Developing a Python library with Pipenv

Question

I'm trying to develop a Python library which will eventually be put on PyPI.

It's a library I use in another project which pulls it from PyPI.

I have unit-tests for the library in its own project repository. But I mainly test the library in use through the main application.

I was previously "publishing" the library locally, using

pip install -e

so that the main project in another repository can pull it from local packages and I can test it in context.

But now I'm moving to pipenv. And I want to be able to do the same. But if I put the dependency in the Pipenv file, it seems to try to pull from the real PyPI, not my local store.

How do I set up this workflow with Pipenv?

Answer 1

Pipenv can install packages from various sources, not only from PyPI. The CLI usage is very similar to pip, which is a feature of pipenv. You can pass a local path or a URL with CVS prefix to pipenv install. Pipenv will add the package to Pipfile accordingly.

CLI Usage

First go to the project folder (which contains the Pipfile) of your main application. Then run

$ pipenv install --dev -e "/path/to/your/local/library"

If the library is version controlled by Git or SVN, you can also use an URL like this:

$ pipenv install --dev -e git+https://github.com/your_user_id/libraryname@develop

If the Git repository for your library is stored locally, use file:// instead of https://github.com. Other protocols like FTP and SSH are also supported.

The above command will pull the package from the source, install it and modify the Pipfile in the current folder to include the package.

Pipfile usage

Usually you do not need to modify the Pipfile directly. For advanced settings in the pipfile, please see the Pipfile's specs. Below are some example entries to pipfile

[dev-packages]
mylibrary = { git = 'https://github.com/xxx/mylibrary.git', ref = '0.0.1', editable = true }
"e1839a8" = {path = "/path/to/your/local/library2", editable = true}
"e51a27" = {file = "/path/to/your/local/library1/build/0.0.1.zip"}

Setup a private PyPI index

Although it would be overkill, just to be complete, setting up a private PyPI server can also work.