Differences from other tools#

pep517.build#

build implements a CLI tailored to end users.

pep517.build contained a proof-of-concept of a PEP 517 frontend. It “implement[ed] essentially the simplest possible frontend tool, to exercise and illustrate how the core functionality can be used”. It has since been deprecated and is scheduled for removal.

setup.py sdist bdist_wheel#

build is roughly the equivalent of setup.py sdist bdist_wheel but with PEP 517 support, allowing use with projects that don’t use setuptools.

Custom Behaviors#

Fallback Backend#

As recommended in PEP 517, if no backend is specified, build will fallback to setuptools.build_meta:__legacy__.