How to prevent `pip install` resulting in duplicate code?

Question

I am working on a library with some others. Our git repo (called modulename) looks like this

modulename/
  src_file_1.py
  src_file_2.py
tests/
  ...
.../

The instructions are to clone this somewhere in home, so I now have

~/
  modulename/
    modulename/
      src_file_1.py
      src_file_2.py
    tests/
      ...
    .../

and then run pip install . from inside the first modulename. After that, when I look in site-packages, I have

site-packages/
  modulename/
    src_file_1.py
    src_file_2.py

so pip has copied the source into site-packages

The problem I how have, is that when I make changes to the cloned repository, those changes are not copied into site-packages, so when I use the module in some other code, I only see the version copied when I did pip install .. I'm in a bit of a mess here. What is the proper way to work on this library so I can commit my changes back to git and also import the module from other places on my machine?

You need to "reinstall" your package after changes. Or use a package directly from the cloned repo. In general, packages installed in site-packages should be properly versioned, i.e. if there are changes in the package, the version should be updated and reinstalled. — Yevhen Kuzmovych
– Yevhen Kuzmovych, Commented Sep 11, 2024 at 10:58
@ACarter please do not accept answers immediately, wait for a day or two for a better answer — Basilevs
– Basilevs, Commented Sep 11, 2024 at 11:27

Basilevs · Accepted Answer · 2024-09-11 11:22:01Z

3

When using pip install for development, you are supposed to use a flag --editable.

pip install -e .

That way, no copy of implementation is done and your edits to original files affect all programs executed in that Python environment.

answered Sep 11, 2024 at 11:22

Basilevs

24.6k16 gold badges61 silver badges110 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

How to prevent `pip install` resulting in duplicate code?

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related