How should I handle importing third-party libraries within my setup.py script?

Question

I\'m developing a Python application and in the process of branching off a release. I\'ve got a PyPI server set up on a company server and I\'ve copied a source distribution

Answer 1

You could use pip to install the package programmatically if the import fails:

try:
    import appdirs
except ImportError:
    import pip
    pip.main(['install', 'appdirs'])
    import appdirs

In some circumstances you may need to use importlib or __import__ to import the package after pip.main or referesh the PATH variable. It could also be worthwhile to include a verification if the user really wants to install that package before installing it.

I used a lot of the examples from "Installing python module within code" and I haven't personally tried used this in setup.py files but it looks like it could be a solution for your question.