build

build

A simple, correct Python build frontend.

See the documentation for more information.

Installation

build can be installed via pip or an equivalent via:

$ pip install build

Usage

$ python -m build

This will build the package in an isolated environment, generating a source-distribution and wheel in the directory dist/. See the documentation for full information.

Common arguments

• --sdist (-s): Produce just an SDist
• --wheel (-w): Produce just a wheel
• -C<option>=<value>: A Config-setting, the PEP 517 way of passing options to a backend. Can be passed multiple times. Matching options will make a list. Note that setuptools has very limited support.
• --installer: Pick an installer for the isolated build (pip or uv).
• --no-isolation (-n): Disable build isolation.
• --skip-dependency-check (-x): Disable dependency checking when not isolated; this should be done if some requirements or version ranges are not required for non-isolated builds.
• --outdir (-o): The output directory (defaults to dist`)

Some common combinations of arguments:

• --sdist --wheel (-sw): Produce and SDist and a wheel, both from the source distribution. The default (if no flag is passed) is to build an SDist and then build a wheel from the SDist.
• -nx: Disable build isolation and dependency checking. Identical to pip and uv's --no-build-isolation flag.

Integration with other tools

pipx

If you use pipx, such as in GitHub Actions, the following command will download and run build in one step:

$ pipx run build

uv

If you want to use uv to speed up the virtual environment creation, you can use --installer=uv. You can get a Python wheel for uv with the [uv] extra. Combining both suggestions yields the following:

$ pipx run build[uv] --installer=uv

cibuildwheel

If you are using cibuildwheel, build is integrated and can be use with either (in your pyproject.toml):

[tool.cibuildwheel]
build-frontend = "build"

or

[tool.cibuildwheel]
build-frontend = "build[uv]"

(Be sure to pre-install uv before running cibuildwheel for this one!)

Code of Conduct

Everyone interacting in the build's codebase, issue trackers, chat rooms, and mailing lists is expected to follow the PSF Code of Conduct.