.. _declarative config:
------------------------------------------------
Configuring setuptools using ``setup.cfg`` files
------------------------------------------------
.. note:: New in 30.3.0 (8 Dec 2016).
.. important::
If compatibility with legacy builds (i.e. those not using the :pep:`517`
build API) is desired, a ``setup.py`` file containing a ``setup()`` function
call is still required even if your configuration resides in ``setup.cfg``.
``Setuptools`` allows using configuration files (usually :file:`setup.cfg`)
to define a package’s metadata and other options that are normally supplied
to the ``setup()`` function (declarative config).
This approach not only allows automation scenarios but also reduces
boilerplate code in some cases.
.. _example-setup-config:
.. code-block:: ini
[metadata]
name = my_package
version = attr: my_package.VERSION
author = Josiah Carberry
author_email = josiah_carberry@brown.edu
description = My package description
long_description = file: README.rst, CHANGELOG.rst, LICENSE.rst
keywords = one, two
license = BSD-3-Clause
classifiers =
Framework :: Django
Programming Language :: Python :: 3
[options]
zip_safe = False
include_package_data = True
packages = find:
python_requires = >=3.7
install_requires =
requests
importlib-metadata; python_version<"3.8"
[options.package_data]
* = *.txt, *.rst
hello = *.msg
[options.entry_points]
console_scripts =
executable-name = my_package.module:function
[options.extras_require]
pdf = ReportLab>=1.2; RXP
rest = docutils>=0.3; pack ==1.1, ==1.3
[options.packages.find]
exclude =
examples*
tools*
docs*
my_package.tests*
Metadata and options are set in the config sections of the same name.
* Keys are the same as the :doc:`keyword arguments </references/keywords>` one
provides to the ``setup()`` function.
* Complex values can be written comma-separated or placed one per line
in *dangling* config values. The following are equivalent:
.. code-block:: ini
[metadata]
keywords = one, two
[metadata]
keywords =
one
two
* In some cases, complex values can be provided in dedicated subsections for
clarity.
* Some keys allow ``file:``, ``attr:``, ``find:``, and ``find_namespace:`` directives in
order to cover common usecases.
* Unknown keys are ignored.
Using a ``src/`` layout
=======================
One commonly used configuration has all the Python source code in a
subdirectory (often called the ``src/`` layout), like this::
├── src
│ └── mypackage
│ ├── __init__.py
│ └── mod1.py
├── setup.py
└── setup.cfg
You can set up your ``setup.cfg`` to automatically find all your packages in
the subdirectory, using :ref:`package_dir <keyword/package_dir>`, like this:
.. code-block:: ini
# This example contains just the necessary options for a src-layout, set up
# the rest of the file as described above.
[options]
package_dir=
=src
packages=find:
[options.packages.find]
where=src
In this example, the value for the :ref:`package_dir <keyword/package_dir>`
configuration (i.e. ``=src``) is parsed as ``{"": "src"}``.
The ``""`` key has a special meaning in this context, and indicates that all the
packages are contained inside the given directory.
Also note that the value for ``[options.packages.find] where`` matches the
value associated with ``""`` in the ``package_dir`` dictionary.
..
TODO: Add the following tip once the auto-discovery is no longer experimental:
Starting in version 61, ``setuptools`` can automatically infer the
configurations for both ``packages`` and ``package_dir`` for projects using
a ``src/`` layout (as long as no value is specified for ``py_modules``).
Please see :doc:`package discovery </userguide/package_discovery>` for more
details.
Specifying values
=================
Some values are treated as simple strings, some allow more logic.
Type names used below:
* ``str`` - simple string
* ``list-comma`` - dangling list or string of comma-separated values
* ``list-semi`` - dangling list or string of semicolon-separated values
* ``bool`` - ``True`` is 1, yes, true
* ``dict`` - list-comma where each entry corresponds to a key/value pair,
with keys separated from values by ``=``.
If an entry starts with ``=``, the key is assumed to be an empty string
(e.g. ``=src`` is parsed as ``{"": "src"}``).
* ``section`` - values are read from a dedicated (sub)section
Special directives:
* ``attr:`` - Value is read from a module attribute. ``attr:`` supports
callables and iterables; unsupported types are cast using ``str()``.
In order to support the common case of a literal value assigned to a variable
in a module containing (directly or indirectly) third-party imports,
``attr:`` first tries to read the value from the module by examining the
module's AST. If that fails, ``attr:`` falls back to importing the module.
* ``file:`` - Value is read from a list of files and then concatenated
.. important::
The ``file:`` directive is sandboxed and won't reach anything outside the
project directory (i.e. the directory containing ``setup.cfg``/``pyproject.toml``).
.. note::
If you are using an old version of ``setuptools``, you might need to ensure
that all files referenced by the ``file:`` directive are included in the ``sdist``
(you can do that via ``MANIFEST.in`` or using plugins such as ``setuptools-scm``,
please have a look on :doc:`/userguide/miscellaneous` for more information).
.. versionchanged:: 66.1.0
Newer versions of ``setuptools`` will automatically add these files to the ``sdist``.
Metadata
--------
.. attention::
The aliases given below are supported for compatibility reasons,
but their use is not advised.
============================== ================= ================= =============== ==========
Key Aliases Type Minimum Version Notes
============================== ================= ================= =============== ==========
name str
version attr:, file:, str 39.2.0 [#meta-1]_
url home-page str
download_url download-url str
project_urls dict 38.3.0
author str
author_email author-email str
maintainer str
maintainer_email maintainer-email str
classifiers classifier file:, list-comma
license str
license_files license_file list-comma 42.0.0
description summary file:, str
long_description long-description file:, str
long_description_content_type str 38.6.0
keywords list-comma
platforms platform list-comma
provides list-comma
requires list-comma
obsoletes list-comma
============================== ================= ================= =============== ==========
**Notes**:
.. [#meta-1] The ``version`` file attribute has only been supported since 39.2.0.
A version loaded using the ``file:`` directive must comply with PEP 440.
It is easy to accidentally put something other than a valid version
string in such a file, so validation is stricter in this case.
Options
-------
======================= =================================== =============== ====================
Key Type Minimum Version Notes
======================= =================================== =============== ====================
zip_safe bool
setup_requires list-semi 36.7.0
install_requires file:, list-semi **BETA** [#opt-6]_
extras_require file:, section **BETA** [#opt-2]_, [#opt-6]_
python_requires str 34.4.0
entry_points file:, section 51.0.0
scripts list-comma
eager_resources list-comma
dependency_links list-comma
tests_require list-semi
include_package_data bool
packages find:, find_namespace:, list-comma [#opt-3]_
package_dir dict
package_data section [#opt-1]_
exclude_package_data section
namespace_packages list-comma [#opt-5]_
py_modules list-comma 34.4.0
data_files section 40.6.0 [#opt-4]_
======================= =================================== =============== ====================
**Notes**:
.. [#opt-1] In the ``package_data`` section, a key named with a single asterisk
(``*``) refers to all packages, in lieu of the empty string used in ``setup.py``.
.. [#opt-2] In the ``extras_require`` section, values are parsed as ``list-semi``.
This implies that in order to include markers, they **must** be *dangling*:
.. code-block:: ini
[options.extras_require]
rest = docutils>=0.3; pack ==1.1, ==1.3
pdf =
ReportLab>=1.2
RXP
importlib-metadata; python_version < "3.8"
.. [#opt-3] The ``find:`` and ``find_namespace:`` directive can be further configured
in a dedicated subsection ``options.packages.find``. This subsection accepts the
same keys as the ``setuptools.find_packages`` and the
``setuptools.find_namespace_packages`` function:
``where``, ``include``, and ``exclude``.
The ``find_namespace:`` directive is supported since Python >=3.3.
.. [#opt-4] ``data_files`` is deprecated and should be avoided.
Please check :doc:`/userguide/datafiles` for more information.
.. [#opt-5] ``namespace_packages`` is deprecated in favour of native/implicit
namespaces (:pep:`420`). Check :doc:`the Python Packaging User Guide
<PyPUG:guides/packaging-namespace-packages>` for more information.
.. [#opt-6] ``file:`` directives for reading requirements are supported since version 62.6.
The format for the file resembles a ``requirements.txt`` file,
however please keep in mind that all non-comment lines must conform with :pep:`508`
(``pip``-specify syntaxes, e.g. ``-c/-r/-e`` flags, are not supported).
Library developers should avoid tightly pinning their dependencies to a specific
version (e.g. via a "locked" requirements file).
Compatibility with other tools
==============================
Historically, several tools explored declarative package configuration
in parallel. And several of them chose to place the packaging
configuration within the project's :file:`setup.cfg` file.
One of the first was ``distutils2``, which development has stopped in
2013. Other include ``pbr`` which is still under active development or
``d2to1``, which was a plug-in that backports declarative configuration
to ``distutils``, but has had no release since Oct. 2015.
As a way to harmonize packaging tools, ``setuptools``, having held the
position of *de facto* standard, has gradually integrated those
features as part of its core features.
Still this has lead to some confusion and feature incompatibilities:
- some tools support features others don't;
- some have similar features but the declarative syntax differs;
The table below tries to summarize the differences. But, please, refer
to each tool documentation for up-to-date information.
=========================== ========== ========== ===== ===
feature setuptools distutils2 d2to1 pbr
=========================== ========== ========== ===== ===
[metadata] description-file S Y Y Y
[files] S Y Y Y
entry_points Y Y Y S
[backwards_compat] N Y Y Y
=========================== ========== ========== ===== ===
Y: supported, N: unsupported, S: syntax differs (see
:ref:`above example<example-setup-config>`).
Also note that some features were only recently added to ``setuptools``.
Please refer to the previous sections to find out when.
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