pythonvisual-studio-codeimportenvironment-variablespythonpath

PYTHONPATH from launch.json not visible in Python script (VS Code)

I would like to import methods from a directory one level above my current working directory. One way to do this is to manually append the directory to sys.path. I found a better solution for VSCode on this post. The solution described there involves creating a launch.json file with a configuration line that looks like "env": {"PYTHONPATH": "/tmp/a:/tmp/b"}. This method is documented here. Note that defining the environment variable in .env file works, but I would like to use the VSCode variable $workspaceFolder, which is not possible in .env.

Using launch.json, I am not able to access the modified PYTHONPATH. In both interactive mode and Run mode, the path doesn't reflect the desired changes.

Following is my directory structure:

project/
  - .vscode
     - launch.json
  - conf/
     - file1.py
  - src/
     - file2.py
  - main.py
  - example.py

The file launch.json looks like this:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Python: main",
            "type": "python",
            "request": "launch",
            "module": "main",
            "justMyCode": true,
            "env": {"PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}/conf/"}
        },
        {
            "name": "Python: example",
            "type": "python",
            "request": "launch",
            "module": "example",
            "justMyCode": true,
            "env": {"PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}/conf/"}
        },
    ]
}

When I run main.py or example.py, I don't see the conf directory in sys.path. What's the correct way to do this?

Example to print sys.path:

import sys
print(sys.path)
Solution

  • After diving deeper into docs and other SO posts, and with hints from @JaileDu's and @user's answers, I've found the complete solution to the problem in the OP.

    For interactive mode, need to add the following to settings.json (change .osx to respective OS in your case:

    "terminal.integrated.env.osx": {"PYTHONPATH": "${workspaceFolder}"},
"jupyter.notebookFileRoot": "${workspaceFolder}"

    For Run mode, set PYTHONPATH in .env file (documented here) or launch.json (see the same documentation page and this blogpost).

    Some related SO posts: