only need to worry about exposing how the source code is stored; all other details for loading Python source code will be handled by the concrete implementations of key methods.

  Deprecated since version 3.2: This class has been deprecated in favor of `SourceLoader` and is slated for removal in Python 3.4. See below for how to create a subclass that is compatible with Python 3.1 onwards.

  If compatibility with Python 3.1 is required, then use the following idiom to implement a subclass that will work with Python 3.1 onwards (make sure to implement `ExecutionLoader.get_filename()`):

      try:
          from importlib.abc import SourceLoader
      except ImportError:
          from importlib.abc import PyLoader as SourceLoader

      class CustomLoader(SourceLoader):
          def get_filename(self, fullname):
              """Return the path to the source file."""
              # Implement ...

          def source_path(self, fullname):
              """Implement source_path in terms of get_filename."""
              try:
                  return self.get_filename(fullname)
              except ImportError:
                  return None

          def is_package(self, fullname):
              """Implement is_package by looking for an __init__ file
              name as returned by get_filename."""
              filename = os.path.basename(self.get_filename(fullname))
              return os.path.splitext(filename)[0] == '__init__'

  `source_path`(fullname)

    An abstract method that returns the path to the source code for a module. Should return `None` if there is no source code. Raises `ImportError` if the loader knows it cannot handle the module.

  `get_filename`(fullname)

    A concrete implementation of `importlib.abc.ExecutionLoader.get_filename()` that relies on `source_path()`. If `source_path()` returns `None`, then `ImportError` is raised.

  `load_module`(fullname)

    A concrete implementation of `importlib.abc.Loader.load_module()` that loads Python source code. All needed information comes from the abstract methods required by this ABC. The only pertinent assumption made by this method is that when loading a package `__path__` is set to `[os.path.dirname(__file__)]`.

  `get_code`(fullname)

    A concrete implementation of `importlib.abc.InspectLoader.get_code()` that creates code objects from Python source code, by requesting the source code (using `source_path()` and `get_data()`) and compiling it with the built-in `compile()` function.

  `get_source`(fullname)

    A concrete implementation of `importlib.abc.InspectLoader.get_source()`. Uses `importlib.abc.ResourceLoader.get_data()` and `source_path()` to get the source code. It tries to guess the source encoding using `tokenize.detect_encoding()`.

class `importlib.abc.``PyPycLoader`

  An abstract base class inheriting from `PyLoader`. This ABC is meant to help in creating loaders that support both Python source and bytecode.

  Deprecated since version 3.2: This class has been deprecated in favor of `SourceLoader` and to properly support PEP 3147. If compatibility is required with Python 3.1, implement both `SourceLoader` and `PyLoader`; instructions on how to do so are included in the documentation for `PyLoader`. Do note that this solution will not support sourceless/bytecode-only loading; only source and bytecode loading.

  `source_mtime`(fullname)

    An abstract method which returns the modification time for the source code of the specified module. The modification time should be an integer. If there is no source code, return `None`. If the module cannot be found then `ImportError` is raised.

  `bytecode_path`(fullname)

    An abstract method which returns the path to the bytecode for the specified module, if it exists. It returns `None` if no bytecode exists (yet). Raises `ImportError` if the loader knows it cannot handle the module.

  `get_filename`(fullname)

    A concrete implementation of `ExecutionLoader.get_filename()` that relies on `PyLoader.source_path()` and `bytecode_path()`. If `source_path()` returns a path, then that value is returned. Else if `bytecode_path()` returns a path, that path will be returned. If a path is not available from both methods, `ImportError` is raised.

  `write_bytecode`(fullname, bytecode)

    An abstract method which has the loader write bytecode for future use. If the bytecode is written, return `True`. Return `False` if the bytecode could not be written. This method should not be called if `sys.dont_write_bytecode` is true. The bytecode argument should be a bytes string or bytes array.

## 29.6.4. `importlib.machinery` – Importers and path hooks

This module contains the various objects that help `import` find and load modules.

class `importlib.machinery.``BuiltinImporter`

  An importer for built-in modules. All known built-in modules are listed in `sys.builtin_module_names`. This class implements the `importlib.abc.Finder` and `importlib.abc.InspectLoader` ABCs.

  Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation.

class `importlib.machinery.``FrozenImporter`

  An importer for frozen modules. This class implements the `importlib.abc.Finder` and `importlib.abc.InspectLoader` ABCs.

  Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation.

class `importlib.machinery.``PathFinder`

  Finder for `sys.path`. This class implements the `importlib.abc.Finder` ABC.

  This class does not perfectly mirror the semantics of `import` in terms of `sys.path`. No implicit path hooks are assumed for simplification of the class and its semantics.

  Only class methods are defined by this class to alleviate the need for instantiation.

  classmethod `find_module`(fullname, path=None)

    Class method that attempts to find a loader for the module specified by fullname on `sys.path` or, if defined, on path. For each path entry that is searched, `sys.path_importer_cache` is checked. If an non-false object is found then it is used as the finder to look for the module being searched for. If no entry is found in `sys.path_importer_cache`, then `sys.path_hooks` is searched for a finder for the path entry and, if found, is stored in `sys.path_importer_cache` along with being queried about the module. If no finder is ever found then `None` is returned.

## 29.6.5. `importlib.util` – Utility code for importers

This module contains the various objects that help in the construction of an importer.

`@``importlib.util.``module_for_loader`

  A decorator for a loader method, to handle selecting the proper module object to load with. The decorated method is expected to have a call signature taking two positional arguments (e.g. `load_module(self, module)`) for which the second argument will be the module object to be used by the loader. Note that the decorator will not work on static methods because of the assumption of two arguments.

  The decorated method will take in the name of the module to be loaded as expected for a loader. If the module is not found in `sys.modules` then a new one is constructed with its `__name__` attribute set. Otherwise the module found in `sys.modules` will be passed into the method. If an exception is raised by the decorated method and a module was added to `sys.modules` it will be removed to prevent a partially initialized module from being in left in `sys.modules`. If the module was already in `sys.modules` then it is left alone.

  Use of this decorator handles all the details of which module object a loader should initialize as specified by PEP 302.

`@``importlib.util.``set_loader`

  A decorator for a loader method, to set the `__loader__` attribute on loaded modules. If the attribute is already set the decorator does nothing. It is assumed that the first positional argument to the wrapped method is what `__loader__` should be set to.

`@``importlib.util.``set_package`

  A decorator for a loader to set the `__package__` attribute on the module returned by the loader. If `__package__` is set and has a value other than `None` it will not be changed. Note that the module returned by the loader is what has the attribute set on and not the module found in `sys.modules`.

  Reliance on this decorator is discouraged when it is possible to set `__package__` before the execution of the code is possible. By setting it before the code for the module is executed it allows the attribute to be used at the global level of the module during initialization.

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