# from vtk.util.misc import vtkGetDataRoot

**URL:** https://discourse.vtk.org/t/from-vtk-util-misc-import-vtkgetdataroot/6698
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [September 25, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/from-vtk-util-misc-import-vtkgetdataroot/6698 "2021-09-25T22:35:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![aleena98](https://discourse.vtk.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@aleena98](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/aleena98)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/from-vtk-util-misc-import-vtkgetdataroot/6698/1 "2021-09-25T22:35:15Z")

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`from vtk.util.misc import vtkGetDataRoot` what does this line do?

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![ben.boeckel](https://discourse.vtk.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/ben.boeckel)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/from-vtk-util-misc-import-vtkgetdataroot/6698/2 "2021-09-25T22:55:38Z")

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It gets the directory for test data from the command line arguments (`-D` if you’re curious). It’s meant for testing code, not general-purpose code.