pyproject.toml: to register your build tools.README.txt: contains the package description (markdown format).MANIFEST.in: where you put instructions on what extra files you want to include (non-code files).CHANGES.txt: reports the changes of each release.LICENSE.txt: contains the text of the license (for example, MIT).It contains packages, modules, sub-packages, and so on. docs: includes documentation files on how to use the package.package_name: represents the main package.Let's understand what each file in the tree above is used for: The following example shows how a basic Python package can be structured: package_name/ They consist of top-level scripts, documentation, and tests, as well. Packages don't only contain modules, though. It contains logic like classes, functions, and constants.Ī Package is basically a module that could contain many modules or sub-packages. You should now understand that Python packages create a structured directory with several modules, but what about modules? Let's make sure we understand the difference between a package and a module:Ī Module always corresponds to a single Python file turtle.py. If we remove this file, Python will fail to import our modules. The _init_.py is a dependency file that helps Python look for the available modules in our package directory.

The following shows an example of a package directory: package This file can be completely empty and you use it to mark the directory on a disk as a Python package. What is a package in Python?īefore we get started, we should know a package means in Python.Ī Python package is a directory that contains a bunch of modules with a dependency file called _init_.py.

For this reason, I decided to write this tutorial documenting how I built my first Python package. Well, I got confused and a bit stressed trying to find a simple and easy tutorial I could use to get started. A few weeks ago, I wanted to learn how to build my first Python package, and I was trying to figure out where to start.

Setuptools setup