Analysing and improving Python import times

analysing_and_improving_python_import_times.md

Run some command that initializes your codebase, e.g. for a Django project do:

time python -X importtime manage.py --version 2> importtimes.txt

Visualize and analyse contents of importtimes.txt with: https://kmichel.github.io/python-importtime-graph/

Defer imports by moving them inside functions/methods. With Python 3.12+ we can also mark imports as lazy like lazy import xyz within the top level module scope, neat.

With deferring the largest/slowest few imports the startup time for any python commands can easily be halved or more, making everything noticeably faster!