What does __all__ mean in Python?

Linked to, but not explicitly mentioned here, is exactly when __all__ is used. It is a list of strings defining what symbols in a module will be exported when from <module> import * is used on the module.

For example, the following code in a foo.py explicitly exports the symbols bar and baz:

__all__ = ['bar', 'baz']

waz = 5
bar = 10
def baz(): return 'baz'

These symbols can then be imported like so:

from foo import *

print(bar)
print(baz)

# The following will trigger an exception, as "waz" is not exported by the module
print(waz)

If the __all__ above is commented out, this code will then execute to completion, as the default behaviour of import * is to import all symbols that do not begin with an underscore, from the given namespace.

Reference: https://docs.python.org/tutorial/modules.html#importing-from-a-package

NOTE: __all__ affects the from <module> import * behavior only. Members that are not mentioned in __all__ are still accessible from outside the module and can be imported with from <module> import <member>.

It's a list of public objects of that module, as interpreted by import *. It overrides the default of hiding everything that begins with an underscore.

__all__ affects how from foo import * works.

Code that is inside a module body (but not in the body of a function or class) may use an asterisk (*) in a from statement:

from foo import *

The * requests that all attributes of module foo (except those beginning with underscores) be bound as global variables in the importing module. When foo has an attribute __all__, the attribute's value is the list of the names that are bound by this type of from statement.

If foo is a package and its __init__.py defines a list named __all__, it is taken to be the list of submodule names that should be imported when from foo import * is encountered. If __all__ is not defined, the statement from foo import * imports whatever names are defined in the package. This includes any names defined (and submodules explicitly loaded) by __init__.py.

Note that __all__ doesn't have to be a list. As per the documentation on the import statement, if defined, __all__ must be a sequence of strings which are names defined or imported by the module. So you may as well use a tuple to save some memory and CPU cycles. Just don't forget a comma in case the module defines a single public name:

__all__ = ('some_name',)

See also Why is “import *” bad?

This is defined in PEP8 here:

Global Variable Names

(Let's hope that these variables are meant for use inside one module only.) The conventions are about the same as those for functions.

Modules that are designed for use via from M import * should use the __all__ mechanism to prevent exporting globals, or use the older convention of prefixing such globals with an underscore (which you might want to do to indicate these globals are "module non-public").

PEP8 provides coding conventions for the Python code comprising the standard library in the main Python distribution. The more you follow this, closer you are to the original intent.