
For years now, Python developers have secretly wished they could ditch .py
extension to embrace something more… reptilian 🐍 . And while Mojo gets to rock the cool .🔥
extension, Python has been stuck in the Emoji dark ages.
But guess what? What if I told you that 2025 could be the year of the emoji uprising? While CPython may not officially support emoji file extensions (yet!), the beauty of Python’s import system means we can extend it to handle whatever wild and wonderful file extensions our hearts desire.
In this article, I’ll show you how to extend Python’s Import system and finally give your scripts the emoji flair they deserve. Let’s dive in! 🚀
1. Installing emojdule 🐍 ✨
Want to import Python files with emoji extensions? It’s easier than you think! Just install the emojdule
package:
pip install emojdule
# Or poetry
poetry add emojdule
# Or uv
uv add emojdule
uv pip install emojdule
And that’s it! 🎉 emojdule
automatically hooks into Python’s import system, letting you import files with emoji extensions like it’s no big deal.
💡 In a hurry? Skip to Part 3 for a quick example!
⚠️ Warning: This is purely for fun, please don’t use this in production (unless you enjoy confusing your future self). 😅
2. Extending the Python Import System 🛠 ️
Python’s import system is surprisingly flexible and emojdule
takes full advantage of this by providing a custom importer. But before diving in, let’s break down how Python imports work.
🔍 The Import Machinery
Python’s import system is built around a few key components:
- Finders: A finder locates a module (e.g., searching the file system for a
.py
file). - Loaders: A loader executes the module’s code and creates the corresponding Module object.
- Meta Path: A list of finder objects that Python uses to locate modules.
By default, Python comes with three built-in finders:

Here’s what they do:
- BuiltinImporter: Loads built-in modules (e.g.,
sys
,math
). - FrozenImporter: Loads frozen modules (precompiled bytecode embedded into Python).
- PathFinder: The main finder, responsible for searching import paths and loading your
.py
files.
Since PathFinder
handles standard module imports, we can extend Python’s import system by adding a custom Finder to sys.meta_path
.
3. Creating a Custom Import Hook 🎩
Now that we understand how Python’s import system works, let’s build our own Finder and Loader to intercept imports and modify module behavior!
🕵 ️ Creating a Finder
A Finder is responsible for locating modules. To create one, we define a class with a find_spec
method:
- Returns a
ModuleSpec
object if it finds the module. - Returns
None
if it doesn’t find it, it will allow Python to move to the next import hook.
Let’s implement a custom finder that intercepts imports of a specific module:
import importlib.abc
import importlib.util
from importlib.machinery import PathFinder
class CustomFinder(importlib.abc.MetaPathFinder):
def __init__(self, intercepted_module) -> None:
self.intercepted_module = intercepted_module
self.finder = PathFinder()
super().__init__()
def find_spec(self, fullname, path, target=None):
if not fullname.startswith(self.intercepted_module):
return None # Move to the next finder
print(f"Intercepting import: {fullname}")
spec = self.finder.find_spec(fullname, path, target)
if spec is None:
return None
spec.loader = CustomLoader()
return spec
Now, any attempt to import a module matching intercepted_module
will be intercepted by our custom Finder.
⚡Creating a Loader
A Loader is responsible for executing the module code. Our Finder referenced a CustomLoader
, so let’s create that next:
To implement a Loader, we need:
create_module(self, spec)
: Instantiates a new module object.exec_module(self, module)
: Executes the module’s code.
Here’s our custom loader in action:
class CustomLoader(importlib.abc.Loader):
def create_module(self, spec):
return None # Use default module creation
def exec_module(self, module):
print(f"Executing module: {module.__name__}")
# Read the module's source code
with open(module.__spec__.origin, "r") as f:
source_code = f.read()
# Modify the source code (add logging)
modified_code = 'print("Custom Hook: Module Loaded!")n' + source_code
# Execute the modified code within the module's namespace
exec(modified_code, module.__dict__)
Now, when a module is imported, our loader:
- Reads its source code.
- Modifies it (in this case, adding a log message).
- Executes the modified code.
🛠 ️Installing the Custom Hook
We have our Finder and Loader, but Python won’t use them until we register them in sys.meta_path
:

import sys
# Register the custom finder to intercept 'json' imports
sys.meta_path.insert(0, CustomFinder("json"))
# Import the target module (should trigger the hook)
import json
🏆 Output
When you import json
, here’s what happens:
Intercepting import: json
Executing module: json
Custom Hook: Module Loaded!
Intercepting import: json.decoder
Executing module: json.decoder
Custom Hook: Module Loaded!
Intercepting import: json.scanner
Executing module: json.scanner
Custom Hook: Module Loaded!
Intercepting import: json.encoder
Executing module: json.encoder
Custom Hook: Module Loaded!
Since json
has submodules ( decoder
, scanner
, encoder
), our Finder intercepts all of them too !
Our CustomFinder
hooks into the import system, intercepting modules before the default importers get a chance.
4. Example Repository 🎨
Let’s see emojdule
in action! 🚀
📁 Setting Up Your Emoji Module
- Create a new directory for your module:
mkdir my_emoji_module
cd my_emoji_module
- Add a Python file with an emoji extension:
Create a file called my_module.🐍
and add the following code:
def hello_world():
print("Hello, World!")
🐍 Importing the Emoji Module
Now, with emojdule
installed, you can import your emoji-named module just like a regular Python file:
import my_module
my_module.hello_world()
🏆 Output
Hello, World!
Yep, that’s right – Python is now emoji-compatible (well, kind of 😉 ).
🔗 Check out the full example code here: GitHub Repo
5. Another Type of Import Hook 🔍
In the previous section, we explored meta hooks, but there’s another powerful tool in Python’s import system:
🏗 ️ Import Path Hooks
Instead of modifying sys.meta_path
, import path hooks extend PathFinder
to search for modules in custom locations.
Normally, PathFinder
searches for modules in directories listed in sys.path
. But what if sys.path
contained a URL instead? Or a database query? Or even links to a PyPI?
🛠 ️ Writing a Custom Import Path Hook
To create an import path hook:
- Define a custom "entity" finder (to handle non-traditional paths).
- Register it in
sys.path_hooks
soPathFinder
knows about it.
For more details, check out the official Python docs.
🗺 ️ How Import Path Hooks Fit into Python

Here’s what’s happening:
sys.path_hooks
contains custom import finders.PathFinder
uses these hooks to locate modules.
🐍 How emojdule
Uses Import Path Hooks
Under the hood, emojdule
leverages import path hooks to recognize .🐍
files. Here’s its full implementation:
import sys
from importlib.machinery import (
SOURCE_SUFFIXES,
FileFinder,
EXTENSION_SUFFIXES,
ExtensionFileLoader,
SourceFileLoader,
BYTECODE_SUFFIXES,
SourcelessFileLoader,
)
def install() -> None:
supported_loaders = [
(ExtensionFileLoader, [*EXTENSION_SUFFIXES]),
(SourceFileLoader, [*SOURCE_SUFFIXES, ".🐍 "]), # Add support for .🐍 files!
(SourcelessFileLoader, BYTECODE_SUFFIXES),
]
# Register the custom FileFinder in sys.path_hooks
sys.path_hooks.insert(1, FileFinder.path_hook(*supported_loaders))
# Clear importer cache so changes take effect
sys.path_importer_cache.clear()
Conclusion 🎯
We’ve taken a deep dive into tweaking Python’s import system, exploring how to import modules with emoji extensions using the emojdule
package. Along the way, we:
✅ Built a custom importer. ✅ Explored meta hooks & import path hooks to extend Python’s import system. ✅ Created a fun example to showcase it in action.
Want to dive even deeper? Check out the official Python documentation for more import system magic!
Thank you for sticking this far. Stay safe and see you in the following story!