# `importlib.resources` – Resources

Source code: Lib/importlib/resources/__init__.py

New in version 3.7.

This module leverages Python’s import system to provide access to resources within packages. If you can import a package, you can access resources within that package. Resources can be opened or read, in either binary or text mode.

Resources are roughly akin to files inside directories, though it’s important to keep in mind that this is just a metaphor. Resources and packages do not have to exist as physical files and directories on the file system.

Note

This module provides functionality similar to pkg_resources Basic Resource Access without the performance overhead of that package. This makes reading resources included in packages easier, with more stable and consistent semantics.

The standalone backport of this module provides more information on using importlib.resources and migrating from pkg_resources to importlib.resources and migrating legacy usage.

Loaders that wish to support resource reading should implement a `get_resource_reader(fullname)` method as specified by `importlib.abc.ResourceReader`.

The following types are defined.

importlib.resources.Package

  The `Package` type is defined as `Union[str, ModuleType]`. This means that where the function describes accepting a `Package`, you can pass in either a string or a module. Module objects must have a resolvable `__spec__.submodule_search_locations` that is not `None`.

importlib.resources.Resource

  This type describes the resource names passed into the various functions in this package. This is defined as `Union[str, os.PathLike]`.

The following functions are available.

importlib.resources.files(package)

  Returns an `importlib.resources.abc.Traversable` object representing the resource container for the package (think directory) and its resources (think files). A Traversable may contain other containers (think subdirectories).

  package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements.

  New in version 3.9.

importlib.resources.as_file(traversable)

  Given a `importlib.resources.abc.Traversable` object representing a file, typically from `importlib.resources.files()`, return a context manager for use in a `with` statement. The context manager provides a `pathlib.Path` object.

  Exiting the context manager cleans up any temporary file created when the resource was extracted from e.g. a zip file.

  Use `as_file` when the Traversable methods (`read_text`, etc) are insufficient and an actual file on the file system is required.

  New in version 3.9.

importlib.resources.open_binary(package, resource)

  > Open for binary reading the resource within package.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements. resource is the name of the resource to open within package; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). This function returns a `typing.BinaryIO` instance, a binary I/O stream open for reading.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.open_text(package, resource, encoding='utf-8', errors='strict')

  > Open for text reading the resource within package. By default, the resource is opened for reading as UTF-8.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements. resource is the name of the resource to open within package; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). encoding and errors have the same meaning as with built-in `open()`.

  > This function returns a `typing.TextIO` instance, a text I/O stream open for reading.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.read_binary(package, resource)

  > Read and return the contents of the resource within package as `bytes`.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements. resource is the name of the resource to open within package; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). This function returns the contents of the resource as `bytes`.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.read_text(package, resource, encoding='utf-8', errors='strict')

  > Read and return the contents of resource within package as a `str`. By default, the contents are read as strict UTF-8.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements. resource is the name of the resource to open within package; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory). encoding and errors have the same meaning as with built-in `open()`. This function returns the contents of the resource as `str`.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.path(package, resource)

  > Return the path to the resource as an actual file system path. This function returns a context manager for use in a `with` statement. The context manager provides a `pathlib.Path` object.

  > Exiting the context manager cleans up any temporary file created when the resource needs to be extracted from e.g. a zip file.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements. resource is the name of the resource to open within package; it may not contain path separators and it may not have sub-resources (i.e. it cannot be a directory).

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.is_resource(package, name)

  > Return `True` if there is a resource named name in the package, otherwise `False`. Remember that directories are not resources! package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.

importlib.resources.contents(package)

  > Return an iterable over the named items within the package. The iterable returns `str` resources (e.g. files) and non-resources (e.g. directories). The iterable does not recurse into subdirectories.

  > package is either a name or a module object which conforms to the `Package` requirements.

  Deprecated since version 3.11.