Importing .py files in Google Colab

You can save it first, then import it.

from google.colab import files
src = list(files.upload().values())[0]
open('mylib.py','wb').write(src)
import mylib

Update (nov 2018): Now you can upload easily by

  • click at [>] to open the left pane
  • choose file tab
  • click [upload] and choose your [mylib.py]
  • import mylib

Update (oct 2019): If you don’t want to upload every time, you can store it in S3 and mount it to Colab, as shown in this gist

Update (apr 2020): Now that you can mount your Google Drive automatically. It is easier to just copy it from Drive than upload it.

  • Store mylib.py in your Drive
  • Open a new Colab
  • Open the (left)side pane, select Files view
  • Click Mount Drive then Connect to Google Drive
  • Copy it by !cp drive/MyDrive/mylib.py .
  • import mylib

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