Python Packaging Files Explained | Generated by AI

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Question: What are MANIFEST.in and setup.py in Python, and how do they work?

Answer:

In Python, when creating distributable packages (e.g., uploading to PyPI or sharing code), two important files are commonly used with the older setup.py-based packaging system (still widely used, though moving toward pyproject.toml):

1. setup.py

• Purpose: This is the build script for your Python package. It tells Python’s packaging tools (like setuptools) how to install, build, or distribute your project.
• How it works: You run commands like:

  python setup.py sdist    # creates a source distribution (tar.gz)
  python setup.py bdist_wheel  # creates a wheel (.whl)
  python setup.py install   # installs the package locally
  

• Common contents (example):

  from setuptools import setup, find_packages
  
  setup(
      name="my-awesome-package",
      version="1.0.0",
      author="Your Name",
      author_email="you@example.com",
      description="A short description",
      packages=find_packages(),  # automatically finds packages with __init__.py
      install_requires=[
          "requests>=2.25",
          "numpy",
      ],
      python_requires=">=3.8",
      entry_points={
          "console_scripts": [
              "mycommand=my_package.cli:main",
          ]
      },
  )
  

• This file is executed as a Python script when building or installing the package.

2. MANIFEST.in

• Purpose: Controls which additional files (not Python code) get included in the source distribution (sdist) created by setup.py sdist.
• By default, setuptools includes:
  • All .py files
  • setup.py, pyproject.toml, etc.
• But it does NOT automatically include things like:
  • README.md, LICENSE, data files, templates, docs, tests, etc.

• MANIFEST.in fixes that.

• How it works: It’s a simple text file with declarative commands (one per line).

• Common examples (MANIFEST.in):

  include README.md
  include LICENSE
  include requirements.txt
  recursive-include src *.txt *.json
  recursive-include docs *
  include tests/*
  graft data_files          # include entire directory
  global-exclude *.pyc      # exclude all .pyc files
  global-exclude __pycache__
  

• When you run python setup.py sdist, setuptools:
  1. Reads MANIFEST.in
  2. Generates a MANIFEST file listing all files to include
  3. Creates the .tar.gz with exactly those files

Summary of How They Work Together

Step	File Used	Result
Define package metadata & dependencies	setup.py	Required for install/build
Specify non-Python files to include in source tarball	MANIFEST.in	Only affects sdist (source distribution)
Build a source distribution	python setup.py sdist	Uses both files

Modern Alternative (Recommended since 2020+)

Use pyproject.toml + setuptools declarative config instead of setup.py and MANIFEST.in:

# pyproject.toml
[build-system]
requires = ["setuptools>=61", "wheel"]
build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"

[project]
name = "my-package"
# ... metadata ...

[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
where = ["src"]

[tool.setuptools.package-data]
"my_package" = ["*.txt", "data/*.json"]

This avoids MANIFEST.in entirely and makes packaging cleaner.

In short:

• setup.py → the brain of your package (metadata, dependencies, build logic)
• MANIFEST.in → the packing list for extra files in source distributions

Both are still common in legacy projects, but new projects should prefer pyproject.toml.

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