Before deploying a package with python setup.py install, it's a good idea to launch the tests with python setup.py test.

This command can be used as well to quickly launch tests within a package that is being developed. Since setuptools can be extended, other commands can be added to be launched from the setup script, while you work in your package.

I have created for example a qa command that launches pyflakes over the package code, to make sure I don't leave unused import. I could have used a direct pyflakes call, but my QAs test are going to grow so keeping the QA script details under a python setup.py qa call is a good practice. This will also make buildbot integration easier, as I can check for package QA through an unified serie of calls, that plays with the package setup.py script.

Commands are simple class that derives from setuptools.Command, and define some minimum elements, which are:
- description: describe the command - user_options: a list of options - initialize_options(): called at startup - finalize_options(): called at the end - run(): called to run the command

The setuptools doc is still empty about subclassing Command, but a minimal class will look like this:

 class MyCommand(Command):

     """setuptools Command"""

     description = "run my command"

     user_options = tuple()


    def initialize_options(self):

         """init options"""

         pass



     def finalize_options(self):

         """finalize options"""

         pass



     def run(self):

         """runner"""

         XXX DO THE JOB HERE

The class can then be hook as a command, using an entry point in its setup.py file:

 setup(

     # ...

     entry_points = {

     "distutils.commands": [

     "my_command = mypackage.some_module:MyCommand"]}

 )

This will add an entry point when the package is installed, so you can run your new command this way:

 python setup.py my_command

You can give a try of my qa example by installing my eggchecker package:

 easy_install http://programmation-python.org/pycommunity/eggchecker-0.1.tgz

That's merely a draft, but will show you how pyflakes is launched within the setup.py script.