"pip install –editable ./" vs "python setup.py develop"
Question:
Is there any significant difference between
pip install -e /path/to/mypackage
and the setuptools variant?
python /path/to/mypackage/setup.py develop
Answers:
Try to avoid calling setup.py directly, it will not properly tell pip that you’ve installed your package.
With pip install -e:
For local projects, the “SomeProject.egg-info” directory is created
relative to the project path. This is one advantage over just using
setup.py develop, which creates the “egg-info” directly relative the
current working directory.
More: docs
Also read the setuptools’ docs.
One more difference: pip install -e uses wheel while
python setup.py develop
doesn’t use it.
With install, you could achieve the same behavior by using
pip install -e /path/to/package --no-use-wheel
More info on wheels : python wheels
Another difference that may favor pip install -e is that if your project has dependencies in install_requires in setup.py, then pip install -e . installs dependencies with pip, while python setup.py develop can install with easy_install, and may cause problems re: ‘egg-info’ as mentioned above. When install-requires uses dependency_links with custom git URLs, with attached egg identifiers, this can be especially annoying.
Yet another difference: when you run python setup.py develop for a version that is considered a pre-release (perhaps because you’re running it from a git clone when not having checked out a release), then you will enable installation of pre-releases of your dependencies. On the other hand, with pip install --editable you would have to pass --pre explicitly if you want these pre-releases.
(See the CI log with pre-releases accidentally used and compare that to a fixed build here.)
Is there any significant difference between
pip install -e /path/to/mypackage
and the setuptools variant?
python /path/to/mypackage/setup.py develop
Try to avoid calling setup.py directly, it will not properly tell pip that you’ve installed your package.
With pip install -e:
For local projects, the “SomeProject.egg-info” directory is created
relative to the project path. This is one advantage over just using
setup.py develop, which creates the “egg-info” directly relative the
current working directory.
More: docs
Also read the setuptools’ docs.
One more difference: pip install -e uses wheel while
python setup.py develop
doesn’t use it.
With install, you could achieve the same behavior by using
pip install -e /path/to/package --no-use-wheel
More info on wheels : python wheels
Another difference that may favor pip install -e is that if your project has dependencies in install_requires in setup.py, then pip install -e . installs dependencies with pip, while python setup.py develop can install with easy_install, and may cause problems re: ‘egg-info’ as mentioned above. When install-requires uses dependency_links with custom git URLs, with attached egg identifiers, this can be especially annoying.
Yet another difference: when you run python setup.py develop for a version that is considered a pre-release (perhaps because you’re running it from a git clone when not having checked out a release), then you will enable installation of pre-releases of your dependencies. On the other hand, with pip install --editable you would have to pass --pre explicitly if you want these pre-releases.
(See the CI log with pre-releases accidentally used and compare that to a fixed build here.)