The first step towards sharing a Python library or program is to build a distribution package1. This includes adding a set of additional files containing metadata and configuration to not only instruct setuptools
on how the distribution should be built but also to help installer (such as pip
) during the installation process.
This document contains information to help Python developers through this process. Please check the /userguide/quickstart
for an overview of the workflow.
Also note that setuptools
is what is know in the community as build
backend <517#terminology-and-goals>
, user facing interfaces are provided by tools such as pip
and build
. To use setuptools
, one must explicitly create a pyproject.toml
file as described /build_meta
.
quickstart package_discovery entry_point dependency_management ext_modules datafiles development_mode distribution extension declarative_config pyproject_config commands miscellaneous
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Notes
A
Distribution Package
is also referred in the Python community simply as "package" Unfortunately, this jargon might be a bit confusing for new users because the term package can also to refer anydirectory <package>
(or sub directory) used to organizemodules <module>
and auxiliary files.↩