Question

>>> a = ['foo.py']
>>> k = ['nice', '-n', '10'] 
>>> a.insert(0, k)
>>> a
[['nice', '-n', '10'], 'foo.py']

I want to list k to be on the same level as foo.py, rather than a sublist.

Answer 1

Apply slicing:

a[0:0] = k

Or do it manually:

a = k + a

The first approach remain the same for insertion at any place, i.e. a[n:n] = k
would insert k at position n, but the second approach would not be the same, that will be

a = a[:n] + k + a[n:]