python pip - development mode with local dependencies

Question

Background

I have two python projects. Project A and Project B.

Each project has its own virtual environment and its own setup.py.

Both projects are not pure py files and has "build" process like building extensions, generate source etc.

A is dependent on B (setup.py install_requires points on B).

Each project is built and published/distributed as a wheel to pypi on-premise repository.

pip install w/wo -e (development mode) of project A, nicely installs project B into project A venv site-packages.

So far everything is working nicely and "by the book".

Now, my story get complicated ...

I would like to develop the two projects together without having to publish B in order A to consume it.

As example, I would like to:

1. Change something in B.
2. build B (setup.py build).
3. NOT publish B as wheel to pypi.
4. Goal - Project A will "know" the modified Project B. WITHOUT manually tweaking sys.path.

I actually want the pip install -e of project A to install project B in development mode too.

After some reading I understood (hopefully correctly) that one can define a "distribution" as a local source folder by --find-links flag.

I defined project B root folder in --find-links.

I tried it with (on project A setup.py folder):

1. pip install . -e --find-links = file:///path/to/B

2. pip install . -e --find-links = git+file://path/to/B

Both did not work.

BTW, Puting in the path to B wheel or egg of B,

ex: pip install . -e --find-links = file:///path/to/B.whl

did work but this is not what I am looking for.

Hope you are still with me :-) (sorry for the tedious story)

What am I missing?

Tx

Answer 1

Let me try and restate the problem:

• You work on two python packages, package A and package B. A depends on B.
• You have chosen to develop these two packages in separate virtual environments.
• You would like to make some local changes to package B and have package A use the modified version of package B.

I apologize if I'm missing something here, but why not simply install both packages in the same virtual environment, which will make this problem go away?

I.e. after creating your environment, you install package B in editable mode, followed by installing package A. Any changes in B will be picked up by A, no changes needed.