Distributing Python Modules (Legacy version)

Authors:

Greg Ward, Anthony Baxter

Email:

distutils-sig@python.org

See also

Distributing Python Modules

The up to date module distribution documentations

Note

The entiredistutils package has been deprecated and will beremoved in Python 3.12. This documentation is retained as areference only, and will be removed with the package. See theWhat’s New entry for more information.

Note

This document is being retained solely until thesetuptools documentationathttps://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/setuptools.htmlindependently covers all of the relevant information currently included here.

Note

This guide only covers the basic tools for building and distributingextensions that are provided as part of this version of Python. Third partytools offer easier to use and more secure alternatives. Refer to thequickrecommendations sectionin the Python Packaging User Guide for more information.

This document describes the Python Distribution Utilities (“Distutils”) fromthe module developer’s point of view, describing the underlying capabilitiesthatsetuptools builds on to allow Python developers to make Python modulesand extensions readily available to a wider audience.