Add a directory to Python sys.path so that it's included each time I use Python

python windows sys.path
Ben McCormack picture Ben McCormack · Sep 19, 2011 · Viewed 36.3k times · Source

Currently, when trying to reference some library code, I'm doing this at the top of my python file:

import sys
sys.path.append('''C:\code\my-library''')
from my-library import my-library

Then, my-library will be part of sys.path for as long as the session is active. If I start a new file, I have to remember to include sys.path.append again.

I feel like there must be a much better way of doing this. How can I make my-library available to every python script on my windows machine without having to use sys.path.append each time?

Answer

tiho picture tiho · Sep 19, 2011

Simply add this path to your PYTHONPATH environment variable. To do this, go to Control Panel / System / Advanced / Environment variable, and in the "User variables" sections, check if you already have PYTHONPATH. If yes, select it and click "Edit", if not, click "New" to add it.

Paths in PYTHONPATH should be separated with ";".

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