What is the best way to manually install a python library?

Question

I am currently creating a python library, and I want to find what is the best way for a user to install it on their computer.

It is not distributed on Pypi (or Pypi test) for now, so I want them to install it manually easily from their clone of the git repo.

I couldn't find a lot of up-to-date information, with the new way of building libraries (with a pyproject.toml).

A coworker told me he just uses pip install . from the root of the library. On the other hand, since I prefer to use virtual environments, I build the library with python -m build. I then install my library in an other venv with the .whl file generated, with pip install /path/to/the/library/dist/my_library.whl.

Is this the correct way to do it ? Is there a better or simpler way for users to manually install my library ?

pip install . Will install it within the current virtual environment. You can also use pip install git+https://github.com/user/repository.git. See here: stackoverflow.com/questions/20101834/… — Tom McLean
– Tom McLean, Commented Jan 7 at 13:36
"I couldn't find a lot of up-to-date information, with the new way of building libraries (with a pyproject.toml)." These are references for the docs: packaging.python.org/en/latest/guides/writing-pyproject-toml and setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/userguide/quickstart.html — phd
– phd, Commented Jan 7 at 14:10

VDes · Accepted Answer · 2025-01-07 14:19:30Z

0

The best way to manually install a Python library during development is indeed to use pip install . or pip install -e . in the library's root directory.

The method you described - building a wheel and installing it - it also valid, particularly if you want users to distribute a pre-built package within an organization or limited scope.

answered Jan 7 at 14:19

VDes

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