Introduction 🌟

Packaging your Python project allows others to install it using pip. Two major packaging formats exist in modern Python:

1. Project Structure for Packaging 📁

my_package/
│── my_package/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── core.py
│
│── tests/
│── README.md
│── LICENSE
│── setup.py            # OR pyproject.toml
│── requirements.txt

✔ Your code must be inside a folder named exactly like the package.

2. Packaging with setup.py (Traditional Method)

Example setup.py

from setuptools import setup, find_packages

setup(
    name="my_package",
    version="1.0.0",
    packages=find_packages(),
    description="A demo Python package",
    author="Sathish",
    author_email="you@example.com",
    install_requires=["requests"],
    license="MIT",
)

Build the package

pip install setuptools wheel
python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel

✔ Creates .tar.gz & .whl files in dist/

Install your package locally

pip install dist/my_package-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

3. Packaging with pyproject.toml (Modern Standard) 🚀

Introduced by PEP 517/518, pyproject.toml is now the official method for packaging.

Minimal pyproject.toml (Setuptools)

[build-system]
requires = ["setuptools>=61.0", "wheel"]
build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"

[project]
name = "my_package"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "A demo Python package"
authors = [
  { name="Sathish", email="you@example.com" }
]
requires-python = ">=3.8"
dependencies = ["requests"]

[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
where = ["my_package"]

Build the project

pip install build
python -m build

✔ Generates wheel and source files in dist/

4. Adding Entry Points (CLI Commands) 🖥️

[project.scripts]
mytool = "my_package.core:main"

✔ Running mytool in terminal now runs core.main()

def main():
    print("Hello from CLI!")

5. Writing an __init__.py File 🧠

__version__ = "1.0.0"

from .core import *

✔ Makes your package importable via import my_package

6. Uploading Package to PyPI 🚀

Install tools

pip install twine

Upload

twine upload dist/*

7. Versioning Best Practices 🧾

8. Setup.cfg (Optional Middle Approach)

Not required today but still used. Structure → minimal setup.py + metadata in setup.cfg.

9. pyproject.toml vs setup.py Comparison ⚔️

10. Creating a Package with Poetry 🪄 (Advanced)

Poetry is a modern package/dependency manager.

pip install poetry

Create project

poetry new my_package

✔ Automatically creates structure + pyproject.toml

11. Best Practices 💡

Conclusion 🎉

You now understand how to package Python projects using setup.py and pyproject.toml! Want the next tutorial? Try Publishing to PyPI, Dependency Management, Poetry, or Creating CLI Tools. Just tell me! 😊