If you want to directly import the argv variable into your program (to avoid typing the sys. everytime for it), then you can use the from sys import argv statement. If you want to import all the names used in the sys module, then you can use the from sys import * statement. This works for any module. In general, avoid using the from..import statement and use the import statement instead since your program will be much more readable and will avoid any name clashes that way.