How do I load a Python module given its full path? Note that the file can be anywhere in the filesystem where the user has access rights. See also: How to import a module given its name as string?

 

To load a Python module given its full path, you can use the importlib module's util subpackage, specifically the spec_from_file_location() and module_from_spec() functions. This allows you to dynamically import a module from any location in the filesystem where the user has access rights. Here's an example:

Suppose you have a Python module named my_module.py located at /path/to/my_module.py, and you want to import it dynamically:

python
import importlib.util # Specify the full path to the module file module_path = '/path/to/my_module.py' # Create a module specification based on the file location module_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location('my_module', module_path) # Create a module object from the specification my_module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(module_spec) # Load the module module_spec.loader.exec_module(my_module) # Now you can use the loaded module my_module.my_function() # Assuming my_module has a function named my_function

In this example:

  1. We import the importlib.util module.

  2. We specify the full path to the module file using module_path.

  3. We create a module specification using importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(), providing a module name ('my_module') and the full path.

  4. We create a module object from the specification using importlib.util.module_from_spec().

  5. We load the module using module_spec.loader.exec_module(my_module).

  6. After loading, you can use the loaded module just like any other module. In this example, we assume that my_module has a function named my_function().

This method allows you to dynamically load and use Python modules from any location in the filesystem without needing them to be in a predefined location or already installed as packages.


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