Imports

In Motoko, related code modules are organized into packages. Modules can be imported either from named packages or from the local file system using relative paths. The compiler locates packages on the file system based on a command line argument specifying their location.

Imports should be placed at the top of the source file. They enable code reuse from external libraries or modules, helping to improve maintainability and organization. You can import from:

1. Standard modules provided by the base library.

import Text "mo:base/Text";
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";
import Math "mo:base/Float";

The package base is Motoko's standard library. This imports the Text, Nat and Float modules from package base under the local names Text, Nat and Math.

While not required, it's considered good practice to import a module using its package-defined name. This helps with consistency and readability across codebases.

2. Packages installed via a package manager (such as Mops).

import Iter "mo:base/itertools";

The module Iter is imported from a third-party package itertools.

3. Files within the current project.

import Utils "Utils";

You can also import specific functions from a module:

import { compare } "mo:base/Nat";

Learn more about modules and imports.