Workflow to work on a github fork of a python library?

Question

I want to contribute some changes to a python package which is using github. I have forked it. It is a library I am using in a project (in a python 3.5.1 virtual environment).

The documentation at https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/reference/pip_install/#vcs-support tell me how to install from a github fork, and it goes on to mention "editable installs" (https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/reference/pip_install/#editable-installs) which basically does "development mode"

If it is a pure python package does it matter if I skip editable mode?

(since there would be no build steps necessary as I would only be changing python code. This would mean I can keep using the same import statements.)

Answer 1

When you pip install without editable mode, the package is copied into your Python environment (such as env/lib/python3.5/site-packages). You can, of course, edit it right there, as it’s usually just a bunch of Python files, but that is inconvenient.

When you pip install with editable mode, pip only sets up a link from your environment to wherever the source code is. So, you can clone your GitHub fork into a convenient directory like ~/projects/libraryX, then do pip install -e ~/projects/libraryX, and keep editing the code at ~/projects/libraryX while your changes are immediately reflected in the environment where you installed it.

This all applies to pure Python packages.