Does it make sense to cache package imports?

[kevon217]

Since streamlit reruns the app with each user interaction, are python packages being reimported every time as well?

If so, I was wondering if it makes sense to cache package imports in your streamlit app to avoid unnecessary repetitive imports. Or am I missing some fundamental underlying detail of how streamlit operates? Or are there any best practices with regards to this?

[tonykip]

Thanks for your question. So, Python has sys.modules where all the imported modules are cached automatically so there’s no need to cache them.

This is how it typically works:

• Python checks if a module already exists in sys.modules where imports are stored in a dictionary format. If the module exists, Python uses it and skips the import process.
• If it doesn’t exist, Python installs it and also stores it in sys.modules.

You can read more here.