Have a question about python module import

Question

Here is my project directory in Intellij

parent/
      A/
       test.py

In test.py, I have to import a module from parent level of parent folder.

import module_needed

but module_needed is in this structure:

parent_a/
        parent_b/
                py/
                  module_needed
                application/
                           parent/
                                 A/
                                  test.py

I tried to add moduled_needed's path to sys.path in test.py. But still cannot find module. Am I doing wrong? I am using Intellij, is this related to Intellij?

Answer 1

Python import system is quite straightforward. It looks for the packages in folders from sys.path . You have to add folder that contains module_needed in this case py (full path), not path to module_needed itself. If it's not there you can add the folder either from the code, directly appending to sys.path or with PYTHONPATH enviroment variable.

Also try printing sys.path , because Intellij might add project root to python path. Then the import statement would be:

import parent_a.parent_b.py.module_needed

without any modifications.

It might be useful to add the project root, then you won't have to add every single folder separately.