Give a clear recommendation on what sdists should contain

[jeanas]

There is currently confusion in the ecosystem around what sdists should contain, and specifically

• whether they should contain tests and documentation
• whether they should contain auxiliary files (e.g., maintenance scripts)

This is an issue for downstream packagers, who normally want at least the tests. If sdists should contain tests, downstream packagers should be able to use sdists from PyPI and sdists which currently do not contain tests should be changed by upstream authors. If sdists should not contain tests, packagers should migrate to using upstream sources like VCS checkouts.

There has been no real consensus so far, AFAICS. The discussions were

https://discuss.python.org/t/should-sdists-include-docs-and-tests/14578

and

https://discuss.python.org/t/sdists-for-pure-python-projects/25191/40

Once a consensus is reached, it should be reflected in the guide.

[sinoroc]

Maybe it is not something where a consensus can be reached. Maybe this document (guide or discussion?) could expose the different established practices with some pros and cons, and also with the (current) preferences of the various downstream packagers.

[webknjaz]

Exactly. I'm in the camp of having downstream-friendly sdists and even have a GHA to facilitate that.

[jeanas]

Maybe it is not something where a consensus can be reached.

Maybe, but I am personally more optimistic.

[chrysle]

If sdists should contain tests, downstream packagers should be able to use sdists from PyPI and sdists which currently do not contain tests should be changed by upstream authors.

Of Debian packaging at least I know that it requires complete copies of the underlying project's source tree. That might not be a rare exception.

[webknjaz]

Gentoo and Fedora have helpers/macros for getting sdists from the PyPI. I think Arch does too. Some others borrow helpers from other distros.
Through, I've seen exceptions of reverting to using Git in some cases.

[webknjaz]

It was brought up in another discussion that it'd be nice to have backends include files in an independent manner, which is a good idea, in my opinion.

One of the plugins, setuptools-scm, does just that, for example.

[merwok]

What does it mean to include files in an independent manner?

[webknjaz]

@merwok could you clarify what the question is?

[jeanas]

I have the same question: what do you mean in your comment above by including files “in an independent manner”? Independent of what?

[chrysle]

I have the same question: what do you mean in your comment above by including files “in an independent manner”?

I guess ensuring all relevant files are included in the sdist per backend is meant, in this case setuptools-scm's file_finders hook, independent from the build tool.