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Welcome to the Solo Repackage (srepkg) Documentation Site

srepkg is a Python package that wraps other Python packages with an isolation layer, ensuring installation in an isolated virtual environment while preserving access to the original package's command-line interface in an external environment.

📦 Availability

srepkg is available on PyPI and GitHub.

📖 Description

When a package wrapped in an isolation layer by srepkg is installed in an active, pre-existing Python environment:

  • The original package plus its dependencies are installed in a new, automatically created virtual environment.
  • A dependency-free "access" package installed in the pre-existing environment contains a controller module capable of making calls to the Python interpreter in the newly created environment.
  • This enivronment and package structure exposes the original package’s CL to the pre-existing environmen while ensuring that none of the original package's dependencies conflict with packages in the pre-existing environment.

🎯 Use Cases

For Package Distributors

  • srepkg can be useful if you are sharing a Python command line application, and you want to be certain that users can install and run it without worrying about dependency conflicts.
  • Wrapping a CL package with srepkg prior to sharing the package with other users will ensure that wherever the package is installed, it does not introduce dependency conflicts into a user's existing Python environment — even if the user knows nothing about managing Python environments.

For Package Users

  • Any existing CL package obtained from Python Packaging Index (PyPI) or GitHub can be wrapped with srepkg prior to installation.
  • If you want the original package commands to be accessible from a single environment (that is distinct from the isolated environment where the original package is installed), then srepkg is likely a good option.
  • However, if you want the isolated package's command interface to be available globally and/or want a much more mature isolation tool, then pipx is likely a better choice.