zc.buildout

5.2.0 verified Fri May 01 auth: no python

A powerful build system for managing development buildouts, automating setup of projects with multiple components. Version 5.2.0, with a stable release every few years.

pip install zc.buildout

Common errors

error ImportError: No module named buildout ↓

cause Incorrect import statement; using 'import buildout' instead of 'import zc.buildout'.

fix

Change to 'import zc.buildout'.

error AttributeError: module 'zc.buildout' has no attribute 'Buildout' ↓

cause Old version of zc.buildout (<5.0) had Buildout class in a different location, or incorrect import path.

fix

Use 'from zc.buildout import Buildout' and ensure you're using zc.buildout >=5.0. For older versions, see documentation.

error ConfigParser.InterpolationSyntaxError: '%' must be followed by '%' or '(', found: '%(' ↓

cause Buildout config files use '%(...)s' substitution, but the parser interprets '%' specially.

fix

Escape '%' as '%%' in values where '%' is literal, e.g., 'url = http://example.com%%path'.

Warnings

breaking In version 5.0.0, the 'download-cache' option was removed. Use 'download-directory' instead. ↓

fix Replace 'download-cache = ...' with 'download-directory = ...' in buildout.cfg.

breaking Python 3.9+ required as of 5.0.0. Python 2.7 and older 3.x are no longer supported. ↓

fix Ensure you have Python >= 3.9 installed.

gotcha The 'zc.buildout' package installs the 'buildout' console script, but importing 'buildout' in Python gives a different package. Always import 'zc.buildout'. ↓

fix Use 'import zc.buildout' and ensure the namespace package 'zc' is installed.

deprecated The 'develop' recipe (zc.recipe.devel) is deprecated in favor of 'pip install -e' within the buildout environment. ↓

fix Use the 'pip' recipe or manual 'pip install -e .' inside the buildout environment.

Imports

buildout
wrong
```
import buildout
```
correct
```
import zc.buildout
```
'buildout' is a separate package on PyPI; the top-level module is inside the 'zc' namespace.

Buildout

wrong

from buildout import Buildout

correct

from zc.buildout import Buildout

Wrong top-level import due to namespace.

Quickstart

Programmatic invocation of buildout; typically invoked via the 'bin/buildout' script.

import zc.buildout
import os

# Basic usage: run from a directory with a buildout.cfg
if os.path.exists('buildout.cfg'):
    buildout = zc.buildout.Buildout(os.getcwd())
    buildout.install(None)
else:
    print('No buildout.cfg found; create one first.')
print('Buildout ran successfully.')