What does if __name__ == "__main__": do?

When your script is run by passing it as a command to the Python interpreter,

python myscript.py

all of the code that is at indentation level 0 gets executed. Functions and classes that are defined are, well, defined, but none of their code gets run. Unlike other languages, there's no main() function that gets run automatically - the main() function is implicitly all the code at the top level.

In this case, the top-level code is an if block. __name__ is a built-in variable which evaluates to the name of the current module. However, if a module is being run directly (as in myscript.py above), then __name__ instead is set to the string "__main__". Thus, you can test whether your script is being run directly or being imported by something else by testing

if __name__ == "__main__":
    ...

If your script is being imported into another module, its various function and class definitions will be imported and its top-level code will be executed, but the code in the then-body of the if clause above won't get run as the condition is not met. As a basic example, consider the following two scripts:

# file one.py
def func():
    print("func() in one.py")

print("top-level in one.py")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print("one.py is being run directly")
else:
    print("one.py is being imported into another module")

# file two.py
import one

print("top-level in two.py")
one.func()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print("two.py is being run directly")
else:
    print("two.py is being imported into another module")

Now, if you invoke the interpreter as

python one.py

The output will be

top-level in one.py
one.py is being run directly

If you run two.py instead:

python two.py

You get

top-level in one.py
one.py is being imported into another module
top-level in two.py
func() in one.py
two.py is being run directly

Thus, when module one gets loaded, its __name__ equals "one" instead of "__main__".

The simplest explanation for the __name__ variable (imho) is the following:

Create the following files.

# a.py
import b

and

# b.py
print "Hello World from %s!" % __name__

if __name__ == '__main__':
    print "Hello World again from %s!" % __name__

Running them will get you this output:

$ python a.py
Hello World from b!

As you can see, when a module is imported, Python sets globals()['__name__'] in this module to the module's name. Also, upon import all the code in the module is being run. As the if statement evaluates to False this part is not executed.

$ python b.py
Hello World from __main__!
Hello World again from __main__!

As you can see, when a file is executed, Python sets globals()['__name__'] in this file to "__main__". This time, the if statement evaluates to True and is being run.

What does the if __name__ == "__main__": do?

To outline the basics:

• The global variable, __name__, in the module that is the entry point to your program, is '__main__'. Otherwise, it's the name you import the module by.

• So, code under the if block will only run if the module is the entry point to your program.

• It allows the code in the module to be importable by other modules, without executing the code block beneath on import.

Why do we need this?

Developing and Testing Your Code

Say you're writing a Python script designed to be used as a module:

def do_important():
    """This function does something very important"""

You could test the module by adding this call of the function to the bottom:

do_important()

and running it (on a command prompt) with something like:

~$ python important.py

The Problem

However, if you want to import the module to another script:

import important

On import, the do_important function would be called, so you'd probably comment out your function call, do_important(), at the bottom.

# do_important() # I must remember to uncomment to execute this!

And then you'll have to remember whether or not you've commented out your test function call. And this extra complexity would mean you're likely to forget, making your development process more troublesome.

A Better Way

The __name__ variable points to the namespace wherever the Python interpreter happens to be at the moment.

Inside an imported module, it's the name of that module.

But inside the primary module (or an interactive Python session, i.e. the interpreter's Read, Eval, Print Loop, or REPL) you are running everything from its "__main__".

So if you check before executing:

if __name__ == "__main__":
    do_important()

With the above, your code will only execute when you're running it as the primary module (or intentionally call it from another script).

An Even Better Way

There's a Pythonic way to improve on this, though.

What if we want to run this business process from outside the module?

If we put the code we want to exercise as we develop and test in a function like this and then do our check for '__main__' immediately after:

def main():
    """business logic for when running this module as the primary one!"""
    setup()
    foo = do_important()
    bar = do_even_more_important(foo)
    for baz in bar:
        do_super_important(baz)
    teardown()

# Here's our payoff idiom!
if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

We now have a final function for the end of our module that will run if we run the module as the primary module.

It will allow the module and its functions and classes to be imported into other scripts without running the main function, and will also allow the module (and its functions and classes) to be called when running from a different '__main__' module, i.e.

import important
important.main()

This idiom can also be found in the Python documentation in an explanation of the __main__ module. That text states:

This module represents the (otherwise anonymous) scope in which the interpreter’s main program executes — commands read either from standard input, from a script file, or from an interactive prompt. It is this environment in which the idiomatic “conditional script” stanza causes a script to run:

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

if __name__ == "__main__" is the part that runs when the script is run from (say) the command line using a command like python myscript.py.

What does if __name__ == "__main__": do?

__name__ is a global variable (in Python, global actually means on the module level) that exists in all namespaces. It is typically the module's name (as a str type).

As the only special case, however, in whatever Python process you run, as in mycode.py:

python mycode.py

the otherwise anonymous global namespace is assigned the value of '__main__' to its __name__.

Thus, including the final lines

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

• at the end of your mycode.py script,
• when it is the primary, entry-point module that is run by a Python process,

will cause your script's uniquely defined main function to run.

Another benefit of using this construct: you can also import your code as a module in another script and then run the main function if and when your program decides:

import mycode
# ... any amount of other code
mycode.main()