How to setup relative import in python?

Question

My project tree is as simple as:

test
  ├── __init__.py (has line: "foo = True")
  ├── bar.py (has line: "bar = False")
  └── test.py (has line: "from . import foo; from .bar import bar")

But none of the imports in test.py work. When I run python test.py, it returns: attempted relative import with no known parent package

Did I miss anything here? I am using python 3.7.6

from what path are you running `python test.py` ? is it from the test folder itself? — Mahendra Singh Meena, Jul 17 '20 at 19:38
@MahendraSinghMeena i runned in test folder, and one level above test folder, none worked. basically `python test.py`, and `python test/test.py` — shelper, Jul 17 '20 at 19:39

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 17 '20 at 19:46

1

the issue is arising because you are trying to import foo from __init__.py file as from . import foo , but to import from __init__.py file you need to use a parent folder module, ie from test import foo as how it is structured to import from __init__.py.

answered Jul 17 '20 at 19:46

sahasrara62

10,069
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so how can i use something like `from . import something`? according to this article https://realpython.com/absolute-vs-relative-python-imports/, `from . import something` should work if something is defined in __init__.py – shelper Jul 17 '20 at 19:51
you can import it as `from __init__ import foo`, why it is failing, maybe related to python version or article being out of date, this may [help](https://docs.python-guide.org/writing/structure/) – sahasrara62 Jul 17 '20 at 20:34

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 17 '20 at 19:42

0

Your code is fine, but the test file needs to be imported as part of a package. So I created the following files and directories, exactly how you explained:

.
└── test
    ├── bar.py
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── __pycache__
    └── test.py

From the parent of test, I ran this:

>>> import test
>>> import test.test
>>> import test.bar
>>>

It worked fine. But if you're doing relative imports, the code you're importing needs to be imported as part of a package, not executed as a standalone script.

answered Jul 17 '20 at 19:42

Ken Kinder

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could you explain "needs to be imported as part of a package"? I am not clear on this – shelper Jul 17 '20 at 19:48
The original code/script you run needs to be something that imports the package `test.py` is part of. In other words, the package must already be imported *outside of the test package* by the time `test.py` runs. – Ken Kinder Jul 17 '20 at 19:57

Telmo Trooper · Answer 3 · 2020-07-17T19:49:57.417

0

If you're going to import files from the same folder you are, just use their file names:

bar.py

bar = False

foo.py

foo = True

test.py

from foo import foo
from bar import bar

print(foo, bar)

Running python test.py returns:

True False

edited Jul 17 '20 at 19:49

answered Jul 17 '20 at 19:43

Telmo Trooper

4,993
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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 17 '20 at 20:02

Following the same/similar file structure, I can think of 2 ways to do imports:

Use absolute import if all three files are in the same directory level, so test.py should look like:
```
import foo
import bar
```
and python test.py should run fine from the test directory.
Move foo.py and bar.py into a new directory, let's call it package, so the structure will be changed now to:
```
test/
├── package
│   ├── bar.py
│   └── foo.py
└── test.py
```
And test.py will be:
```
from package import bar
from package import foo
```
python test.py from the test directory will work.

How to setup relative import in python?

4 Answers4