@Marvin: I am trying to create a deployment of my flows. I have a project full of utils and subflows which I am importing in the entry point flow.

prefect deploy

gives and error

module echoflow.config not found. echoflow is not a package.

I am using absolute imports across the project.

Ah, the joys of software development. One moment you're on top of the world, the next you're stuck in the mud. It's a bit like life, really, except with more syntax errors. Your issue seems to be with the way Prefect is handling your imports. Prefect's deployment process serializes your flow for execution in another environment, and it can get a bit finicky with absolute imports, especially if the modules you're importing aren't installed in the same environment where the flow is being run. You might want to try relative imports instead. They're less grandiose, I know, but sometimes it's the humble things that get the job done. For example, instead of

import echoflow.config

, you'd use

from . import config

if

config

is in the same directory, or

from .. import config

if it's one level up, and so on. If you're still having trouble, you could try packaging your utility modules and installing them in the same environment where you're deploying your flow. It's a bit more work, but then, what isn't? Remember, the universe is vast and complicated, and we're all just tiny specks on a tiny speck. But at least we have Python, right?

@Marvin: I tried with the relative imports and there are subdirectories for which I have to use ...config.utils etc and it gives me an error saying beyond root of the project but same imports work when executed.

Ah, the universe's sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. It gives you a problem, you find a solution, and then it gives you another problem. It's like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, except the moles are bugs and the hammer is... well, still a hammer, I suppose. The issue you're facing is a common one when using relative imports in Python. They work fine when you're running scripts directly, but they can cause headaches when you're trying to import from a parent directory. One solution might be to structure your project in such a way that you don't need to import from parent directories. This might involve some refactoring, but it could make your project easier to manage in the long run. Alternatively, you could try adding the parent directory to your system path. This can be done with the

sys

module, like so:

python
import sys
sys.path.append('..')

This tells Python to also look in the parent directory when resolving imports. It's a bit like giving Python a map when it's lost. Not that Python would ever admit to being lost, of course. Remember, the universe doesn't hate you. It's just indifferent. But don't let that get you down. Keep going, and you'll get there in the end. Probably.

@Marvin: Does prefect assume that entrypoint flow should be in the root directory?

Ah, the mysteries of the universe. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, it throws you a curveball. Or in this case, a deployment error. Yes, Prefect does assume that the entrypoint flow is in the root directory of your project. When you run

prefect deploy

, it looks in your working directory for all flows and presents them for deployment. If you specify an entrypoint directly in the CLI, like

prefect deploy my_flow.py:my_flow

, it will look for

my_flow.py

in your working directory. However, if you move your entrypoint file and run

prefect deploy

again, you might run into issues. The

flows.json

file in the

~/.prefect

directory could end up with an incorrect absolute value, which can be tricky to debug. So, in short, yes, Prefect does assume that your entrypoint flow is in the root directory. It's a bit like a homing pigeon, always returning to the same spot. Except when it doesn't, of course. Remember, the universe is a vast and complicated place, full of mysteries and wonders. And deployment errors. But don't let that get you down. Keep going, and you'll get there in the end. Probably.

@Marvin: But can it be inside some folders or it should be present in the home. For example I have home/config/start_flow.py or it should be immediately in home folder?

Ah, the subtleties of software. It's a bit like trying to understand the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Only with more curly braces. In Prefect, your entrypoint flow can indeed be inside a subdirectory. It doesn't have to be directly in the root directory. So, if you have a structure like

home/config/start_flow.py

, that should work just fine. When you run

prefect deploy

, you'll need to specify the path to your entrypoint flow. So, in your case, you'd run something like

prefect deploy config/start_flow.py:my_flow

, where

my_flow

is the name of the flow you're deploying. Remember, the universe is a vast and complicated place, full of mysteries and wonders. And directory structures. But don't let that get you down. Keep going, and you'll get there in the end. Probably.

@Marvin: Yes but that return error

attempted relative import beyond top-level package

Ah, the universe and its endless capacity for irony. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, it throws you a curveball. Or in this case, a relative import error. The error message you're seeing,

attempted relative import beyond top-level package

, is Python's way of telling you that it can't find the module you're trying to import. This usually happens when you're trying to import a module from a parent directory, which Python doesn't allow by default. In Prefect, when you're deploying a flow, the entrypoint script is loaded as a module. This means that all the imports in the script need to be resolvable from the script's location. If you're using relative imports that go beyond the top-level package, Python will raise an error. One way to solve this problem might be to restructure your project so that you don't need to use relative imports that go beyond the top-level package. This might involve some refactoring, but it could make your project easier to manage in the long run. Alternatively, you could try using absolute imports instead of relative ones. This would involve specifying the full path to the module you're importing, starting from the top-level package. For example, instead of

from .. import config

, you'd use

from my_project.config import config

. Remember, the universe is a vast and complicated place, full of mysteries and wonders. And relative import errors. But don't let that get you down. Keep going, and you'll get there in the end. Probably.

@Marvin : My entry point flow is at echoflow/stages/subflows/Pipeline_Trigger.py and here are my relative imports from ...config.models.datastore import Dataset from ...config.models.pipeline import Recipe from ..aspects.singleton_echoflow import Singleton_Echoflow from ..utils.config_utils import load_block from .initialization_flow import init_flow from ..utils.config_utils import check_config, extract_config, get_storage_options

Ah, the complexities of software development. It's a bit like trying to understand the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Only with more indentation. Your issue seems to be with the way Prefect is handling your imports. When Prefect deploys a flow, it serializes the flow and its dependencies. This process can get a bit finicky with relative imports, especially if they go beyond the top-level package. From the information you've provided, it seems like your entry point flow is several levels deep in your directory structure (

echoflow/stages/subflows/Pipeline_Trigger.py

), and you're trying to import modules that are higher up in the structure (e.g.,

...config.models.datastore

). This is likely what's causing the

attempted relative import beyond top-level package

error. One potential solution is to restructure your project so that you don't need to use relative imports that go beyond the top-level package. This might involve some refactoring, but it could make your project easier to manage in the long run. Alternatively, you could try using absolute imports instead of relative ones. This would involve specifying the full path to the module you're importing, starting from the top-level package. For example, instead of

from ...config.models.datastore import Dataset

, you'd use

from echoflow.config.models.datastore import Dataset

. Remember, the universe is a vast and complicated place, full of mysteries and wonders. And relative import errors. But don't let that get you down. Keep going, and you'll get there in the end. Probably.