How Can I Access Static Files Within a Python Package?

Reading a Static File from Inside a Python Package

Situation

Imagine your Python package contains template text files that you want to access from within your program. When specifying the path to these files, it becomes necessary to handle the package structure.

TLDR: Use importlib.resources (Python 3.9 )

If backward compatibility is not a concern (i.e., you are using Python 3.9 or above), leverage the importlib.resources module.

from importlib import resources as impresources
from . import templates

inp_file = impresources.files(templates) / 'temp_file'
with inp_file.open("rt") as f:
    template = f.read()

Traditional Method: Using pkg_resources from Setuptools

For Python versions below 3.9, consider using the pkg_resources module from the setuptools distribution.

import pkg_resources

# Could be a dot-separated package/module name or a "Requirement"
resource_package = __name__
resource_path = '/'.join(('templates', 'temp_file'))  # Do not use os.path.join()
template = pkg_resources.resource_string(resource_package, resource_path)
# or for a file-like stream:
template = pkg_resources.resource_stream(resource_package, resource_path)

Steps:

1. Locate your templates within the package hierarchy:

   <your-package>
     +--<module-asking-for-the-file>
     +--templates/
          +--temp_file

2. Reference the template file using either method:

   • Option 1 (importlib.resources):

     from . import templates
     
     inp_file = impresources.files(templates) / 'temp_file'

   • Option 2 (pkg_resources):

     resource_path = '/'.join(('templates', 'temp_file'))
     template = pkg_resources.resource_string(__name__, resource_path)

Tips:

• For files inside your current module, use package as the package argument in importlib.resources.
• The importlib.resources.files function returns a path-like object, which allows for context-manager-based temporary file access.
• Include any static files in your setup.py or MANIFEST for packaging purposes.
• Consider setting zip_safe=True in setup.py to enable zipapp distribution.

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