Why does “python setup.py sdist” create unwanted “PROJECT-egg.info” in project root directory?

Question

When I run

  python setup.py sdist

it creates an sdist in my ./dist directory. This includes a \"PROJECT-egg.info\" file in the zip inside

Answer 1

The -egg.info folder isn't always a temporary artifact you can delete.

For example, if you use pip install -e YOURPACKAGE for an "editable" install (works via symlink like python setup.py develop so you don't have to re-install a package every time you edit it locally), the -egg.info folder is required at runtime when your package is imported in another source. If it doesn't exist, you will get a DistributionNotFound error.