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Python Inspect Module

The inspect module provides several useful functions to help get information about live objects such as modules, classes, methods, functions, tracebacks, frame objects, and code objects.

Importing the Module

import inspect

Inspecting Types

You can check the type of an object using various is functions.

import inspect

def my_func():
    pass

class MyClass:
    def method(self):
        pass

print(inspect.ismodule(inspect)) # True
print(inspect.isclass(MyClass))  # True
print(inspect.isfunction(my_func)) # True
print(inspect.ismethod(MyClass().method)) # True

Retrieving Source Code

You can retrieve the source code of a function, class, or module.

import inspect

def hello():
    print("Hello World")

print(inspect.getsource(hello))
# Output:
# def hello():
#     print("Hello World")

Retrieving Documentation

You can retrieve the docstring of an object.

import inspect

def add(a, b):
    """Returns the sum of a and b."""
    return a + b

print(inspect.getdoc(add))
# Output: Returns the sum of a and b.

Inspecting Signatures

The signature() function allows you to inspect the parameters of a callable.

import inspect

def func(a, b=10, *args, **kwargs):
    pass

sig = inspect.signature(func)
print(sig) # Output: (a, b=10, *args, **kwargs)

for param in sig.parameters.values():
    print(param.name, param.default)

Stack Inspection

inspect.stack() returns a list of frame records for the current stack.

import inspect

def a():
    b()

def b():
    for frame in inspect.stack():
        print(frame.function)

a()
# Output (order may vary):
# b
# a
# <module>

programming/python/python

Created: March 17, 2026 • Last Modified: January 27, 2026