Is it safe to remove all python *.pyc files to force usage of new code?

Question

TL;DR

• Is it safe to pick all *.pyc (that has a matching *.py file) files and remove them to force usage of new code?
• Is there a way to locate and re-compile all .py files found on disc while overwriting existing .pyc files?

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I have an issue with a custom python package that got updated .

After the update (replaced old .py files with new .py files) iv'e noticed that when importing the package - old compiled code (stored as *.pyc files) got referenced instead of the newer code (lying in the .py files).

When i update a package i need to "flush the cache" (removing all of these pyc files hopefully they will get lazy initialized on first use) . As a hack i thought about removing all files found on disc matching *.pyc suffix (that has a matching *.py file) and rebooting the machine

Alternatively, is there a way to locate and re-compile all .py files found on disc while overwriting existing .pyc files?

Answer 1

Yes, it's safe. Use pyclean command

Usage: pyclean [-p PACKAGE] [DIR_OR_FILE]

pyclean .