PEP8 – import not at top of file with sys.path

python python-3.x pep8
Luke Taylor picture Luke Taylor · Apr 24, 2016 · Viewed 37.7k times · Source

Problem

PEP8 has a rule about putting imports at the top of a file:

Imports are always put at the top of the file, just after any module comments and docstrings, and before module globals and constants.

However, in certain cases, I might want to do something like:

import sys
sys.path.insert("..", 0)

import my_module

In this case, the pep8 command line utility flags my code:

E402 module level import not at top of file

What is the best way to achieve PEP8 compliance with sys.path modifications?

Why

I have this code because I'm following the project structure given in The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python.

That guide suggests that I have a my_module folder, separate from a tests folder, both of which are in the same directory. If I want to access my_module from tests, I think I need to add .. to the sys.path

Answer

astorga picture astorga · Jul 12, 2016

If there are just a few imports, you can just ignore PEP8 on those import lines:

import sys
sys.path.insert("..", 0)
import my_module  # noqa: E402

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