Very Import-ant

Never write import statements again

The purpose of this extension is to completely remove the requirement for users to manually add import statements to individual files.

Simply configure the imports you use (e.g. import pandas as pd) and then those imports will be added whenever the respective variable reference (e.g. pd) is in your Python file.

Don't Other Extensions Do This?...Not Quite

Existing Python language server extensions (e.g. Pylance) implement auto-importing to some extent, but with a few notable drawbacks:

1. The auto-import functionality requires the language server to create a drop-down, which occasionally takes a while to load (frequently it would have been quicker for a user to navigate to the top of the file and just add the import line manually).

2. The user has to accept a selection from the drop-down, which is an interruption to the typing flow (albeit a somewhat small one, but one nonetheless).

3. Most (all?) of the existing Python language server extensions for VS Code (specifically Pylance) don't allow customizing auto-import aliases. Instead they only support a fixed set of ones (e.g. pd for pandas, np for numpy, etc.).

4. Existing Python language server extensions only allow you to auto-import as you are typing. They currently do not automatically fix known undefined variables elsewhere in the file. No existing formatters appear to fully support this either.

This extension aims to solve all of the above problems by providing functionality to automatically add imports while you are typing and without any interruption to your development flow.

Examples

Add type annotation imports as you type

Add libraries as you type

Add imports on file save

Setup

1. Install this extension

2. Add the following to your settings.json:

   {
   
     // Setting to enable this formatter
     "very-import-ant.format.enable": true,
   
     // If editor.formatOnType is true, these characters will be all characters
     // that trigger an import check/addition.
     "very-import-ant.onTypeTriggerCharacters": "\n \t,",
   
     // Python settings
     "[python]": {
       "editor.defaultFormatter": "groogle.very-import-ant",
   
       // If you want the imports to be added as you type
       "editor.formatOnType": true,
       // If you want the imports to be added when you save the file
       "editor.formatOnSave": true,
       // If you want the imports to be added whenever you paste something into your editor
       "editor.formatOnPaste": true,
     },
   
     // If you have the ruff extension enabled and want to organize imports
     // with this extension only:
     "ruff.organizeImports": false,
     "very-import-ant.organizeImports": true,
   
     // Notebook settings
     "notebook.defaultFormatter": "groogle.very-import-ant",
     "notebook.formatOnCellExecution": true,
     "notebook.formatOnSave.enabled": true,
   
     // Add the following setting if you want to specify your own list
     // of auto-import variables.
     // The ones listed below are all included by default.
     "very-import-ant.autoImports": [
       {
         "variable": "pd",
         "import": "import pandas as pd"
       },
       {
         "variable": "np",
         "import": "import numpy as np"
       },
       {
         "variable": "xr",
         "import": "import xarray as xr"
       },
       {
         "variable": "xrt",
         "import": "from xarray import testing as xrt"
       },
       {
         "variable": "Any",
         "import": "from typing import Any"
       },
       {
         "variable": "Callable",
         "import": "from typing import Callable"
       },
       {
         "variable": "Dict",
         "import": "from typing import Dict"
       },
       {
         "variable": "List",
         "import": "from typing import List"
       },
       {
         "variable": "Union",
         "import": "from typing import Union"
       },
       {
         "variable": "Optional",
         "import": "from typing import Optional"
       },
     ],
   }
   

3. [Only relevant if editor.formatOnType is true]: Ensure Pylance doesn't hijack on-type formatting by following the instructions here.

Using with Other Formatters

While this extension is technically a formatter extension, it really only does a very narrow scope of formatting. In order to use this extension in conjunction with another formatter use the Multiple Formatters Extension.

Ignoring Files

Under the hood, this extension uses the ruff tool. To disable formatting on a specific file, simply add # ruff: noqa in the relevant python file.

Troubleshooting

See the troubleshooting doc for info on known issues and fixes.

Contribute

Feel free to open issues or pull requests, and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner.

Appreciate

I find it very rewarding to know that my projects made someone's day or developer life a little better. If you feel so inclined, leave a review or buy my a coffee so I know my project helped you out!