How to import a sibling package during tests

Use this recipe when a test file or script lives in a subdirectory and needs to import code from a parent folder.

from import_parent import add_parent_to_path

# Add the directory one level up.
add_parent_to_path(1)

# The parent package is now importable from this process.
import app

When to choose the integer form

If you prefer counting directory levels instead of writing a path string, this works too:

add_parent_to_path(2)

This is useful when the relative path is not obvious from the current file’s location or when you want a compact, numeric expression.

Notes

• The helper is idempotent, so adding the same path repeatedly will not create duplicate entries in sys.path.

• Use this only for small local tools or tests; for production packages, normal installation and package imports are still the preferred approach.