What is a build backend?
A build backend is a Python package that implements standardized interfaces for building and installing Python packages, as defined in PEP 517. It handles tasks like:
- Converting source code into packages (wheels and sdists)
- Managing build-time dependencies
- Installing packages into environments
Build backends separate package creation from package management like pip, allowing any compliant tool to build Python packages.
Common Build Backends
- setuptools.build_meta: Traditional choice, supports complex builds and C extensions
- hatchling: Modern backend from Hatch project
- flit_core: Lightweight backend focused on pure Python packages
- maturin: Specialized for Rust extensions
- scikit-build-core: Handles C/C++/Fortran with CMake
Configuration
Build backends are specified in pyproject.toml:
[build-system]
requires = ["setuptools>=61.0"]
build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"The requires field lists packages needed during the build process.
Not all backends support every feature. Choose based on your project’s needs (pure Python vs extensions, development workflow, etc.).
Also Mentioned In
Last updated on