How to Package a Python Library as a Zip and Install It via pip

1. Prepare Project Structure

Start with a conventional layout for a library named example_package. The top‑level directory contains the package source, a test suite, documentation, and packaging files.

example_package/
├── example_package/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── module1.py
│   └── module2.py
├── tests/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── test_module1.py
│   └── test_module2.py
├── README.md
├── setup.py
└── requirements.txt

example_package/

– main package directory. tests/ – unit‑test code. README.md – project description. setup.py – packaging and installation configuration. requirements.txt – third‑party dependencies.

2. Write setup.py

The setup.py file is consumed by setuptools to define how the library is built and distributed. Below is a minimal example.

from setuptools import setup, find_packages

setup(
    name='example_package',
    version='0.1',
    packages=find_packages(),
    install_requires=[
        # list dependencies here, e.g. 'requests',
    ],
    include_package_data=True,
    zip_safe=False,
    author='Your Name',
    author_email='[email protected]',
    description='A sample Python library',
    long_description=open('README.md').read(),
    long_description_content_type='text/markdown',
    url='https://github.com/yourusername/example_package',
    classifiers=[
        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
        'License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License',
        'Operating System :: OS Independent',
    ],
    python_requires='>=3.6',
)

3. Write README.md

The README, written in Markdown, provides an overview, installation instructions, and usage examples.

# example_package

This is a sample Python library.

## Installation

Install with pip:

```sh
pip install example_package
```

4. Write Code and Tests

Implement library functionality in module1.py and create matching unit tests.

def some_function():
    return "Hello, World!"

import unittest
from example_package import module1

class TestModule1(unittest.TestCase):
    def test_some_function(self):
        self.assertEqual(module1.some_function(), "Hello, World!")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

5. Build the Distribution

From the project root, run the following command to create a source distribution (sdist). The resulting archive appears in the dist/ folder.

python setup.py sdist

6. Create a Zip Distribution

To generate a zip‑format package, add the --formats=zip option.

python setup.py sdist --formats=zip

This produces dist/example_package-0.1.zip.

7. Publish and Install via pip

Upload the distribution files to PyPI using Twine, then install the package with pip.

twine upload dist/*

pip install example_package

8. Conclusion

By following these eight steps—structuring the project, configuring setup.py, documenting with a README, writing code and tests, building a source and zip distribution, publishing to PyPI, and installing with pip—you can create a zip‑based Python library that other developers can easily install and use.

References

Python official documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/

Setuptools documentation: https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/