Aesthetic Imports

aesthetic-imports is a command-line tool that reorganizes import lines at the top of your Python files into geometric shapes based on line length.

Instead of standard alphabetical sorting, it formats imports into triangles, cones and hourglasses — powered by libcst.

Installation

pip install aesthetic-imports

Usage

Run aesthetic-imports followed by the paths to your Python files:

aesthetic-imports main.py

Options & Shapes

• -s, --shape: Choose the visual layout for your imports.
  • asc / L (default): Ascending line length (short to long)
  • desc / J: Descending line length (long to short)
  • conical / >: Wide in the middle, narrow at top/bottom
  • hourglass / <: Wide at top/bottom, narrow in the middle
• --dry-run: Preview changes in terminal boxes without modifying files.
• -v, --verbose: Enable debug output.
• --ask-before-edit: Prompt for confirmation before applying changes.

Examples

Preview changes in conical shape without writing to files: aesthetic-imports --shape asc --dry-run script.py

Visual Examples

Ascending / L-Shape (-s asc or -s L)

Sorts imports cleanly from shortest line length to longest.

Before:

from my_custom_package.utils.helpers import long_function_name
import os
from typing import List, Optional, Dict, Any
import sys
import libcst as cst
from datetime import datetime

After:

import os
import sys
import libcst as cst
from datetime import datetime
from typing import List, Optional, Dict, Any
from my_custom_package.utils.helpers import long_function_name