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that lets you automatically download, build, install, and manage Python
packages.
 
(Please share your experiences with us! Whether you encountered success or
difficulty installing a particular package, please add your notes to the
`Experience Reports <http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PackageNotes>`_
page. You'll need to register for a Wiki ID if you don't already have one; you
can do that from the `User Preferences
<http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/UserPreferences>`_ page. Thanks!)
Please share your experiences with us! If you encounter difficulty installing
a package, please contact us via the `distutils mailing list
<http://mail.python.org/pipermail/distutils-sig/>`_. (Note: please DO NOT send
private email directly to the author of setuptools; it will be discarded. The
mailing list is a searchable archive of previously-asked and answered
questions; you should begin your research there before reporting something as a
bug -- and then do so via list discussion first.)
 
(Also, if you'd like to learn about how you can use ``setuptools`` to make your
own packages work better with EasyInstall, or provide EasyInstall-like features

Installing "Easy Install"
-------------------------
 
If you are behind an NTLM-based firewall that prevents Python programs from
accessing the net directly, you may wish to first install and use the `APS
proxy server <http://ntlmaps.sf.net/>`_, which lets you get past such firewalls
in the same way that your web browser(s) do.
 
If you do not have write access to your computer's ``site-packages`` directory,
please also see the section below on `Non-Root Installation`_ for more detailed
instructions on pre-configuring your system for the best usability with
EasyInstall, then return here for the remaining steps.
 
Download `ez_setup.py <http://peak.telecommunity.com/dist/ez_setup.py>`_, and
run it; this will download and install the appropriate ``setuptools`` egg for
your Python version. (You will need at least Python 2.3.5, or if you are on a
64-bit platform, Python 2.4.)
 
 
You may receive a message telling you about an obsolete version of
setuptools being present; if so, you must be sure to delete it entirely, along
with the old ``pkg_resources`` module if it's present on ``sys.path``.
Please see the `setuptools PyPI page <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/setuptools>`_
for download links and basic installation instructions for each of the
supported platforms.
 
An ``easy_install`` script will be installed in the normal location for
You will need at least Python 2.3.5, or if you are on a 64-bit platform, Python
2.4. An ``easy_install`` script will be installed in the normal location for
Python scripts on your platform.
 
(Note: the ``ez_setup.py`` script accepts the same `Command-Line Options`_ and
`Configuration Files`_ as ``easy_install`` itself, so you can use them to
control its behavior. However, you should avoid using a custom installation
directory or doing multi-version installs of the setuptools package, because
this may make it impossible for scripts installed with EasyInstall to access
it afterwards.)
Note that the instructions on the setuptools PyPI page assume that you are
are installling to Python's primary ``site-packages`` directory. If this is
not the case, you should consult the section below on `Custom Installation
Locations`_ before installing. (And, on Windows, you should not use the
``.exe`` installer when installing to an alternate location.)
 
Note that ``easy_install`` normally works by downloading files from the
internet. If you are behind an NTLM-based firewall that prevents Python
programs from accessing the net directly, you may wish to first install and use
the `APS proxy server <http://ntlmaps.sf.net/>`_, which lets you get past such
firewalls in the same way that your web browser(s) do.
 
(Alternately, if you do not wish easy_install to actually download anything, you
can restrict it from doing so with the ``--allow-hosts`` option; see the
sections on `restricting downloads with --allow-hosts`_ and `command-line
options`_ for more details.)
 
 
Troubleshooting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If EasyInstall/setuptools appears to install correctly, and you can run the
``easy_install`` command but it fails with an ``ImportError``, the most likely
cause is that you installed to a location other than ``site-packages``,
without taking any of the steps described in the `Custom Installation
Locations`_ section below. Please see that section and follow the steps to
make sure that your custom location will work correctly. Then re-install.
 
Similarly, if you can run ``easy_install``, and it appears to be installing
packages, but then you can't import them, the most likely issue is that you
installed EasyInstall correctly but are using it to install packages to a
non-standard location that hasn't been properly prepared. Again, see the
section on `Custom Installation Locations`_ for more details.
 
 
Windows Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Windows Notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
On Windows, an ``easy_install.exe`` launcher will also be installed, so that
you can just type ``easy_install`` as long as it's on your ``PATH``. If typing

most current versions of Windows, you can change the ``PATH`` by right-clicking
"My Computer", choosing "Properties" and selecting the "Advanced" tab, then
clicking the "Environment Variables" button. ``PATH`` will be in the "System
Variables" section, and you will probably need to reboot for the change to take
effect. Be sure to add a ``;`` after the last item on ``PATH`` before adding
the scripts directory to it.
Variables" section, and you will need to exit and restart your command shell
(command.com, cmd.exe, bash, or other) for the change to take effect. Be sure
to add a ``;`` after the last item on ``PATH`` before adding the scripts
directory to it.
 
Note that instead of changing your ``PATH`` to include the Python scripts
directory, you can also retarget the installation location for scripts so they

control where ``easy_install.exe`` will be installed.
 
 
 
Downloading and Installing a Package
------------------------------------
 

installed package. You can override this using the ``-s`` or ``--script-dir``
option.
 
Packages installed to ``site-packages`` are added to an ``easy-install.pth``
file, so that Python will always use the most-recently-installed version of
the package. If you would like to be able to select which version to use at
Installed packages are added to an ``easy-install.pth`` file in the install
directory, so that Python will always use the most-recently-installed version
of the package. If you would like to be able to select which version to use at
runtime, you should use the ``-m`` or ``--multi-version`` option.
 
Note, however, that installing to a directory other than ``site-packages``
already implies the ``-m`` option, so if you cannot install to
``site-packages``, please see the `Command-Line Options`_ section below (under
``--multi-version``) to find out how to select packages at runtime.
 
 
Upgrading a Package
-------------------

 
    easy_install my_downloads/ExamplePackage-2.0.tgz
 
If you're using ``-m`` or ``--multi`` (or installing outside of
``site-packages``), using the ``require()`` function at runtime automatically
selects the newest installed version of a package that meets your version
criteria. So, installing a newer version is the only step needed to upgrade
such packages.
 
If you're installing to Python's ``site-packages`` directory (and not
using ``-m``), installing a package automatically replaces any previous version
in the ``easy-install.pth`` file, so that Python will import the most-recently
installed version by default. So, again, installing the newer version is the
only upgrade step needed.
If you're using ``-m`` or ``--multi-version`` , using the ``require()``
function at runtime automatically selects the newest installed version of a
package that meets your version criteria. So, installing a newer version is
the only step needed to upgrade such packages.
 
If you're installing to a directory on PYTHONPATH, or a configured "site"
directory (and not using ``-m``), installing a package automatically replaces
any previous version in the ``easy-install.pth`` file, so that Python will
import the most-recently installed version by default. So, again, installing
the newer version is the only upgrade step needed.
 
If you haven't suppressed script installation (using ``--exclude-scripts`` or
``-x``), then the upgraded version's scripts will be installed, and they will
be automatically patched to ``require()`` the corresponding version of the
package, so that you can use them even if not installing to ``site-packages``.
package, so that you can use them even if they are installed in multi-version
mode.
 
``easy_install`` never actually deletes packages (unless you're installing a
package with the same name and version number as an existing package), so if

Packages`_, below.
 
 
Changing the Active Version (``site-packages`` installs only)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Changing the Active Version
---------------------------
 
If you've upgraded a package, but need to revert to a previously-installed
version, you can do so like this::

If you want to delete the currently installed version of a package (or all
versions of a package), you should first run::
 
    easy_install -m PackageName
    easy_install -mxN PackageName
 
This will ensure that Python doesn't continue to search for a package you're
planning to remove. After you've done this, you can safely delete the .egg

recently-installed version of the package.)
 
 
 
Tips & Techniques
-----------------
 
 
Multiple Python Versions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
As of version 0.6a11, EasyInstall installs itself under two names:
``easy_install`` and ``easy_install-N.N``, where ``N.N`` is the Python version
used to install it. Thus, if you install EasyInstall for both Python 2.3 and
2.4, you can use the ``easy_install-2.3`` or ``easy_install-2.4`` scripts to
install packages for Python 2.3 or 2.4, respectively.
 
Also, if you're working with Python version 2.4 or higher, you can run Python
with ``-m easy_install`` to run that particular Python version's
``easy_install`` command.
 
 
Restricting Downloads with ``--allow-hosts``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
You can use the ``--allow-hosts`` (``-H``) option to restrict what domains
EasyInstall will look for links and downloads on. ``--allow-hosts=None``
prevents downloading altogether. You can also use wildcards, for example
to restrict downloading to hosts in your own intranet. See the section below
on `Command-Line Options`_ for more details on the ``--allow-hosts`` option.
 
By default, there are no host restrictions in effect, but you can change this
default by editing the appropriate `configuration files`_ and adding::
 
    [easy_install]
    allow_hosts = *.myintranet.example.com,*.python.org
 
The above example would then allow downloads only from hosts in the
``python.org`` and ``myintranet.example.com`` domains, unless overridden on the
command line.
 
 
Installing on Un-networked Machines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Just copy the eggs or source packages you need to a directory on the target
machine, then use the ``-f`` or ``--find-links`` option to specify that
directory's location. For example::
 
    easy_install -H None -f somedir SomePackage
 
will attempt to install SomePackage using only eggs and source packages found
in ``somedir`` and disallowing all remote access. You should of course make
sure you have all of SomePackage's dependencies available in somedir.
 
If you have another machine of the same operating system and library versions
(or if the packages aren't platform-specific), you can create the directory of
eggs using a command like this::
 
    easy_install -zmaxd somedir SomePackage
 
This will tell EasyInstall to put zipped eggs or source packages for
SomePackage and all its dependencies into ``somedir``, without creating any
scripts or .pth files. You can then copy the contents of ``somedir`` to the
target machine. (``-z`` means zipped eggs, ``-m`` means multi-version, which
prevents .pth files from being used, ``-a`` means to copy all the eggs needed,
even if they're installed elsewhere on the machine, and ``-d`` indicates the
directory to place the eggs in.)
 
You can also build the eggs from local development packages that were installed
with the ``setup.py develop`` command, by including the ``-l`` option, e.g.::
 
    easy_install -zmaxld somedir SomePackage
 
This will use locally-available source distributions to build the eggs.
 
 
Packaging Others' Projects As Eggs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Need to distribute a package that isn't published in egg form? You can use
EasyInstall to build eggs for a project. You'll want to use the ``--zip-ok``,
``--exclude-scripts``, and possibly ``--no-deps`` options (``-z``, ``-x`` and
``-N``, respectively). Use ``-d`` or ``--install-dir`` to specify the location
where you'd like the eggs placed. By placing them in a directory that is
published to the web, you can then make the eggs available for download, either
in an intranet or to the internet at large.
 
If someone distributes a package in the form of a single ``.py`` file, you can
wrap it in an egg by tacking an ``#egg=name-version`` suffix on the file's URL.
So, something like this::
 
    easy_install -f "http://some.example.com/downloads/foo.py#egg=foo-1.0" foo
 
will install the package as an egg, and this::
 
    easy_install -zmaxd. \
        -f "http://some.example.com/downloads/foo.py#egg=foo-1.0" foo
 
will create a ``.egg`` file in the current directory.
 
 
Creating your own Package Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
In addition to local directories and the Python Package Index, EasyInstall can
find download links on most any web page whose URL is given to the ``-f``
(``--find-links``) option. In the simplest case, you can simply have a web
page with links to eggs or Python source packages, even an automatically
generated directory listing (such as the Apache web server provides).
 
If you are setting up an intranet site for package downloads, you may want to
configure the target machines to use your download site by default, adding
something like this to their `configuration files`_::
 
    [easy_install]
    find_links = http://mypackages.example.com/somedir/
                 http://turbogears.org/download/
                 http://peak.telecommunity.com/dist/
 
As you can see, you can list multiple URLs separated by whitespace, continuing
on multiple lines if necessary (as long as the subsequent lines are indented.
 
If you are more ambitious, you can also create an entirely custom package index
or PyPI mirror. See the ``--index-url`` option under `Command-Line Options`_,
below, and also the section on the `Package Index "API"`_.
 
 
Password-Protected Sites
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If a site you want to download from is password-protected using HTTP "Basic"
authentication, you can specify your credentials in the URL, like so::
 
    http://some_userid:some_password@some.example.com/some_path/
 
You can do this with both index page URLs and direct download URLs. As long
as any HTML pages read by easy_install use *relative* links to point to the
downloads, the same user ID and password will be used to do the downloading.
 
 
Controlling Build Options
-------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
EasyInstall respects standard distutils `Configuration Files`_, so you can use
them to configure build options for packages that it installs from source. For

 
 
Editing and Viewing Source Packages
-----------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Sometimes a package's source distribution contains additional documentation,
examples, configuration files, etc., that are not part of its actual code. If

 
 
Dealing with Installation Conflicts
-----------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
(NOTE: As of 0.6a11, this section is obsolete; it is retained here only so that
people using older versions of EasyInstall can consult it. As of version
0.6a11, installation conflicts are handled automatically without deleting the
old or system-installed packages, and without ignoring the issue. Instead,
eggs are automatically shifted to the front of ``sys.path`` using special
code added to the ``easy-install.pth`` file. So, if you are using version
0.6a11 or better of setuptools, you do not need to worry about conflicts,
and the following issues do not apply to you.)
 
EasyInstall installs distributions in a "managed" way, such that each
distribution can be independently activated or deactivated on ``sys.path``.

 
 
Compressed Installation
-----------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
EasyInstall tries to install packages in zipped form, if it can. Zipping
packages can significantly increase Python's overall import performance if
you're installing to``site-packages`` and not using the ``--multi`` option,
because Python processes zipfile entries on ``sys.path`` much faster than it
does directories.
packages can improve Python's overall import performance if you're not using
the ``--multi-version`` option, because Python processes zipfile entries on
``sys.path`` much faster than it does directories.
 
As of version 0.5a9, EasyInstall analyzes packages to determine whether they
can be safely installed as a zipfile, and then acts on its analysis. (Previous
versions would not install a package as a zipfile unless you used the
``--zip-ok`` option.)
 
The current analysis approach is very conservative; it currenly looks for:
The current analysis approach is fairly conservative; it currenly looks for:
 
 * Any use of the ``__file__`` or ``__path__`` variables (which should be
   replaced with ``pkg_resources`` API calls)

 * Possible use of ``inspect`` functions that expect to manipulate source files
   (e.g. ``inspect.getsource()``)
 
 * Any data files or C extensions (this restriction will be removed in a future
   release, once the ``pkg_resources`` runtime has been hardened for multi-user
   environments)
 * Top-level modules that might be scripts used with ``python -m`` (Python 2.4)
 
If any of the above are found in the package being installed, EasyInstall will
assume that the package cannot be safely run from a zipfile, and unzip it to

    versions and enabling optional dependencies, see the ``pkg_resources`` API
    doc.)
 
    Note that if you install to a directory other than ``site-packages``,
    this option is automatically in effect, because ``.pth`` files can only be
    used in ``site-packages`` (at least in Python 2.3 and 2.4). So, if you use
    the ``--install-dir`` or ``-d`` option (or they are set via configuration
    file(s)) you must also use ``require()`` to enable packages at runtime.
    Changed in 0.6a10: this option is no longer silently enabled when
    installing to a non-PYTHONPATH, non-"site" directory. You must always
    explicitly use this option if you want it to be active.
 
``--upgrade, -U`` (New in 0.5a4)
    By default, EasyInstall only searches the Python Package Index if a
    project/version requirement can't be met by distributions already installed
    By default, EasyInstall only searches online if a project/version
    requirement can't be met by distributions already installed
    on sys.path or the installation directory. However, if you supply the
    ``--upgrade`` or ``-U`` flag, EasyInstall will always check the package
    index before selecting a version to install. In this way, you can force
    EasyInstall to use the latest available version of any package it installs
    (subject to any version requirements that might exclude such later
    versions).
    index and ``--find-links`` URLs before selecting a version to install. In
    this way, you can force EasyInstall to use the latest available version of
    any package it installs (subject to any version requirements that might
    exclude such later versions).
 
``--install-dir=DIR, -d DIR``
    Set the installation directory. It is up to you to ensure that this

    location is used. Normally, this would be the ``site-packages`` directory,
    but if you are using distutils configuration files, setting things like
    ``prefix`` or ``install_lib``, then those settings are taken into
    account when computing the default installation directory.
    account when computing the default installation directory, as is the
    ``--prefix`` option.
 
``--script-dir=DIR, -s DIR``
    Set the script installation directory. If you don't supply this option

    from other sys.path directories to the installation directory, unless you
    explicitly gave the distribution's filename on the command line.
 
``--find-links=URL, -f URL`` (Option renamed in 0.4a2)
    Scan the specified "download pages" for direct links to downloadable eggs
    or source distributions. Any usable packages will be downloaded if they
    are required by a command line argument. For example, this::
 
        easy_install -f http://peak.telecommunity.com/dist PyProtocols
    Note that as of 0.6a10, using this option excludes "system" and
    "development" eggs from consideration because they can't be reliably
    copied. This may cause EasyInstall to choose an older version of a package
    than what you expected, or it may cause downloading and installation of a
    fresh copy of something that's already installed. You will see warning
    messages for any eggs that EasyInstall skips, before it falls back to an
    older version or attempts to download a fresh copy.
 
``--find-links=URLS_OR_FILENAMES, -f URLS_OR_FILENAMES``
    Scan the specified "download pages" or directories for direct links to eggs
    or other distributions. Any existing file or directory names or direct
    download URLs are immediately added to EasyInstall's search cache, and any
    indirect URLs (ones that don't point to eggs or other recognized archive
    formats) are added to a list of additional places to search for download
    links. As soon as EasyInstall has to go online to find a package (either
    because it doesn't exist locally, or because ``--upgrade`` or ``-U`` was
    used), the specified URLs will be downloaded and scanned for additional
    direct links.
 
    Eggs and archives found by way of ``--find-links`` are only downloaded if
    they are needed to meet a requirement specified on the command line; links
    to unneeded packages are ignored.
 
    will download and install the latest version of PyProtocols linked from
    the PEAK downloads page, but ignore the other download links on that page.
    If all requested packages can be found using links on the specified
    download pages, the Python Package Index will *not* be consulted. You can
    use a ``file:`` URL to reference a local HTML file containing links, or you
    can just use the name of a directory containing "distribution files"
    (source archives, eggs, Windows installers, etc.), and EasyInstall will
    then be aware of the files available there.
 
    You may specify multiple URLs or directories with this option, separated by
    whitespace. Note that on the command line, you will probably have to
    surround the URL list with quotes, so that it is recognized as a single
    option value. You can also specify URLs in a configuration file; see
    `Configuration Files`_, above; but note that this means the specified pages
    will be downloaded every time you use EasyInstall (unless overridden on the
    command line) and thus may make startup slower.
    download pages, the Python Package Index will not be consulted unless you
    also specified the ``--upgrade`` or ``-U`` option.
 
    (Note: if you want to refer to a local HTML file containing links, you must
    use a ``file:`` URL, as filenames that do not refer to a directory, egg, or
    archive are ignored.)
 
    You may specify multiple URLs or file/directory names with this option,
    separated by whitespace. Note that on the command line, you will probably
    have to surround the URL list with quotes, so that it is recognized as a
    single option value. You can also specify URLs in a configuration file;
    see `Configuration Files`_, above.
 
    Changed in 0.6a10: previously all URLs and directories passed to this
    option were scanned as early as possible, but from 0.6a10 on, only
    directories and direct archive links are scanned immediately; URLs are not
    retrieved unless a package search was already going to go online due to a
    package not being available locally, or due to the use of the ``--update``
    or ``-U`` option.
 
``--delete-conflicting, -D`` (Removed in 0.6a11)
    (As of 0.6a11, this option is no longer necessary; please do not use it!)
 
``--delete-conflicting, -D`` (New in 0.5a9)
    If you are replacing a package that was previously installed *without*
    using EasyInstall, the old version may end up on ``sys.path`` before the
    version being installed with EasyInstall. EasyInstall will normally abort

    option, however, EasyInstall will attempt to delete the files or
    directories itself, and then proceed with the installation.
 
``--ignore-conflicts-at-my-risk`` (New in 0.5a9)
``--ignore-conflicts-at-my-risk`` (Removed in 0.6a11)
    (As of 0.6a11, this option is no longer necessary; please do not use it!)
 
    Ignore conflicting packages and proceed with installation anyway, even
    though it means the package probably won't work properly. If the
    conflicting package is in a directory you can't write to, this may be your

    installed package to work, like manually adding it to ``PYTHONPATH`` or to
    ``sys.path`` at runtime.
 
``--index-url=URL, -i URL`` (New in 0.4a1)
``--index-url=URL, -i URL`` (New in 0.4a1; default changed in 0.6c7)
    Specifies the base URL of the Python Package Index. The default is
    http://www.python.org/pypi if not specified. When a package is requested
    http://pypi.python.org/simple if not specified. When a package is requested
    that is not locally available or linked from a ``--find-links`` download
    page, the package index will be searched for download pages for the needed
    package, and those download pages will be searched for links to download

``--site-dirs=DIRLIST, -S DIRLIST`` (New in 0.6a1)
    Specify one or more custom "site" directories (separated by commas).
    "Site" directories are directories where ``.pth`` files are processed, such
    as the main Python ``site-packages`` directory. By default, EasyInstall
    only knows about Python-defined "site" directories, not those that may be
    added by an OS distribution or site administrator calling
    ``site.addsitedir()``. You should not normally need to use this option
    directly, as your system administrator should configure it in the
    ``distutils.cfg`` file of the Python installation. For example, if the
    administrator wants to make each user's ``~/lib/python2.3`` directory be a
    "site" directory, he or she should create an ``altinstall.pth`` file in the
    normal site-packages directory, containing this::
    as the main Python ``site-packages`` directory. As of 0.6a10, EasyInstall
    automatically detects whether a given directory processes ``.pth`` files
    (or can be made to do so), so you should not normally need to use this
    option. It is is now only necessary if you want to override EasyInstall's
    judgment and force an installation directory to be treated as if it
    supported ``.pth`` files.
 
        import os, site; site.addsitedir(os.path.expanduser('~/lib/python2.3'))
 
    and a ``distutils.cfg`` file inside the ``distutils`` package directory,
    containing this::
 
        [easy_install]
        site_dirs = ~/lib/python23
 
    This will ensure that EasyInstall knows about the additional "site"
    directory, thereby allowing individual users to install their own
    Python packages via EasyInstall.
    (If you want to *make* a non-``PYTHONPATH`` directory support ``.pth``
    files, please see the `Administrator Installation`_ section below.)
 
``--no-deps, -N`` (New in 0.6a6)
    Don't install any dependencies. This is intended as a convenience for

    setting for this option in their `configuration files`_, and then manually
    override the setting on the command line as needed.
 
``--prefix=DIR`` (New in 0.6a10)
    Use the specified directory as a base for computing the default
    installation and script directories. On Windows, the resulting default
    directories will be ``prefix\\Lib\\site-packages`` and ``prefix\\Scripts``,
    while on other platforms the defaults will be
    ``prefix/lib/python2.X/site-packages`` (with the appropriate version
    substituted) for libraries and ``prefix/bin`` for scripts.
 
    Note that the ``--prefix`` option only sets the *default* installation and
    script directories, and does not override the ones set on the command line
    or in a configuration file.
 
``--local-snapshots-ok, -l`` (New in 0.6c6)
    Normally, EasyInstall prefers to only install *released* versions of
    projects, not in-development ones, because such projects may not
    have a currently-valid version number. So, it usually only installs them
    when their ``setup.py`` directory is explicitly passed on the command line.
    
    However, if this option is used, then any in-development projects that were
    installed using the ``setup.py develop`` command, will be used to build
    eggs, effectively upgrading the "in-development" project to a snapshot
    release. Normally, this option is used only in conjunction with the
    ``--always-copy`` option to create a distributable snapshot of every egg
    needed to run an application.
 
    Note that if you use this option, you must make sure that there is a valid
    version number (such as an SVN revision number tag) for any in-development
    projects that may be used, as otherwise EasyInstall may not be able to tell
    what version of the project is "newer" when future installations or
    upgrades are attempted.
 
 
.. _non-root installation:
 
Custom Installation Locations
-----------------------------
 
EasyInstall manages what packages are active using Python ``.pth`` files, which
are normally only usable in Python's main ``site-packages`` directory. On some
platforms (such as Mac OS X), there are additional ``site-packages``
directories that you can use besides the main one, but usually there is only
one directory on the system where you can install packages without extra steps.
 
There are many reasons, however, why you might want to install packages
somewhere other than the ``site-packages`` directory. For example, you might
not have write access to that directory. You may be working with unstable
versions of packages that you don't want to install system-wide. And so on.
 
The following sections describe various approaches to custom installation; feel
free to choose which one best suits your system and needs.
 
`Administrator Installation`_
    This approach is for when you have write access to ``site-packages`` (or
    another directory where ``.pth`` files are processed), but don't want to
    install packages there. This can also be used by a system administrator
    to enable each user having their own private directories that EasyInstall
    will use to install packages.
 
`Mac OS X "User" Installation`_
    This approach produces a result similar to an administrator installation
    that gives each user their own private package directory, but on Mac OS X
    the hard part has already been done for you. This is probably the best
    approach for Mac OS X users.
 
`Creating a "Virtual" Python`_
    This approach is for when you don't have "root" or access to write to the
    ``site-packages`` directory, and would like to be able to set up one or
    more "virtual python" executables for your projects. This approach
    gives you the benefits of multiple Python installations, but without having
    to actually install Python more than once and use up lots of disk space.
    (Only the Python executable is copied; the libraries will be symlinked
    from the systemwide Python.)
 
    If you don't already have any ``PYTHONPATH`` customization or
    special distutils configuration, and you can't use either of the preceding
    approaches, this is probably the best one for you.
 
`"Traditional" PYTHONPATH-based Installation`_
    If you already have a custom ``PYTHONPATH``, and/or a custom distutils
    configuration, and don't want to change any of your existing setup, you may
    be interested in this approach. (If you're using a custom ``.pth`` file to
    point to your custom installation location, however, you should use
    `Administrator Installation`_ to enable ``.pth`` processing in the custom
    location instead, as that is easier and more flexible than this approach.)
 
 
Administrator Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If you have root access to your machine, you can easily configure it to allow
each user to have their own directory where Python packages can be installed
and managed by EasyInstall.
 
First, create an ``altinstall.pth`` file in Python's ``site-packages``
directory, containing the following line (substituting the correct Python
version)::
 
Non-Root Installation
---------------------
    import os, site; site.addsitedir(os.path.expanduser('~/lib/python2.3'))
 
This will automatically add each user's ``~/lib/python2.X`` directory to
``sys.path`` (if it exists), *and* it will process any ``.pth`` files in that
directory -- which is what makes it usable with EasyInstall.
 
The next step is to create or modify ``distutils.cfg`` in the ``distutils``
directory of your Python library. The correct directory will be something like
``/usr/lib/python2.X/distutils`` on most Posix systems and something like
``C:\\Python2X\Lib\distutils`` on Windows machines. Add the following lines
to the file, substituting the correct Python version if necessary::
 
If you want to use EasyInstall on a computer where you do not have write access
to Python's main ``site-packages`` directory, you may need to set up an
alternate "home" location for Python, so that it uses a personal
``site-packages`` directory instead of the system-wide ``site-packages``.
    [install]
    install_lib = ~/lib/python2.3
 
    # This next line is optional but often quite useful; it directs EasyInstall
    # and the distutils to install scripts in the user's "bin" directory. For
    # Mac OS X framework Python builds, you should use /usr/local/bin instead,
    # because neither ~/bin nor the default script installation location are on
    # the system PATH.
    #
    install_scripts = ~/bin
 
This will configure the distutils and EasyInstall to install packages to the
user's home directory by default.
 
Of course, you aren't limited to using a ``~/lib/python2.X`` directory with
this approach. You can substitute a specific systemwide directory if you like.
You can also edit ``~/.pydistutils.cfg`` (or ``~/pydistutils.cfg`` on Windows)
instead of changing the master ``distutils.cfg`` file. The true keys of this
approach are simply that:
 
1. any custom installation directory must be added to ``sys.path`` using a
   ``site.addsitedir()`` call from a working ``.pth`` file or
   ``sitecustomize.py``.
 
2. The active distutils configuration file(s) or ``easy_install`` command line
   should include the custom directory in the ``--site-dirs`` option, so that
   EasyInstall knows that ``.pth`` files will work in that location. (This is
   because Python does not keep track of what directories are or aren't enabled
   for ``.pth`` processing, in any way that EasyInstall can find out.)
 
As long as both of these things have been done, your custom installation
location is good to go.
 
 
Mac OS X "User" Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If you are on a Mac OS X machine, you should just use the
``~/Library/Python2.x/site-packages`` directory (replacing the ``x`` with the
appropriate number). Just make sure the directory exists, and use it as your
installation location for all packages (including EasyInstall itself). To
make the distutils install to this personal ``site-packages`` directory by
default, you should create a ``~/.pydistutils.cfg`` file with the following
contents::
``~/Library/Python/2.x/site-packages`` directory as your custom installation
location, because it is already configured to process ``.pth`` files, and
EasyInstall already knows this.
 
    [install]
    install_lib = ~/Library/Python$py_version_short/site-packages
Before installing EasyInstall/setuptools, just create a ``~/.pydistutils.cfg``
file with the following contents (or add this to the existing contents)::
 
This will tell the distutils (and EasyInstall) to always install packages in
the appropriate personal ``site-packages`` directory. (Note: do *not* replace
``$py_version_short`` with an actual Python version in the configuration file!
The distutils will substitute the correct value at runtime, so that the above
configuration file will work correctly no matter what Python version you use,
now or in the future.)
    [install]
    install_lib = ~/Library/Python/$py_version_short/site-packages
    install_scripts = ~/bin
 
If you are on a Linux, BSD, Cygwin, or other similar Unix-like operating
system, you have a couple of different options. You can create a "virtual"
Python installation, which uses its own library directories and some symlinks
to the site-wide Python. Or, you can use a "traditional" ``PYTHONPATH``-based
installation, which isn't as flexible, but which you may find more familiar,
especially if you already have a custom ``PYTHONPATH`` set up.
This will tell the distutils and EasyInstall to always install packages in
your personal ``site-packages`` directory, and scripts to ``~/bin``. (Note: do
*not* replace ``$py_version_short`` with an actual Python version in the
configuration file! The distutils will substitute the correct value at
runtime, so that the above configuration file should work correctly no matter
what Python version you use, now or in the future.)
 
Once you have done this, you can follow the normal `installation instructions`_
and use ``easy_install`` without any other special options or steps.
 
(Note, however, that ``~/bin`` is not in the default ``PATH``, so you may have
to refer to scripts by their full location. You may want to modify your shell
startup script (likely ``.bashrc`` or ``.profile``) or your
``~/.MacOSX/environment.plist`` to include ``~/bin`` in your ``PATH``.
 
 
Creating a "Virtual" Python
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
If you are on a Linux, BSD, Cygwin, or other similar Unix-like operating
system, but don't have root access, you can create your own "virtual"
Python installation, which uses its own library directories and some symlinks
to the site-wide Python.
 
In the simplest case, your virtual Python installation will live under the
``~/lib/python2.x``, ``~/include/python2.x``, and ``~/bin`` directories. Just
download `virtual-python.py`_ and run it using the site-wide Python. If you

 
Note that if you were previously setting a ``PYTHONPATH`` and/or had other
special configuration options in your ``~/.pydistutils.cfg``, you may need to
remove these settings *before* running ``virtual-python.py``. You should
also make sure that the ``~/bin`` directory (or whatever directory you choose)
is on your ``PATH``, because that is where EasyInstall will install new Python
scripts.
remove these settings *before* running ``virtual-python.py``. This is because
your new Python executable will not need *any* custom configuration for the
distutils or EasyInstall; everything will go to the correct ``~/lib`` and
``~/bin`` directories automatically.
 
You should, however, also make sure that the ``bin`` subdirectory of your
installation prefix (e.g. ``~/bin``) is on your ``PATH``, because that is where
EasyInstall and the distutils will install new Python scripts.
 
If you'd prefer to do the installation steps by hand, or just want to know what
the script will do, here are the steps. (If you don't care how it works, you
can just skip the rest of this section.)
 
First, you will need to know your Python version's ``sys.prefix`` and
``sys.exec_prefix``, which you can find out by running::
"Traditional" ``PYTHONPATH``-based Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
    python -c "import sys; print sys.prefix; print sys.exec_prefix"
This installation method is not as robust or as flexible as `creating a
"virtual" python`_ installation, as it uses various tricks to fool Python into
processing ``.pth`` files where it normally wouldn't. We suggest you at least
consider using one of the other approaches, as they will generally result in
a cleaner, more usable Python configuration. However, if for some reason you
can't or won't use one of the other approaches, here's how to do it.
 
(Replace "python" with the right path or version for your platform.)
Assuming that you want to install packages in a directory called ``~/py-lib``,
and scripts in ``~/bin``, here's what you need to do:
 
Assuming your ``sys.prefix`` is ``/usr/local``, and you are working with
Python 2.4, you need to then perform the following steps (possibly making
adjustments for the tools available on your platform). First, you need
to set up the local library directories, by symlinking to the system Python's
libraries::
First, edit ``~/.pydistutils.cfg`` to include these settings, if you don't
already have them::
 
    mkdir -p ~/lib/python2.4
    ln -s /usr/local/lib/python2.4/* ~/lib/python2.4/
    rm ~/lib/python2.4/site-packages
    mkdir ~/lib/python2.4/site-packages
    ln -s /usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/* ~/lib/python2.4/site-packages
    mkdir -p ~/include/python2.4
    ln -s /usr/local/include/python2.4/* ~/include/python2.4
    [install]
    install_lib = ~/py-lib
    install_scripts = ~/bin
 
If your ``sys.exec_prefix`` was different from your ``sys.prefix``, you will
also need to do this::
Be sure to do this *before* you try to run the ``ez_setup.py`` installation
script. Then, follow the standard `installation instructions`_, but make
sure that ``~/py-lib`` is listed in your ``PYTHONPATH`` environment variable.
 
    ln -s /execprefix/lib/python2.4/* ~/lib/python2.4/
Your library installation directory *must* be in listed in ``PYTHONPATH``,
not only when you install packages with EasyInstall, but also when you use
any packages that are installed using EasyInstall. You will probably want to
edit your ``~/.profile`` or other configuration file(s) to ensure that it is
set, if you haven't already got this set up on your machine.
 
replacing ``execprefix`` in the above with the value of ``sys.exec_prefix``.
 
Finally, you will also need a private ``python`` executable, e.g.::
Package Index "API"
-------------------
 
    mkdir -p ~/bin
    ln /usr/local/bin/python2.4 ~/bin/python
Custom package indexes (and PyPI) must follow the following rules for
EasyInstall to be able to look up and download packages:
 
Note that if hardlinking as shown doesn't work (e.g. because the system Python
is on a different filesystem), you should use ``copy -p`` instead of ``ln``.
Do NOT use a symlink! The Python binary must be copied or hardlinked,
otherwise it will use the system ``site-packages`` directory and not yours.
1. Except where stated otherwise, "pages" are HTML or XHTML, and "links"
   refer to ``href`` attributes.
 
You can now proceed with the standard `installation instructions`_.
2. Individual project version pages' URLs must be of the form
   ``base/projectname/version``, where ``base`` is the package index's base URL.
 
3. Omitting the ``/version`` part of a project page's URL (but keeping the
   trailing ``/``) should result in a page that is either:
 
   a) The single active version of that project, as though the version had been
      explicitly included, OR
 
   b) A page with links to all of the active version pages for that project.
 
4. Individual project version pages should contain direct links to downloadable
   distributions where possible. It is explicitly permitted for a project's
   "long_description" to include URLs, and these should be formatted as HTML
   links by the package index, as EasyInstall does no special processing to
   identify what parts of a page are index-specific and which are part of the
   project's supplied description.
 
5. Where available, MD5 information should be added to download URLs by
   appending a fragment identifier of the form ``#md5=...``, where ``...`` is
   the 32-character hex MD5 digest. EasyInstall will verify that the
   downloaded file's MD5 digest matches the given value.
 
6. Individual project version pages should identify any "homepage" or
   "download" URLs using ``rel="homepage"`` and ``rel="download"`` attributes
   on the HTML elements linking to those URLs. Use of these attributes will
   cause EasyInstall to always follow the provided links, unless it can be
   determined by inspection that they are downloadable distributions. If the
   links are not to downloadable distributions, they are retrieved, and if they
   are HTML, they are scanned for download links. They are *not* scanned for
   additional "homepage" or "download" links, as these are only processed for
   pages that are part of a package index site.
 
7. The root URL of the index, if retrieved with a trailing ``/``, must result
   in a page containing links to *all* projects' active version pages.
 
   (Note: This requirement is a workaround for the absence of case-insensitive
   ``safe_name()`` matching of project names in URL paths. If project names are
   matched in this fashion (e.g. via the PyPI server, mod_rewrite, or a similar
   mechanism), then it is not necessary to include this all-packages listing
   page.)
 
8. If a package index is accessed via a ``file://`` URL, then EasyInstall will
   automatically use ``index.html`` files, if present, when trying to read a
   directory with a trailing ``/`` on the URL.
 
 
Backward Compatibility
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Package indexes that wish to support setuptools versions prior to 0.6b4 should
also follow these rules:
 
* Homepage and download links must be preceded with ``"<th>Home Page"`` or
  ``"<th>Download URL"``, in addition to (or instead of) the ``rel=""``
  attributes on the actual links. These marker strings do not need to be
  visible, or uncommented, however! For example, the following is a valid
  homepage link that will work with any version of setuptools::
 
    <li>
     <strong>Home Page:</strong>
     <!-- <th>Home Page -->
     <a rel="homepage" href="http://sqlobject.org">http://sqlobject.org</a>
    </li>
 
  Even though the marker string is in an HTML comment, older versions of
  EasyInstall will still "see" it and know that the link that follows is the
  project's home page URL.
 
* The pages described by paragraph 3(b) of the preceding section *must*
  contain the string ``"Index of Packages</title>"`` somewhere in their text.
  This can be inside of an HTML comment, if desired, and it can be anywhere
  in the page. (Note: this string MUST NOT appear on normal project pages, as
  described in paragraphs 2 and 3(a)!)
 
In addition, for compatibility with PyPI versions that do not use ``#md5=``
fragment IDs, EasyInstall uses the following regular expression to match PyPI's
displayed MD5 info (broken onto two lines for readability)::
 
"Traditional" ``PYTHONPATH``-based Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    <a href="([^"#]+)">([^<]+)</a>\n\s+\(<a href="[^?]+\?:action=show_md5
    &amp;digest=([0-9a-f]{32})">md5</a>\)
 
This installation method is not as robust or as flexible as `creating a
"virtual" python`_ installation, as it uses various tricks to fool Python into
processing ``.pth`` files where it normally wouldn't. We suggest you try the
virtual Python approach first, as we are providing this method mainly for
people who just can't get past their unshakeable belief that creating a virtual
python is somehow "Not Right", or that putting stuff on ``PYTHONPATH`` "Should
Just Work, Darnit." So, if you're not one of those people, you don't
need these instructions. :-)
 
Assuming that you want to install packages in a directory called ``~/py-lib``,
and scripts in ``~/bin``, here's what you need to do:
Release Notes/Change History
============================
 
First, edit ``~/.pydistutils.cfg`` to include these settings::
0.6c11
 * Fix installed script .exe files not working with 64-bit Python on Windows
   (wasn't actually released in 0.6c10 due to a lost checkin)
 
    [install]
    install_lib = ~/py-lib
    install_scripts = ~/bin
0.6c10
 * Fix easy_install.exe giving UAC errors on Windows Vista
    
    [easy_install]
    site_dirs = ~/py_lib
 * Support for the most recent Sourceforge download link insanity
 
Be sure to do this *before* you try to run the ``ez_setup.py`` installation
script. Then, follow the standard `installation instructions`_, but take
careful note of the full pathname of the ``.egg`` file that gets installed, so
that you can add it to your ``PYTHONPATH``, along with ``~/py_lib``.
 
You *must* add the setuptools egg file to your ``PYTHONPATH`` manually, or it
will not work, and neither will any other packages you install with
EasyInstall. You will not, however, have to manually add any other
packages to the ``PYTHONPATH``; EasyInstall will take care of them for you, as
long as the setuptools egg is explicitly listed in ``PYTHONPATH``.
 * Stop crashing on certain types of HTTP error
 
 * Stop re-trying URLs that already failed retrieval once
 
Release Notes/Change History
============================
 * Fixes for various dependency management problems such as looping builds,
   re-downloading packages already present on sys.path (but not in a registered
   "site" directory), and semi-randomly preferring local "-f" packages over
   local installed packages
 
0.6c9
 * Fixed ``win32.exe`` support for .pth files, so unnecessary directory nesting
   is flattened out in the resulting egg. (There was a case-sensitivity
   problem that affected some distributions, notably ``pywin32``.)
 
 * Prevent ``--help-commands`` and other junk from showing under Python 2.5
   when running ``easy_install --help``.
 
 * Fixed GUI scripts sometimes not executing on Windows
 
 * Fixed not picking up dependency links from recursive dependencies.
 
 * Only make ``.py``, ``.dll`` and ``.so`` files executable when unpacking eggs
 
 * Changes for Jython compatibility
 
 * Improved error message when a requirement is also a directory name, but the
   specified directory is not a source package.
 
 * Fixed ``--allow-hosts`` option blocking ``file:`` URLs
 
 * Fixed HTTP SVN detection failing when the page title included a project
   name (e.g. on SourceForge-hosted SVN)
 
 * Fix Jython script installation to handle ``#!`` lines better when
   ``sys.executable`` is a script.
 
 * Removed use of deprecated ``md5`` module if ``hashlib`` is available
 
 * Keep site directories (e.g. ``site-packages``) from being included in
   ``.pth`` files.
 
0.6c7
 * ``ftp:`` download URLs now work correctly.
 
 * The default ``--index-url`` is now ``http://pypi.python.org/simple``, to use
   the Python Package Index's new simpler (and faster!) REST API.
 
0.6c6
 * EasyInstall no longer aborts the installation process if a URL it wants to
   retrieve can't be downloaded, unless the URL is an actual package download.
   Instead, it issues a warning and tries to keep going.
 
 * Fixed distutils-style scripts originally built on Windows having their line
   endings doubled when installed on any platform.
 
 * Added ``--local-snapshots-ok`` flag, to allow building eggs from projects
   installed using ``setup.py develop``.
 
 * Fixed not HTML-decoding URLs scraped from web pages
  
0.6c5
 * Fixed ``.dll`` files on Cygwin not having executable permisions when an egg
   is installed unzipped.
 
0.6c4
 * Added support for HTTP "Basic" authentication using ``http://user:pass@host``
   URLs. If a password-protected page contains links to the same host (and
   protocol), those links will inherit the credentials used to access the
   original page.
 
 * Removed all special support for Sourceforge mirrors, as Sourceforge's
   mirror system now works well for non-browser downloads.
 
 * Fixed not recognizing ``win32.exe`` installers that included a custom
   bitmap.
 
 * Fixed not allowing ``os.open()`` of paths outside the sandbox, even if they
   are opened read-only (e.g. reading ``/dev/urandom`` for random numbers, as
   is done by ``os.urandom()`` on some platforms).
 
 * Fixed a problem with ``.pth`` testing on Windows when ``sys.executable``
   has a space in it (e.g., the user installed Python to a ``Program Files``
   directory).
 
0.6c3
 * You can once again use "python -m easy_install" with Python 2.4 and above.
 
 * Python 2.5 compatibility fixes added.
 
0.6c2
 * Windows script wrappers now support quoted arguments and arguments
   containing spaces. (Patch contributed by Jim Fulton.)
 
 * The ``ez_setup.py`` script now actually works when you put a setuptools
   ``.egg`` alongside it for bootstrapping an offline machine.
 
 * A writable installation directory on ``sys.path`` is no longer required to
   download and extract a source distribution using ``--editable``.
 
 * Generated scripts now use ``-x`` on the ``#!`` line when ``sys.executable``
   contains non-ASCII characters, to prevent deprecation warnings about an
   unspecified encoding when the script is run.
 
0.6c1
 * EasyInstall now includes setuptools version information in the
   ``User-Agent`` string sent to websites it visits.
 
0.6b4
 * Fix creating Python wrappers for non-Python scripts
 
 * Fix ``ftp://`` directory listing URLs from causing a crash when used in the
   "Home page" or "Download URL" slots on PyPI.
 
 * Fix ``sys.path_importer_cache`` not being updated when an existing zipfile
   or directory is deleted/overwritten.
 
 * Fix not recognizing HTML 404 pages from package indexes.
 
 * Allow ``file://`` URLs to be used as a package index. URLs that refer to
   directories will use an internally-generated directory listing if there is
   no ``index.html`` file in the directory.
 
 * Allow external links in a package index to be specified using
   ``rel="homepage"`` or ``rel="download"``, without needing the old
   PyPI-specific visible markup.
 
 * Suppressed warning message about possibly-misspelled project name, if an egg
   or link for that project name has already been seen.
 
0.6b3
 * Fix local ``--find-links`` eggs not being copied except with
   ``--always-copy``.
 
 * Fix sometimes not detecting local packages installed outside of "site"
   directories.
 
 * Fix mysterious errors during initial ``setuptools`` install, caused by
   ``ez_setup`` trying to run ``easy_install`` twice, due to a code fallthru
   after deleting the egg from which it's running.
 
0.6b2
 * Don't install or update a ``site.py`` patch when installing to a
   ``PYTHONPATH`` directory with ``--multi-version``, unless an
   ``easy-install.pth`` file is already in use there.
 
 * Construct ``.pth`` file paths in such a way that installing an egg whose
   name begins with ``import`` doesn't cause a syntax error.
 
 * Fixed a bogus warning message that wasn't updated since the 0.5 versions.
 
0.6b1
 * Better ambiguity management: accept ``#egg`` name/version even if processing
   what appears to be a correctly-named distutils file, and ignore ``.egg``
   files with no ``-``, since valid Python ``.egg`` files always have a version
   number (but Scheme eggs often don't).
 
 * Support ``file://`` links to directories in ``--find-links``, so that
   easy_install can build packages from local source checkouts.
 
 * Added automatic retry for Sourceforge mirrors. The new download process is
   to first just try dl.sourceforge.net, then randomly select mirror IPs and
   remove ones that fail, until something works. The removed IPs stay removed
   for the remainder of the run.
 
 * Ignore bdist_dumb distributions when looking at download URLs.
 
0.6a11
 * Process ``dependency_links.txt`` if found in a distribution, by adding the
   URLs to the list for scanning.
 
 * Use relative paths in ``.pth`` files when eggs are being installed to the
   same directory as the ``.pth`` file. This maximizes portability of the
   target directory when building applications that contain eggs.
 
 * Added ``easy_install-N.N`` script(s) for convenience when using multiple
   Python versions.
 
 * Added automatic handling of installation conflicts. Eggs are now shifted to
   the front of sys.path, in an order consistent with where they came from,
   making EasyInstall seamlessly co-operate with system package managers.
 
   The ``--delete-conflicting`` and ``--ignore-conflicts-at-my-risk`` options
   are now no longer necessary, and will generate warnings at the end of a
   run if you use them.
 
 * Don't recursively traverse subdirectories given to ``--find-links``.
 
0.6a10
 * Added exhaustive testing of the install directory, including a spawn test
   for ``.pth`` file support, and directory writability/existence checks. This
   should virtually eliminate the need to set or configure ``--site-dirs``.
 
 * Added ``--prefix`` option for more do-what-I-mean-ishness in the absence of
   RTFM-ing. :)
 
 * Enhanced ``PYTHONPATH`` support so that you don't have to put any eggs on it
   manually to make it work. ``--multi-version`` is no longer a silent
   default; you must explicitly use it if installing to a non-PYTHONPATH,
   non-"site" directory.
 
 * Expand ``$variables`` used in the ``--site-dirs``, ``--build-directory``,
   ``--install-dir``, and ``--script-dir`` options, whether on the command line
   or in configuration files.
 
 * Improved SourceForge mirror processing to work faster and be less affected
   by transient HTML changes made by SourceForge.
 
 * PyPI searches now use the exact spelling of requirements specified on the
   command line or in a project's ``install_requires``. Previously, a
   normalized form of the name was used, which could lead to unnecessary
   full-index searches when a project's name had an underscore (``_``) in it.
 
 * EasyInstall can now download bare ``.py`` files and wrap them in an egg,
   as long as you include an ``#egg=name-version`` suffix on the URL, or if
   the ``.py`` file is listed as the "Download URL" on the project's PyPI page.
   This allows third parties to "package" trivial Python modules just by
   linking to them (e.g. from within their own PyPI page or download links
   page).
 
 * The ``--always-copy`` option now skips "system" and "development" eggs since
   they can't be reliably copied. Note that this may cause EasyInstall to
   choose an older version of a package than what you expected, or it may cause
   downloading and installation of a fresh version of what's already installed.
 
 * The ``--find-links`` option previously scanned all supplied URLs and
   directories as early as possible, but now only directories and direct
   archive links are scanned immediately. URLs are not retrieved unless a
   package search was already going to go online due to a package not being
   available locally, or due to the use of the ``--update`` or ``-U`` option.
 
 * Fixed the annoying ``--help-commands`` wart.
 
0.6a9
 * Fixed ``.pth`` file processing picking up nested eggs (i.e. ones inside
   "baskets") when they weren't explicitly listed in the ``.pth`` file.
 
 * If more than one URL appears to describe the exact same distribution, prefer
   the shortest one. This helps to avoid "table of contents" CGI URLs like the
   ones on effbot.org.
 
 * Quote arguments to python.exe (including python's path) to avoid problems
   when Python (or a script) is installed in a directory whose name contains
   spaces on Windows.
 
Known Issues
 * There's no automatic retry for borked Sourceforge mirrors, which can easily
   time out or be missing a file.
 * Support full roundtrip translation of eggs to and from ``bdist_wininst``
   format. Running ``bdist_wininst`` on a setuptools-based package wraps the
   egg in an .exe that will safely install it as an egg (i.e., with metadata
   and entry-point wrapper scripts), and ``easy_install`` can turn the .exe
   back into an ``.egg`` file or directory and install it as such.
 
0.6a8
 * Update for changed SourceForge mirror format

* Display byte progress meter when downloading distributions and long pages?
* Redirect stdout/stderr to log during run_setup?
 
[Deleted a feature request someone added here - the requested feature can already be achieved using the ``resolve()`` method of ``WorkingSet`` objects; see the `pkg_resources docs <PkgResources>`_ for more details.]

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