Can I Install External Python Packages with Pip from the Local File System?

Installing External Python Packages with Pip from Local File System

The ability to install packages from the local filesystem using pip has been a frequent topic of discussion in the Python community. While pip typically retrieves packages from the Python Package Index (PyPI), it is possible to manually specify a local tar.gz file during installation.

To accomplish this, one can utilize the -e (editable) flag to install a project in "editable" mode, where changes made to the local code are immediately reflected in the installed package. This is particularly useful for developing and testing your own packages without having to distribute them through PyPI.

For example, let's assume you have a tar.gz file for your package at /srv/pkg/mypackage/mypackage-0.1.0.tar.gz. You can install it into a virtual environment using the following command:

pip install -e /srv/pkg/mypackage

The -e flag instructs pip to install the package from the specified local directory, rather than fetching it from PyPI. By default, the setup.py file within the directory will be used for installation.

It's important to note that this method primarily serves as a temporary workaround for testing and development purposes. For wider distribution, it is recommended to upload your package to PyPI and install it using the pip install command with the name of your package.

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