Here's the actual import code from arcpy:
def import_toolbox(tbxfile, module_name=None):
r"""Loads a file toolbox(.tbx) and creates a Python module for it.
Sample usage:
arcpy.import_toolbox(r"C:\Data\ArcToolbox\Sample Toolbox\demo.tbx",
'toolboxsample')
This will then generate a python module for demo.tbx and make it
available for import as arcpy.toolboxes.toolboxsample
If the second argument is not provided, the function will use the alias
of the toolbox, if it is set and a valid Python identifier."""
use_alt_alias = True
if isinstance(tbxfile, str):
toolbox = gp.createObject("Toolbox", tbxfile)
if tbxfile.lower().startswith('http://'):
use_alt_alias = False
else: # Assume non-strings are instances of Toolbox
toolbox = tbxfile
mymodule = generate_toolbox_module(toolbox, None, False, False, False, module_name, use_alt_alias)
import arcpy
for tool in mymodule.__all__:
setattr(arcpy, tool + ('_' + mymodule.__alias__
if mymodule.__alias__ else ''),
getattr(mymodule, tool, None))
# Module already exists in arcpy?
if hasattr(arcpy, mymodule.__alias__):
existing_module = getattr(arcpy, mymodule.__alias__)
# Is it a module?
if not hasattr(existing_module, '__all__'):
existing_module.__all__ = []
# Add to the __all__
existing_module.__all__ += mymodule.__all__
# Then add the tool functions
for tool in mymodule.__all__:
setattr(existing_module, tool,
getattr(mymodule, tool, None))
# arcpy.X = mymodule
else:
setattr(arcpy, mymodule.__alias__, mymodule)
return mymodule
This code lives in the 'toolbox_code.py' file in your arcpy source directory. There's a lot of stuff in there that could cause issues it seems. Like the generate_toolbox_module initializing a mutable list in the function header. It also does the module re-writes in a confusing way that seems to persist the aliases across runs. Honestly it does seem like this import_toolbox file is in dire need of some re-writing as I'm getting weird results when I test it with a toolbox:
...
import arcpy
# There should be no aliased tools here
print(f"Default: {[m for m in dir(arcpy) if 'my_module' in m.lower()]}")
# There should be no aliased tools here
import_toolbox(r"C:\Users\hwelch\Desktop\Test.atbx")
print(f"Raw Import: {[m for m in dir(arcpy) if 'my_module' in m.lower()]}")
# There should be one set of aliased tools here
import_toolbox(r"C:\Users\hwelch\Desktop\Test.atbx", 'my_module')
print(f"Aliased Import: {[m for m in dir(arcpy) if 'my_module' in m.lower()]}")
# There shoud be two sets of aliased tools here
import_toolbox(r"C:\Users\hwelch\Desktop\Test.atbx", 'my_module2')
print(f"Re-Aliased Import: {[m for m in dir(arcpy) if 'my_module' in m.lower()]}")
>>> Default: []
>>> Raw Import: ['Tool_my_module2', 'my_module2']
>>> Aliased Import: ['Tool_my_module', 'Tool_my_module2', 'my_module', 'my_module2']
>>> Re-Aliased Import: ['Tool_my_module', 'Tool_my_module2', 'my_module', 'my_module2']
I have no clue why the first run of the import_toolbox function is somehow applying the alias from the last run...
