Conda Skeleton: Understanding the Absence of build.sh and bld.bat Files

Conda Skeleton: Understanding the Absence of build.sh and bld.bat Files

When working with Conda, a popular package, dependency, and environment management system, you may have encountered a situation where the conda skeleton command does not produce build.sh and bld.bat files, but only a meta.yaml file. This blog post will delve into the reasons behind this occurrence and provide solutions to ensure a smooth package building process.

Understanding Conda Skeleton

Before we dive into the issue at hand, let’s briefly recap what conda skeleton does. This command is a utility that helps you create a Conda package from an existing Python package available on PyPI. It generates a recipe, which is a directory containing all the files needed to build a package. The recipe typically includes a meta.yaml file, which contains the metadata about the package, and build.sh and bld.bat files, which are the build scripts for Unix and Windows, respectively.

The Absence of build.sh and bld.bat

However, you might have noticed that sometimes, conda skeleton only generates a meta.yaml file and not the build.sh and bld.bat files. This is not a bug, but rather a feature of Conda. The reason is that many Python packages are pure Python, meaning they do not contain any compiled code (C, C++, Fortran, etc.). For these packages, the build process is straightforward and does not require a separate script. The necessary build commands are included in the meta.yaml file under the build/script section.

What to Do When You Need build.sh or bld.bat

If your package does contain compiled code and you need a build.sh or bld.bat file, you can create them manually. Here’s a basic example of what these files might look like:

# build.sh
$PYTHON setup.py install --single-version-externally-managed --record=record.txt

:: bld.bat
"%PYTHON%" setup.py install --single-version-externally-managed --record=record.txt

These scripts use the setup.py file in your package to perform the build. The --single-version-externally-managed option is used with packages that use setuptools, indicating that the package is managed by conda and not by easy_install or pip. The --record=record.txt option creates a record of all the files installed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the absence of build.sh and bld.bat files when running conda skeleton is not a cause for concern. It’s a feature designed to simplify the package building process for pure Python packages. However, if your package does contain compiled code, you can easily create these files manually.

Remember, Conda is a powerful tool for managing packages and environments, and understanding its nuances can help you use it more effectively. Happy coding!

Keywords

• Conda
• Conda Skeleton
• Python Packages
• Build.sh
• Bld.bat
• Meta.yaml
• Package Building
• Compiled Code
• Setup.py
• Single-version-externally-managed
• Record.txt

Meta Description

Learn why the conda skeleton command sometimes only generates a meta.yaml file and not build.sh and bld.bat files, and what to do if you need these files.

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