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Import function from local module

Question
At a glance

The community members are discussing how to import custom Python scripts/functions from a local working directory into a Marimo notebook. They encounter a "no module found" / "missing package" error when trying to import from a local folder. The suggested solutions include:

1. Ensuring the import path is relative to the directory where Marimo is started.

2. Creating a Python package from the local folder and installing it locally using an editable install (e.g., pip install -e .).

3. Using the UV package manager to create and install the local package, which the community member found to be an easy solution.

The community members also note that this is a common question and suggest writing a documentation page about it, though the solution is not specific to Marimo.

Useful resources
bbyeproduct
·
This may be a silly question, but can I add a module with my custom scripts/functions from my local working directory and then reference these python files in the marimo notebook? I currently get a "no module found" / "missing package" error when I add

from local_folder.my_python_script import my_function

What would be the best way to do this?

The problem I'm trying to solve is to not have to copy the same functions into my notebooks, but have the base functions as in import into my notebook.

Could I use UV to build a package out of my base modules, and then use UV to install from a local wheel file? I don't know how to do this (in UV or in general), so any tutorials or links would be helpful.
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16 comments
AAkshay
The import path is relative to where you start marimo (or Python) from. So if you ran marimo edit ... in the folder containing local_folder, it should work.

More generally, you could create a package and install it locally, for example with an editable install (pip install -e .) in the root directory of the local package.
AAkshay
This question has been asked a few times (it's a good question!), makes me think we should write a sort doc on it and include on our site. Though the answer isn't specific to marimo.
AAkshay
You'd need to first create a package (no need to upload it anywhere): https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/tutorials/packaging-projects/. Then do an editable install in a local environment. I haven't practiced researched this workflow using uv so I don't have any tips or guides to link unfortunately.
bbyeproduct
Thanks for the feedback. It's weird. I've got the files that you am trying to import into my notebook running in a sub-folder from the directory I am running marimo from.

I checked in the terminal and in the notebook using os.getcwd(), and both return the same folder as the working folder.

I just upgraded to marimo 0.9.20, as I thought it may be a version issue, and it still gives me the missing package error when I try to use: from local_folder.my_python_script import my_function

Is there a setting I need to enable?

I have the default package manager set to UV and I can see all the installed packages.

My notebook seems to see my local import from ... import ... as if it needs to be evaluated as a UV package and then finds that it is not installed. Is there a way to swap out the import resolution to prioritise checking if the folder exists first?

I have added init.py to both the current working directory and within the folder itself.
AAkshay
There's no setting to enable. If a module is not found, then marimo prompts you to install it for convenience. But that's just UI sugar. marimo doesn't do anything special about import resolution. So I assume if you replace the marimo notebook with a Python file, include from local_folder.my_python_script import my_function, and run the script from the same directory you run marimo from, you will see the same import error
AAkshay
Here's an example that works. Note marimo is run from the directory containing local_folder. Does this work for you? Is your directory tree different?
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bbyeproduct
So you guided me down the right path. I ended up converting my folder local_folder into a package using UV init and adding all dependencies in that folder environment. UV automatically added the package to my marimo environment as a workspace tool.

I then used `uv pip install -e local_folder/.' to add my created package to marimo.

I restarted marimo and it picked up all my functions.

UV really made my life so easy. I didn't have to configure anything else. Plus, now I know how to create python packages 👻
llewdeus
For anyone searching for this in the future you can also run python -m marimo edit and it'll be able to pick up your local folders.
YYourTechBud
Hey. I just found something interesting.
  • Local imports work just fine when I create a fresh new notebook through the UI
  • The moment I restart the marimo server, local imports stop working.
I did a lil bit of investigating and realized that sys.path doesn't contain the root directory but rather the directory in which the notebook was saved.

My porject structure:
Plain Text
|- pyproject.toml
|- uv.lock
|- notebooks
   |- notebook.py
|- lib
   |- utils.py


I gotta call this functions in the first cell to make it work consistently:
Plain Text
def add_parent_dir_to_sys_path():
    if os.getcwd() not in sys.path:
        sys.path.append(os.getcwd())


I'm running the marimo server using marimo edit --no-token
YYourTechBud
@Akshay do you think this could be a bug?
AAkshay
sys.path should be set up to match what you'd get running the notebook as a script. So marimo edit foo/nb.py matches python foo/nb.py. Creating a new notebook from the UI is an edge case because there is no directory set initially. I can see how that's confusing UX. Not quite sure what to do about that
YYourTechBud
Can marimo automatically add the current working folder in sys.path?
AAkshay
Not sure that's a great idea because it's different from running as a Python script does ... but can explore tradeoffs. Is this what Jupyter does?
MMyles Scolnick
You can now declare the pythonpath, similar to what pytest allows you to do: https://docs.marimo.io/guides/configuration/runtime_configuration/#python-path

Plain Text
[tool.marimo.runtime]
pythonpath = ["project/src"]
YYourTechBud
I think this should fix my problem
YYourTechBud
I have no clue. Never really used Jupyter or Python for that matter. But I think @Myles Scolnick's solution is what I needed!
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