help() Function Complexity

help is the interactive documentation browser. It is a _sitebuiltins._Helper instance that the site module installs into builtins; calling it imports pydoc the first time and hands the request to pydoc.help. That renders the page from the live object every time - nothing is cached - and sends it to a pager: one such as less on a terminal, plain text to sys.stdout otherwise. help() returns None.

w is the characters of documentation produced, counting the full repr() of any value that is built and then cut short. D is the cost of documenting one object, which the pydoc page prices in full: O(w) for a function, method or value; for a class, O(a log a + a·d² + w) plus O(s log s), where a is its attributes, inherited ones included, d the classes in its method resolution order and s its direct subclasses; for a module of M names, at least O(M log M + w) plus the cost of each class it documents. An object without a docstring can add O(F) to read its source file of F characters. x is the dotted parts of a name given as a string. Names count as O(1) characters, and the import system's own work - finding a module and running it - is not counted.

Complexity Reference

help

Operation	Time	Space	Notes
help (the bare name)	O(1)	O(1)	repr() is a hint naming help() and help(object)
help(object)	O(D)	O(M + a + s + w)	Renders and pages the object's documentation; an instance is documented through its class
help('name')	O(x² + D)	O(M + a + s + w)	A string is a name to look up, not a value: each dotted prefix that is a module is imported, then attributes are followed. A name that finds nothing prints No Python documentation found
help('if') and other keywords, symbols and topics	O(T) the first time, then O(z)	O(T), then O(z)	The text from pydoc_data, imported on first use; T = all topic text, z = this topic's
help('keywords'), help('symbols'), help('topics')	O(1)	O(1)	Fixed lists of under a hundred names each
help('modules')	O(N log N) plus importing every package	O(N)	N = files and directories on sys.path; lists the top-level module names
help('modules key')	O(N + S) plus importing every package	O(N + y)	Every module whose name or synopsis contains key; S = the characters of all the modules' source, y = the largest
help()	O(t) per line, plus each request	O(t)	The interactive helper, reading sys.stdin; t = characters in one line

What help Is

help is a callable instance, not a function. Its repr() is the hint the interactive prompt prints for the bare name.

import types

assert type(help).__name__ == '_Helper'                    # O(1)
assert not isinstance(help, types.FunctionType)
assert repr(help).startswith('Type help() for interactive help')

The site module installs it, so it does not exist under -S:

$ python -S -c "help(len)"
NameError: name 'help' is not defined

Where the Output Goes

The text goes to the pager pydoc picks on first use. When standard input or output is not a terminal that is the plain pager, which writes to sys.stdout; on a terminal it is a program such as less, which waits for keys. The call returns None, so code that needs the text calls pydoc.render_doc() instead, which returns the same page as a string.

import contextlib
import io
import pydoc

captured = io.StringIO()
with contextlib.redirect_stdout(captured):  # not a terminal, so the plain pager
    result = help(len)  # O(w)

assert result is None
assert captured.getvalue().startswith('Help on built-in function len in module builtins')

text = pydoc.render_doc(len, renderer=pydoc.plaintext)  # O(w) - the page as a string
assert 'len(obj, /)' in text

For just the docstring, read __doc__. A function or class written in Python returns the string it stores, in O(1); a built-in one builds a new string from its C docstring on each read, linear in that string's length. Neither renders a page.

def area(r):
    """Area of a circle of radius r."""

assert area.__doc__ is area.__doc__  # O(1) - the stored string
assert len.__doc__ == len.__doc__  # a new string on each read

What a Request Costs

Objects

Documenting a class lists every attribute, inherited ones included, and finds where each is defined by walking the method resolution order. An instance gets its class's page. Every call renders the page again.

import contextlib
import io

class Base:
    def method(self):
        """Do something."""

class Child(Base):
    pass

captured = io.StringIO()
with contextlib.redirect_stdout(captured):
    help(Child)  # O(a log a + a·d² + w) - inherited members are listed too
    help(Child())  # the same page again, rendered again

page = captured.getvalue()
assert page.count('Methods inherited from Base') == 2
assert 'Help on Child in module __main__ object' in page

Strings Are Names

A non-empty string is looked up as a name - a keyword, a topic, or a dotted path to a module or an object - rather than documented as a str. A module name is imported, so its code runs.

import contextlib
import io
import sys

assert 'colorsys' not in sys.modules

captured = io.StringIO()
with contextlib.redirect_stdout(captured):
    help('hello')  # not a name anything has
    help('colorsys')  # O(x² + D) - imports the module, then documents it
    help('if')  # O(T) the first time - the language reference's text for `if`

answer = captured.getvalue()
assert "No Python documentation found for 'hello'" in answer
assert 'colorsys' in sys.modules
assert 'The "if" statement' in answer

help('modules') and help('modules key') walk every module on sys.path and import every package to look inside it, as pydoc's module search does.

The Interactive Helper

help() with no argument prints an introduction and then reads one request per line at a help> prompt, until q, quit or exit, or the end of input. Each line costs what the same string passed to help() would. An empty line leaves the helper before Python 3.13.12 and 3.14.3, and returns to the prompt from those releases.

import contextlib
import io
import sys

saved = sys.stdin
sys.stdin = io.StringIO('len\nkeywords\nq\n')  # stands in for typing at the prompt
captured = io.StringIO()
try:
    with contextlib.redirect_stdout(captured):
        help()  # O(t) per line, plus each request
finally:
    sys.stdin = saved

answer = captured.getvalue()
assert answer.count('\nhelp> ') == 3  # one prompt per line read
assert 'Help on built-in function len in module builtins' in answer
assert 'nonlocal' in answer  # from the keyword list

Performance Best Practices

✅ Do:

• Pass the object rather than its name when you have it: no lookup and no import
• Call pydoc.render_doc() when code needs the text; help() returns None
• Read __doc__ when the docstring is all you need: no page is rendered

❌ Avoid:

• Calling help() from a program: on a terminal it waits in a pager, and it is absent under -S
• help('modules') where importing an untrusted package would be unsafe
• Passing a string to see a string's methods: help('text') looks up a name; pass str

Version Notes

• Python 3.13+: exit leaves the interactive helper, as q and quit do
• Python 3.13.12+, 3.14.3+: an empty line at the help> prompt returns to the prompt instead of leaving the helper

Related Modules

• pydoc - The renderer, pagers and module search behind help()
• pydoc_data - The keyword and topic texts help('if') shows
• inspect - Signatures, docstrings and members as values
• dir() - The attribute names without their documentation
• Interpreter Info - The other REPL builtins installed by site