| :mod:`distutils` --- Building and installing Python modules |
| =========================================================== |
| |
| .. module:: distutils |
| :synopsis: Support for building and installing Python modules into an |
| existing Python installation. |
| .. sectionauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@acm.org> |
| |
| |
| The :mod:`distutils` package provides support for building and installing |
| additional modules into a Python installation. The new modules may be either |
| 100%-pure Python, or may be extension modules written in C, or may be |
| collections of Python packages which include modules coded in both Python and C. |
| |
| Most Python users will *not* want to use this module directly, but instead |
| use the cross-version tools maintained by the Python Packaging Authority. In |
| particular, |
| `setuptools <https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/>`__ is an |
| enhanced alternative to :mod:`distutils` that provides: |
| |
| * support for declaring project dependencies |
| * additional mechanisms for configuring which files to include in source |
| releases (including plugins for integration with version control systems) |
| * the ability to declare project "entry points", which can be used as the |
| basis for application plugin systems |
| * the ability to automatically generate Windows command line executables at |
| installation time rather than needing to prebuild them |
| * consistent behaviour across all supported Python versions |
| |
| The recommended `pip <https://pip.pypa.io/>`__ installer runs all |
| ``setup.py`` scripts with ``setuptools``, even if the script itself only |
| imports ``distutils``. Refer to the |
| `Python Packaging User Guide <https://packaging.python.org>`_ for more |
| information. |
| |
| For the benefits of packaging tool authors and users seeking a deeper |
| understanding of the details of the current packaging and distribution |
| system, the legacy :mod:`distutils` based user documentation and API |
| reference remain available: |
| |
| * :ref:`install-index` |
| * :ref:`distutils-index` |
