ipython %run testscript_in_pythonpath.py returns "no file found" error

Question

I would like to use the %run magic command to run a script in a directory which is in the pythonpath variable. The script reads some files in the working directory. However, when I try to run the script using the command: %run "testscript_in_pythonpath.py ", it returns an error. I thought files in pythonpath would be accessible to the interpreter, no ??

I just used the command: "import testscript_in_pythonpath". The script executed as normal although an "ImportError" was thrown saying no module was found. However, the command served the purpose. Now if there was a better way for doing this, it would be just fine! — apil.tamang
– apil.tamang, Commented Feb 8, 2013 at 17:48
Pythonpath is for libraries, not scripts. You can %run -m testscript_in_pythonpath to run it from its module name. — Thomas K
– Thomas K, Commented Feb 8, 2013 at 18:56

Thomas K · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-10 12:20:39Z

3

(Reposting as an answer)

$PYTHONPATH is what Python uses to look up modules to import, not scripts to run.

To run a file from $PYTHONPATH, you can do import testscript_in_pythonpath. Or, in IPython:

%run -m testscript_in_pythonpath

The difference is that if the file has an if __name__ == '__main__': section, %run will trigger that.

From a system shell, you can do the same thing as:

python -m testscript_in_pythonpath

answered Feb 10, 2013 at 12:20

Thomas K

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