How to pass argparse args to python script that was imported

Question

Say that I have a python script which can take in args

# testt.py
import argparse

def main(args):

    print(args.foo)
    print(args.bar)
    print(args.nee)

if __name__ == "__main__":

    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Test argument parser')

    parser.add_argument('-foo', type=str)
    parser.add_argument('-bar', type=int)
    parser.add_argument('-nee', type=bool)
    args = parser.parse_args()

    main(args)

But instead of running it from the command line, I want to run it from another Python program

import testt

How could I pass in the arg parameters?

Your def main(): and main(args) conflict. Make up your mind. Is args supposed to a function argument, or a module global? — hpaulj
– hpaulj, Commented Jan 25, 2020 at 1:57
Any object with those 3 attributes will work as a testt.main(foo) argument. — hpaulj
– hpaulj, Commented Jan 25, 2020 at 2:41
Some times it's cleaner to define main(foo, bar, nee). Then you can pass values without creating an object with attributes. — hpaulj
– hpaulj, Commented Jan 25, 2020 at 5:55

hek2mgl · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-25 02:51:35Z

6

You can write a class for the arguments:

import testt

class TesttArgs:
    def __init__(self, foo, bar, nee):
        self.foo = foo
        self.bar = bar
        self.nee = nee

testt.main(TesttArgs('foo', 2, False))

edited Jan 25, 2020 at 2:51

answered Jan 25, 2020 at 2:36

hek2mgl

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Comments

bgstech · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-25 03:49:33Z

You could change the main() function in testt.py to do the parsing:

# testt.py
import sys
import argparse

def main(args):

    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Test argument parser')

    parser.add_argument('-foo', type=str)
    parser.add_argument('-bar', type=int)
    parser.add_argument('-nee', type=lambda x: bool(int(x)))
    args = parser.parse_args(args)

    print(args.foo)
    print(args.bar)
    print(args.nee)

if __name__ == "__main__":

    main(sys.argv[1:])

Then pass sys.argv[1:] to testt.main(), from whatever program imports testt:

# imp.py
import sys
import testt

if __name__ == "__main__":

    testt.main(sys.argv[1:])

One advantage is you no longer have to maintain a separate class when/if you change the command-line arguments you want to support.

This draws heavily from: How to use python argparse with args other than sys.argv?

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