Python one-upped that a long time ago:
from stackoverflow import quick_sort
https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidencedrathier
stack-overflow-import
Python2016–2026
drathier / stack-overflow-import
stack-overflow-import
Import arbitrary code from Stack Overflow as Python modules.
24Distinct people
27Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
3.7KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
Import arbitrary code from Stack Overflow as Python modules.
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
No recommendation phrase was found in the indexed comments.
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Also in these discussions
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 12:54:37 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year27 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2016-11-03 14:18:24 UTC to 2026-03-06 19:55:08 UTC.
* An incomplete calendar period is marked with an outlined bar. Its count is not directly comparable with a full period.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
From the project README
An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
StackOverflow Importer
Do you ever feel like all you’re doing is copy/pasting from Stack
Overflow?
Let’s take it one step further.
from stackoverflow import quick_sort will go through the search
results
of [python] quick sort looking for the largest code block that
doesn’t
syntax error in the highest voted answer from the highest voted
question
and return it as a module. If that answer doesn’t have any valid
python
code, it checks the next highest voted answer for code blocks.
>>> from stackoverflow import quick_sort, split_into_chunks
>>> print(quick_sort.sort([1, 3, 2, 5, 4]))
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
>>> print(list(split_into_chunks.chunk("very good chunk func")))
['very ', 'good ', 'chunk', ' func']
>>> print("I wonder who made split_into_chunks", split_into_chunks.__author__)
I wonder who made split_into_chunks https://stackoverflow.com/a/35107113
>>> print("but what's the license? Can I really use this?", quick_sort.__license__)
but what's the license? Can I really use this? CC BY-SA 3.0
>>> assert("nice, attribution!")
This module is licensed under whatever license you want it to be as
long as the license is compatible with the fact that I blatantly
copied multiple lines of code from the Python standard library.
Read the full README on GitHubWhat Hacker News says
27 sourcesWhy bother searching yourself? This is pre-LLM: https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In Why the push for Agentic when models can barely follow a simple instruction?You can just get the pseudo-LLM experience with this easy python package!
https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
(nit.. please don't actually do this).
In API, Claude.ai, and Console services impacted [resolved]There's one that loads code out of the best matching SO answer automatically https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In Python lib generates its code on-the-fly based on usageSee also: https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
>>> from stackoverflow import quick_sort
>>> print(quick_sort.sort([1, 3, 2, 5, 4]))
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
In Python lib generates its code on-the-fly based on usageShow HN: Anycode – import anything from a Python module thanks to ChatGPT
Seven years after the StackOverflow Importer [1], I thought it was time to build an updated version using ChatGPT.
[1]: https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import?tab=readme...
2 points · Open discussionImport arbitrary code from Stack Overflow as Python modules
1 points · Open discussionThis is similar to copilot-import [0] which in turn was based on stack-overflow-import [1]. I'd be interested to see whether ChatGPT/GPT-3 or Codex/Copilot is better at generating function bodies.
[0]: https://github.com/MythicManiac/copilot-import
[1]: https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In Infinite AI Array> Today, with a little effort I could generate a fully working code of a rnn based time series forecasting using this tool.
Interesting. IME even for toy problems it generally spits out code which fails to do what I requested for many inputs or at all. Using this tool to solve a problem requires not only that I understand what it spits out but also that I understand how to actually solve the problem, so that I can work out which parts of the rubbish it spits out are broken and ask it to iterate on those.
It doesn't seem frightening or particularly transformative; I'm not even convinced that using it could save more time than not. It's not doing anything radically different to https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import and the latter works better.
The worst part is that just as with tools like Grammarly, the people who would most be
Read the rest
nefit from a properly working version of such a tool are exactly the people least well placed to understand when and how the output of the tool is wrong.
I welcome evil players attempting to use it: their evil plans will self-destruct in hilarious ways.
See also https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import for stupid Python import tricks.
"from stackoverflow import quick_sort will go through the search results of [python] quick sort looking for the largest code block that doesn’t syntax error in the highest voted answer from the highest voted question and return it as a module. If that answer doesn’t have any valid python
code, it checks the next highest voted answer for code blocks."
I once implemented a custom importer as part of a system where the Python interpreter never touched the filesystem.
In How the Python import system worksSomething like the Stackoverflow Importer for Python? https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In Is GitHub Copilot a blessing, or a curse?A friend suggested we try do this after seeing stack-overflow-import (https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import), which queries stackoverflow for some matching result and loads it. For small functions, it's surprisingly effective. You still need Copilot access to use this, unfortunately.
Some other examples:
>>> from copilot import rock_paper_scissors
>>> rock_paper_scissors('Rock', 'Scissors')
'Player 1 wins'
>>> from copilot import get_current_git_commit
>>> get_current_git_commit()
b'29c7e9b138a9247c598b613ca378d103de878e2a\n'
>>> from copilot import answer_to_everything
>>> answer_to_everything(1)
42
Practically, it works through two separate copilot calls. The first one asks copilot to predict the arguments a function would take, then the second one asks it to predict the body of the function. The returne
Read the rest
d code is then parsed, both to ensure that it is actual valid Python (it almost always is, although it sometimes spits out Python 2 or cuts off due to length limits), and to remove any extra statements that are not part of the function (sometimes it likes to include an `if __name__ == "__main__"` for example).
The function is then wrapped in an error handler that will attempt to include a module if the snippet references an undefined variable. Copilot tends to use the correct libraries, but forgets to import them so this step is necessary to get most things working. We experimented with prompting an `import ` inside the function body, which worked decent but delivered some wonky results when the code needed more than one import or when it needed none at all.
https://gkoberger.github.io/stacksort/
https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
https://github.com/james9909/stackanswers.vim
In GitHub confirmed using all public code for training copilot regardless licenseSearching SO and converting the highest rated answer's code that doesn't syntax error to a Python module is about 150 LoC[0].
[0]: https://github.com/drathier/stack-overflow-import
In The Good and the Limitations of Github CopilotShowing the 15 most recent of 27 sources. Enable JavaScript to search and browse every indexed mention.