Simple library for accessing GPIO through /sys/class.
Works without root (sudo) if you have the right permissions (hint: install pifacedigitalio to get the right permissions)
import pigpio
pigpio.setup(18, pigpio.OUT) # configure GPIO18 pin for output
pigpio.setup(5, pigpio.IN) # configure GPIO5 pin for input
pigpio.output(18, True) # set GPIO18 pin high
pigpio.output(18, False) # set GPIO18 pin low
print(pigpio.input(5)) # read GPIO5