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by Seth Hobsonwshobson/agents40k stars
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Create distributable Python packages with proper project structure, setup.py/pyproject.toml, and publishing to PyPI. Use when packaging Python libraries, creating CLI tools, or distributing Python code.

Use this Skill: https://skilld.dev/gh/wshobson/agents/python-packaging

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referencesdetails.md

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python-packaging — detailed patterns and worked examples

Complete pyproject.toml Examples

Pattern 4: Full-Featured pyproject.toml

[build-system]
requires = ["setuptools>=61.0", "wheel"]
build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"

[project]
name = "my-awesome-package"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "An awesome Python package"
readme = "README.md"
requires-python = ">=3.8"
license = {text = "MIT"}
authors = [
    {name = "Your Name", email = "you@example.com"},
]
maintainers = [
    {name = "Maintainer Name", email = "maintainer@example.com"},
]
keywords = ["example", "package", "awesome"]
classifiers = [
    "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
    "Intended Audience :: Developers",
    "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
]

dependencies = [
    "requests>=2.28.0,<3.0.0",
    "click>=8.0.0",
    "pydantic>=2.0.0",
]

[project.optional-dependencies]
dev = [
    "pytest>=7.0.0",
    "pytest-cov>=4.0.0",
    "black>=23.0.0",
    "ruff>=0.1.0",
    "mypy>=1.0.0",
]
docs = [
    "sphinx>=5.0.0",
    "sphinx-rtd-theme>=1.0.0",
]
all = [
    "my-awesome-package[dev,docs]",
]

[project.urls]
Homepage = "https://github.com/username/my-awesome-package"
Documentation = "https://my-awesome-package.readthedocs.io"
Repository = "https://github.com/username/my-awesome-package"
"Bug Tracker" = "https://github.com/username/my-awesome-package/issues"
Changelog = "https://github.com/username/my-awesome-package/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md"

[project.scripts]
my-cli = "my_package.cli:main"
awesome-tool = "my_package.tools:run"

[project.entry-points."my_package.plugins"]
plugin1 = "my_package.plugins:plugin1"

[tool.setuptools]
package-dir = {"" = "src"}
zip-safe = false

[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
where = ["src"]
include = ["my_package*"]
exclude = ["tests*"]

[tool.setuptools.package-data]
my_package = ["py.typed", "*.pyi", "data/*.json"]

# Black configuration
[tool.black]
line-length = 100
target-version = ["py38", "py39", "py310", "py311"]
include = '\.pyi?$'

# Ruff configuration
[tool.ruff]
line-length = 100
target-version = "py38"

[tool.ruff.lint]
select = ["E", "F", "I", "N", "W", "UP"]

# MyPy configuration
[tool.mypy]
python_version = "3.8"
warn_return_any = true
warn_unused_configs = true
disallow_untyped_defs = true

# Pytest configuration
[tool.pytest.ini_options]
testpaths = ["tests"]
python_files = ["test_*.py"]
addopts = "-v --cov=my_package --cov-report=term-missing"

# Coverage configuration
[tool.coverage.run]
source = ["src"]
omit = ["*/tests/*"]

[tool.coverage.report]
exclude_lines = [
    "pragma: no cover",
    "def __repr__",
    "raise AssertionError",
    "raise NotImplementedError",
]

Pattern 5: Dynamic Versioning

[build-system]
requires = ["setuptools>=61.0", "setuptools-scm>=8.0"]
build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"

[project]
name = "my-package"
dynamic = ["version"]
description = "Package with dynamic version"

[tool.setuptools.dynamic]
version = {attr = "my_package.__version__"}

# Or use setuptools-scm for git-based versioning
[tool.setuptools_scm]
write_to = "src/my_package/_version.py"

In init.py:

# src/my_package/__init__.py
__version__ = "1.0.0"

# Or with setuptools-scm
from importlib.metadata import version
__version__ = version("my-package")

Command-Line Interface (CLI) Patterns

Pattern 6: CLI with Click

# src/my_package/cli.py
import click

@click.group()
@click.version_option()
def cli():
    """My awesome CLI tool."""
    pass

@cli.command()
@click.argument("name")
@click.option("--greeting", default="Hello", help="Greeting to use")
def greet(name: str, greeting: str):
    """Greet someone."""
    click.echo(f"{greeting}, {name}!")

@cli.command()
@click.option("--count", default=1, help="Number of times to repeat")
def repeat(count: int):
    """Repeat a message."""
    for i in range(count):
        click.echo(f"Message {i + 1}")

def main():
    """Entry point for CLI."""
    cli()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Register in pyproject.toml:

[project.scripts]
my-tool = "my_package.cli:main"

Usage:

pip install -e .
my-tool greet World
my-tool greet Alice --greeting="Hi"
my-tool repeat --count=3

Pattern 7: CLI with argparse

# src/my_package/cli.py
import argparse
import sys

def main():
    """Main CLI entry point."""
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="My awesome tool",
        prog="my-tool"
    )

    parser.add_argument(
        "--version",
        action="version",
        version="%(prog)s 1.0.0"
    )

    subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", help="Commands")

    # Add subcommand
    process_parser = subparsers.add_parser("process", help="Process data")
    process_parser.add_argument("input_file", help="Input file path")
    process_parser.add_argument(
        "--output", "-o",
        default="output.txt",
        help="Output file path"
    )

    args = parser.parse_args()

    if args.command == "process":
        process_data(args.input_file, args.output)
    else:
        parser.print_help()
        sys.exit(1)

def process_data(input_file: str, output_file: str):
    """Process data from input to output."""
    print(f"Processing {input_file} -> {output_file}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Building and Publishing

Pattern 8: Build Package Locally

# Install build tools
pip install build twine

# Build distribution
python -m build

# This creates:
# dist/
#   my-package-1.0.0.tar.gz (source distribution)
#   my_package-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl (wheel)

# Check the distribution
twine check dist/*

Pattern 9: Publishing to PyPI

# Install publishing tools
pip install twine

# Test on TestPyPI first
twine upload --repository testpypi dist/*

# Install from TestPyPI to test
pip install --index-url https://test.pypi.org/simple/ my-package

# If all good, publish to PyPI
twine upload dist/*

Using API tokens (recommended):

# Create ~/.pypirc
[distutils]
index-servers =
    pypi
    testpypi

[pypi]
username = __token__
password = pypi-...your-token...

[testpypi]
username = __token__
password = pypi-...your-test-token...

Pattern 10: Automated Publishing with GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/publish.yml
name: Publish to PyPI

on:
  release:
    types: [created]

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: "3.11"

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          pip install build twine

      - name: Build package
        run: python -m build

      - name: Check package
        run: twine check dist/*

      - name: Publish to PyPI
        env:
          TWINE_USERNAME: __token__
          TWINE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
        run: twine upload dist/*

For advanced patterns including data files, namespace packages, C extensions, version management, testing installation, documentation templates, and distribution workflows, see references/advanced-patterns.md

Source: SKILL.md on GitHub

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    This skill is a comprehensive guide to Python packaging. It provides templates and best practices for creating, building, and distributing Python libraries and CLI tools using standard industry tools like setuptools, build, and twine. No security issues were detected.

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Signed by skilld at be57c0b. This ties the file your Agent reads to that commit on GitHub. It does not review the instructions.

Last checked against GitHub 3 days ago.

Activeupdated 4 months ago
  • Python
  • CLI
  • packaging
  • pypi
  • setuptools
  • pyproject.toml
  • distribution
  • wheels
  • pep-517
  • metadata

README badge

README badge for wshobson/agents/python-packaging

Instructs Claude and other AI agents on creating and distributing Python packages using modern standards like pyproject.toml, setuptools, and PyPI. Covers package structure patterns (source layout, flat layout, multi-package), build backends, and publishing workflows.

Generated from the current SKILL.md.

Does this skill cover publishing to PyPI?
Yes. The skill includes publishing to PyPI, TestPyPI, and private repositories like JFrog and AWS CodeArtifact.
Which build backends does this skill support?
The skill covers setuptools, hatchling, flit, and poetry. setuptools is the traditional choice; hatchling and flit are modern alternatives; poetry handles both packaging and dependency management.
What Python versions does this cover?
The skill teaches how to specify minimum Python versions via requires-python in pyproject.toml. The minimal example shows Python 3.8+, but you set your own requirements.
Does this cover CLI tools with entry points?
Yes. The skill lists building command-line tools with entry points as a core use case, though specific entry point syntax is in the detailed pattern documentation.
What's the recommended package structure?
Source layout (src/package_name/) is recommended. It prevents accidentally importing from source and provides better isolation than flat layout.

Generated from the current SKILL.md. These answers refresh after source changes.