What is if __name__ == "__main__" in Python?

If you are new to Python then you may have noticed if __name__ == "__main__" line in some python codes.

You may be wondering:

• What does that mean?
• What purpose does it serve?
• I don’t see it in all Python codes, so when should I use it exactly?
• Can you give me some examples?

Let me try to explain the above to you.

In Python all modules have some built-in attributes. __name__ is one of them. Now the question is what does __name__ contain?

Well, that depends actually. It depends on how you use the module.

Case 1: Running the module directly

If you run the module directly in a standalone program then in that case the value of __name__ attribute is set to __main__.

For example, create a file main.py and enter below code.

if __name__ == "__main__":
	print "Directly called from python interpreter"
	print "Value of __name__ attribute is "+__name__
else:
	print "Not directly called"
	print "Value of __name__ attribute is "+__name__

Now run the above code as below:

$ python main.py

Output:

Directly called from Python interpreter
Value of __name__ attribute is __main__

Notice that when we ran the program directly from python interpreter the conditional __name__ == __main__ returned True and the print statement inside the if block got executed.

Case 2: Using the module with import

If you use the module in another program (using the import function), then in that case the value of __name__ attribute is set to the filename of the module.

Let’s try to import the above created main.py.

$ python
>>> import main.py

Output:

Not directly called
Value of __name__ attribute is main

References

• __main__ — Top-level script environment
• What does if __name__ == “__main__”: do?