Place all import statements at the top of the file as global imports rather than importing modules within functions or methods. Local imports reduce code readability, complicate dependency tracking, and can indicate poor code organization.

Why this matters:

How to fix: Move all imports to the top of the file, organized in the standard order: standard library, third-party packages, then local modules.

Example:

# Bad - local imports
def _setup_runtime_dependencies(cls, logger, config, settings):
    import os  # Should be at top
    import platform  # Should be at top
    
    if platform.system() == "Windows":
        # ...

# Good - global imports  
import os
import platform

def _setup_runtime_dependencies(cls, logger, config, settings):
    if platform.system() == "Windows":
        # ...

Exceptions: Local imports are acceptable only in rare cases like:

In such cases, add a comment explaining why the local import is necessary.