""" ©AngelaMos | 2026 __init__.py Why this file exists even though it is empty ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The one-sentence version ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The mere PRESENCE of a file named `__init__.py` in a folder tells Python "this folder is a package — you may import from it". The file does not need to contain anything ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Why THIS one is empty (and the src one is not) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Two folders in this project both have `__init__.py`, but they use it for different jobs src/password_manager/__init__.py Has CODE inside. It re-exports the most useful classes so callers can write `from password_manager import UnlockedVault` instead of digging into submodules. This is the package's front door tests/__init__.py <-- you are here, and it is EMPTY Has no code. It exists only as a MARKER so Python and pytest treat `tests/` as a package. That matters because some test files do this from tests.conftest import TEST_KDF_PARAMETERS For `tests.conftest` to be a valid dotted import path, `tests` has to be a package, which means this file has to exist. The header docstring is the only content; everything else is silence ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Takeaway ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── `__init__.py` is dual-purpose EXISTENCE → "this folder is a package" (always, even when empty) CONTENTS → optional code that runs on first import (re-exports, version constants, etc.) A folder full of `.py` files with no `__init__.py` is just files; add the `__init__.py` and it becomes something you can import as a single unit """