How can I tell 'setup.py' to include files from my root directory for the built distribution?

Question

I have a typical project structure that looks like this:

/project/ 
  README.md
  CONTRIBUTING.md
  LICENSE
  setup.py
  requirements.txt
  project/
    some_project_file
  docs/
    some_docs_file
  tests/
    some_tests_file

When running python setup.py sdist bdisst_wheel, the resulting distribution in the created 'dist' folder contains everything but the 'CONTRIBUTING', 'LICENSE', and 'requirements.txt' files. Is it possible to have these files from my root directory included in the built distribution?

Possible duplicate of [How to include package data with setuptools/distribute?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7522250/how-to-include-package-data-with-setuptools-distribute) — phd, Aug 20 '19 at 20:54
https://stackoverflow.com/search?q=%5Bsetuptools%5D+include+data+files — phd, Aug 20 '19 at 20:54

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 20 '19 at 17:34

2

Create a MANIFEST.in file with the content like:

include LICENSE
include CONTRIBUTING.md
include requirements.txt

answered Aug 20 '19 at 17:34

ipaleka

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1

this works for source distribution; not for binary distributions though – Chaitanya Bapat Jan 07 '21 at 21:25
@ChaitanyaBapat: Binary distributions do not (and should not) include files outside their module's packages. – MestreLion Feb 23 '21 at 12:33
1

why shouldnt binary distributions include license file? – Chaitanya Bapat Feb 24 '21 at 06:14

How can I tell 'setup.py' to include files from my root directory for the built distribution?

1 Answers1