Method to import checks from any known extensions

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -44,6 +44,12 @@
 
 * Fixed `--modules` flag in `nwbinspector` command line interface to allow for import of additional modules in the command line. This was necessary to be able to register new customized checks to the NWB Inspector. [#446](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/nwbinspector/pull/446)
 
+### Improvements
+
+* Enabled auto-import of checks defined from a set of known extensions, beginning with `ndx_multichannel_volume`. [#447](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/nwbinspector/pull/447)
+
+
+
 # v0.4.33
 
 ### Fixes

src/nwbinspector/__init__.py

@@ -22,3 +22,12 @@
 from .checks.icephys import *
 
 default_check_registry = {check.__name__: check for check in available_checks}
+
+# Automatically import from a set of known extensions that might be installed
+import importlib
+
+KNOWN_EXTENSIONS = ["ndx_multichannel_volume"]
+for extension_candidate in KNOWN_EXTENSIONS:
+    if importlib.util.find_spec(name=extension_candidate) is not None:
+        importlib.import_module(name=extension_candidate)
+        # Any checks exposed to the extension __init__ will now be registered