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1.. index::
2   single: Python Package Index (PyPI)
3   single: PyPI; (see Python Package Index (PyPI))
4
5.. _package-index:
6
7*******************************
8The Python Package Index (PyPI)
9*******************************
10
11The `Python Package Index (PyPI)`_ stores :ref:`meta-data <meta-data>`
12describing distributions packaged with distutils, as well as package data like
13distribution files if a package author wishes.
14
15Distutils provides the :command:`register` and :command:`upload` commands for
16pushing meta-data and distribution files to PyPI, respectively.  See
17:ref:`package-commands` for information on these commands.
18
19
20PyPI overview
21=============
22
23PyPI lets you submit any number of versions of your distribution to the index.
24If you alter the meta-data for a particular version, you can submit it again
25and the index will be updated.
26
27PyPI holds a record for each (name, version) combination submitted.  The first
28user to submit information for a given name is designated the Owner of that
29name.  Changes can be submitted through the :command:`register` command or
30through the web interface.  Owners can designate other users as Owners or
31Maintainers.  Maintainers can edit the package information, but not designate
32new Owners or Maintainers.
33
34By default PyPI displays only the newest version of a given package.  The web
35interface lets one change this default behavior and manually select which
36versions to display and hide.
37
38For each version, PyPI displays a home page.  The home page is created from
39the ``long_description`` which can be submitted via the :command:`register`
40command.  See :ref:`package-display` for more information.
41
42
43.. _package-commands:
44
45Distutils commands
46==================
47
48Distutils exposes two commands for submitting package data to PyPI: the
49:ref:`register <package-register>` command for submitting meta-data to PyPI
50and the :ref:`upload <package-upload>` command for submitting distribution
51files.  Both commands read configuration data from a special file called a
52:ref:`.pypirc file <pypirc>`.
53
54
55.. _package-register:
56
57The ``register`` command
58------------------------
59
60The distutils command :command:`register` is used to submit your distribution's
61meta-data to an index server. It is invoked as follows::
62
63    python setup.py register
64
65Distutils will respond with the following prompt::
66
67    running register
68    We need to know who you are, so please choose either:
69        1. use your existing login,
70        2. register as a new user,
71        3. have the server generate a new password for you (and email it to you), or
72        4. quit
73    Your selection [default 1]:
74
75Note: if your username and password are saved locally, you will not see this
76menu.  Also, refer to :ref:`pypirc` for how to store your credentials in a
77:file:`.pypirc` file.
78
79If you have not registered with PyPI, then you will need to do so now. You
80should choose option 2, and enter your details as required. Soon after
81submitting your details, you will receive an email which will be used to confirm
82your registration.
83
84Once you are registered, you may choose option 1 from the menu. You will be
85prompted for your PyPI username and password, and :command:`register` will then
86submit your meta-data to the index.
87
88See :ref:`package-cmdoptions` for options to the :command:`register` command.
89
90
91.. _package-upload:
92
93The ``upload`` command
94----------------------
95
96.. versionadded:: 2.5
97
98The distutils command :command:`upload` pushes the distribution files to PyPI.
99
100The command is invoked immediately after building one or more distribution
101files.  For example, the command ::
102
103    python setup.py sdist bdist_wininst upload
104
105will cause the source distribution and the Windows installer to be uploaded to
106PyPI.  Note that these will be uploaded even if they are built using an earlier
107invocation of :file:`setup.py`, but that only distributions named on the command
108line for the invocation including the :command:`upload` command are uploaded.
109
110If a :command:`register` command was previously called in the same command,
111and if the password was entered in the prompt, :command:`upload` will reuse the
112entered password.  This is useful if you do not want to store a password in
113clear text in a :file:`.pypirc` file.
114
115You can use the ``--sign`` option to tell :command:`upload` to sign each
116uploaded file using GPG (GNU Privacy Guard).  The  :program:`gpg` program must
117be available for execution on the system :envvar:`PATH`.  You can also specify
118which key to use for signing using the ``--identity=name`` option.
119
120See :ref:`package-cmdoptions` for additional options to the :command:`upload`
121command.
122
123
124.. _package-cmdoptions:
125
126Additional command options
127--------------------------
128
129This section describes options common to both the :command:`register` and
130:command:`upload` commands.
131
132The ``--repository`` or ``-r`` option lets you specify a PyPI server
133different from the default.  For example::
134
135    python setup.py sdist bdist_wininst upload -r https://example.com/pypi
136
137For convenience, a name can be used in place of the URL when the
138:file:`.pypirc` file is configured to do so.  For example::
139
140    python setup.py register -r other
141
142See :ref:`pypirc` for more information on defining alternate servers.
143
144The ``--show-response`` option displays the full response text from the PyPI
145server, which is useful when debugging problems with registering and uploading.
146
147
148.. index::
149   single: .pypirc file
150   single: Python Package Index (PyPI); .pypirc file
151
152.. _pypirc:
153
154The ``.pypirc`` file
155--------------------
156
157The :command:`register` and :command:`upload` commands both check for the
158existence of a :file:`.pypirc` file at the location :file:`$HOME/.pypirc`.
159If this file exists, the command uses the username, password, and repository
160URL configured in the file.  The format of a :file:`.pypirc` file is as
161follows::
162
163    [distutils]
164    index-servers =
165        pypi
166
167    [pypi]
168    repository: <repository-url>
169    username: <username>
170    password: <password>
171
172The *distutils* section defines an *index-servers* variable that lists the
173name of all sections describing a repository.
174
175Each section describing a repository defines three variables:
176
177- *repository*, that defines the url of the PyPI server. Defaults to
178    ``https://www.python.org/pypi``.
179- *username*, which is the registered username on the PyPI server.
180- *password*, that will be used to authenticate. If omitted the user
181    will be prompt to type it when needed.
182
183If you want to define another server a new section can be created and
184listed in the *index-servers* variable::
185
186    [distutils]
187    index-servers =
188        pypi
189        other
190
191    [pypi]
192    repository: <repository-url>
193    username: <username>
194    password: <password>
195
196    [other]
197    repository: https://example.com/pypi
198    username: <username>
199    password: <password>
200
201This allows the :command:`register` and :command:`upload` commands to be
202called with the ``--repository`` option as described in
203:ref:`package-cmdoptions`.
204
205Specifically, you might want to add the `PyPI Test Repository
206<https://wiki.python.org/moin/TestPyPI>`_ to your ``.pypirc`` to facilitate
207testing before doing your first upload to ``PyPI`` itself.
208
209
210.. _package-display:
211
212PyPI package display
213====================
214
215The ``long_description`` field plays a special role at PyPI. It is used by
216the server to display a home page for the registered package.
217
218If you use the `reStructuredText <http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html>`_
219syntax for this field, PyPI will parse it and display an HTML output for
220the package home page.
221
222The ``long_description`` field can be attached to a text file located
223in the package::
224
225    from distutils.core import setup
226
227    with open('README.txt') as file:
228        long_description = file.read()
229
230    setup(name='Distutils',
231          long_description=long_description)
232
233In that case, :file:`README.txt` is a regular reStructuredText text file located
234in the root of the package besides :file:`setup.py`.
235
236To prevent registering broken reStructuredText content, you can use the
237:program:`rst2html` program that is provided by the :mod:`docutils` package and
238check the ``long_description`` from the command line:
239
240.. code-block:: shell-session
241
242    $ python setup.py --long-description | rst2html.py > output.html
243
244:mod:`docutils` will display a warning if there's something wrong with your
245syntax.  Because PyPI applies additional checks (e.g. by passing ``--no-raw``
246to ``rst2html.py`` in the command above), being able to run the command above
247without warnings does not guarantee that PyPI will convert the content
248successfully.
249
250
251.. _Python Package Index (PyPI): https://pypi.python.org/pypi
252