Managing Imports With Python's __all__

Joseph Peart 11 Lessons 43m Updated intermediate python

Python has something called wildcard imports, which look like from module import *. This type of import allows you to quickly get all the objects from a module into your namespace. However, using this import on a package can be confusing because it’s not clear what you want to import: subpackages, modules, objects? Python has the __all__ variable to work around this issue.

The __all__ variable is a list of strings where each string represents the name of a variable, function, class, or module that you want to expose to wildcard imports.

In this video course, you’ll:

  • Understand wildcard imports in Python
  • Use __all__ to control the modules that you expose to wildcard imports
  • Control the names that you expose in modules and packages
  • Explore other use cases of the __all__ variable
  • Learn some benefits and best practices of using __all__

To get the most out of this course, you should be familiar with a few Python concepts, including modules and packages, and the import system.

What’s Included:

  • 11 Lessons
  • Video Subtitles and Full Transcripts
  • 2 Downloadable Resources
  • Accompanying Text-Based Tutorial
  • Interactive Quiz to Check Your Progress
  • 2 Hands-On Coding Exercises
  • Q&A With Python Experts: Ask a Question
  • Certificate of Completion

Downloadable Resources:

About Joseph Peart

Joseph is a software developer, data geek, bootcamp instructor, and board game enthusiast. He lives in Canada with his wife and cats. He loves learning new things, teaching those things to other people, and talking about himself in the third person.

» More about Joseph

Each tutorial at Real Python is created by a team of developers so that it meets our high quality standards. The team members who worked on this tutorial are:

← Browse All Courses