Create a new package in python called pypi

• PEP: 373
• Title: Create a new package in python called pypi
• Author: Tarek Ziadé
• Discussions-To: Distutils SIG
• Status: Draft
• Python-Version: 2.6

Abstract

This PEP describes how the commands that are used to register and upload a package to PyPI can be extracted from distutils and put in a new independant package in Python called pypi, that would also describe the PyPI protocol.

Motivation

distutils is responsible for too many things, and the register and upload commands are completely standalone. In other words they can be extracted from distutils and placed into a new package that would also describe the protocol used by the PyPI server.

Secondly, there are a lot interactions in those two commands. They are interacting with the user when the .pypirc file is created, and they implement an authentication mecanism that push the user login and password values into the HTTP request. This is done by reading a clear text password in .pypirc.

The users have to call a very precise sequence of commandw with setup.py in order to upload or even upgrade their packages.

Let's improve all of this by:

• improving password handling
• improving metadata controls
• providing a command line utility, independantly from setup.py
• clearly describe the PyPI protocol

The last point would let anyone implement this protocol for the client-side or the server-side, by using this package as a base.

Improving password handling

Currently, the password is in clear text. Let's add a new variable in the .pypirc file that would let the user define what kind of hash he wants to use, from:

• clear
• md5
• sha1

By default the password would be in clear text, but this could be configured in pypirc for each password with a prefix to the password value when it is not in clear text.

[distutils]
...

[pypi]
user=tarek
password=sha1:Xfsg434
...

A default value could be defined in the main section

[distutils]
...
default-hash=sah1
...

And the command-line utility describe later in this PEP could use it to interact with the user if he wants to change his password.

Improving metadata controls

When a package is uploaded at PyPI, there are several things that can be done on the client-side in order to control it.

• make sure the long_description compiles if it is written in reST
• make sure the author_email is the same that the email of the PyPI account in usage

A new variable in .pypirc can be added in order to block a registration or an upload if the metadata does not meet the minimum requirements:

[distutils]
...
strict-verification=true
...

From there, the command line utility will be able to decide if it should continue or not.

Providing a command line utility, independantly from setup.py

Let's drop the setup.py command line to register and upload a package. The pypi module can handle this as long as the package is pointed. A high-level script can be provided in the Scripts/ folder of Python, and a developer can use it to control, register or upload a package.

Here's a example

    $ cd my.package
    $ pypi check
    Checking metadata...
    Warning : The 'url' metadata is missing
    Warning: The long_description seem to be in reStructuredText, 
    but does not compile

    $ pypi register -r tarek
    Registering the package using "tarek" account in .pypirc
    ...
    Registered !

    $ pypi upload 
    What kind of release do you want to upload ?
    Available releases:
        sdist   Source release
        bdist   Binary release
        ....

    Type the desired released, separated by a space [sdist] : _

The pypi command could also let you browse PyPI, like the Yolk project does (see http://pypi.python.org/pypi/yolk)

Browsing capabilities using PyPI XML-RPC features : XXX

Clearly describe the PyPI protocol

XXX TBD

How ?

A first refactoring was made a few months ago to allow users to handle several PyPI logins and servers in .pypirc (http://bugs.python.org/issue1858) and the code responsible for .pypirc managment and for handling the registering and the upload were isolated.

The first action would be to create a new package called pypi and to copy the code from distutils, in order to make it work on its own.

The files to use are:

• distutils/config.py : the base class that handles .pypirc
• distutils/commands/register.py : the command that registers a package
• distutils/commands/upload.py : the command that uploads a package

We can add deprecated flags into distutils, just to warn people to use the new module instead.