pip-wheel-metadata configurable

[gaborbernat]

At the moment pip generates a pip-wheel-metadata folder right alongside the setup.py. Can we move this to some other temporary folder via some flag/environment variable to not pollute the project source directory once someone does a pip install .? Thanks!

[pradyunsg]

@pfmoore https://github.com/pypa/pip/pull/5743/files#r215839698?

[pfmoore]

@pradyunsg Yeah, looks like that comment got missed, sorry!

[gaborbernat]

I would like this to be not hardcoded from my end. E.g. inside tox I would like to move it into some VCS ignored internal folder.

[pradyunsg]

@pradyunsg Yeah, looks like that comment got missed, sorry!

No worries. ;)

It's not too late to change it IMO.

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@gaborbernat Would build/pip-wheel-metadata/ not work for your usecase? If so, why?

[gaborbernat]

I like to my working directory clean, and adding a build folder into it is part of this. By default could be there but if not a big trouble let's allow for the user to move it to some other folder that exists (e.g. .tox).

[pradyunsg]

Well, setuptools builds will result in a build/ folder when building, so it's not going to result in an extra directory then.

It's already in most .gitignore files so I think it'll be okay (much like dist/* is a convention for final build artifacts, build/* could be for intermediate ones).

[gaborbernat]

But what if I'm not using setuptools?

[gaborbernat]

tox e.g. uses .tox/dist for final build artifacts. I'm fine with having inside builds by default, but let's keep this configurable at least via some environment variable.

[pradyunsg]

Cool cool -- I'm not opposed to keeping it configurable; I just want to avoid adding too many knobs. :)

(should've stated this earlier)

[gaborbernat]

I agree, that's why I suggested the environment variable (to make it a more subtle knob) than an extra CLI flag. it's meant more for tools building on top of pip and advanced users.

[pradyunsg]

I'd prefer to add a CLI option that's hidden -- it'll use the existing setup so won't be a special case in any form. :)

[pradyunsg]

@pfmoore Does the above sound OK to you?

[pfmoore]

I have no problem with that - it seems like more complication than I'd expected to need to make the location configurable, but given that @gaborbernat has a concrete use case for it, we should support it.

[On a broader note, I'm concerned about how many configuration settings pip is growing - we're already seeing problems from unexpected interactions between options that we'd never considered, so I'd prefer caution when adding more, but there's no reason to deny this specific request over a vague and general "concern"]