QUESTION: meta.yaml build:entry_points and setup.py entry_points

[johnflavin]

I have a question about an interaction between conda build and the underlying package build tool when both define an entry point. The purpose of defining the entry point is to create a minimal script that will pass CLI args into a python function. But which tool creates the script? conda-build or pip/setuptools/whatever packaging tool you're using? And in particular, how does the correct shebang in the final installed script get generated?

For a concrete example, I'm looking at metaflow. Its meta.yaml defines an entry_point, and its setup.py also defines the same entry point.

1. When conda build is run, the source is downloaded and the build script {{ PYTHON }} -m pip install . -vv is run.
2. I think that would create the entrypoint script.
3. But then when conda build's post packaging step kicks in, what happens? Does it make a new entrypoint script based on the definition in meta.yaml? Does it leave the old one in place and modify its shebang line? Something else?

[github-actions]

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Thanks!

[LourensVeen]

For anyone else finding this, I have a similar setup and it appears that conda build overwrites the pip-created entrypoint script with its own. This is required, because pip will create an entrypoint script with a shebang line that hardcodes the location of the Python interpreter in the build environment. This environment is deleted once the package is built, leaving a broken script.

Conda creates one that has the usual #!/usr/bin/env python line, which will find the Python interpreter in the currently active Conda environment, which is exactly what you want if you've installed the package.

Debugging tip: Make sure your entry point is under build/entry_points, not under requirements/entry_points or requirements/build/entry_points. Tripped me up 😄.