bindings should be made available from `python-packages.nix`. The
`toPythonModule` function takes a derivation and makes certain Python-specific
modifications.
```nix
{
opencv = toPythonModule (
pkgs.opencv.override {
enablePython = true;
pythonPackages = self;
}
);
}
```
Do pay attention to passing in the right Python version!
#### `mkPythonMetaPackage` function {#mkpythonmetapackage-function}
This will create a meta package containing [metadata files](https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/recording-installed-packages/) to satisfy a dependency on a package, without it actually having been installed into the environment.
In nixpkgs this is used to package Python packages with split binary/source distributions such as [psycopg2](https://pypi.org/project/psycopg2/)/[psycopg2-binary](https://pypi.org/project/psycopg2-binary/).
```nix
mkPythonMetaPackage {
pname = "psycopg2-binary";
inherit (psycopg2) optional-dependencies version;
dependencies = [ psycopg2 ];
meta = {
inherit (psycopg2.meta) description homepage;
};
}
```
#### `mkPythonEditablePackage` function {#mkpythoneditablepackage-function}
When developing Python packages it's common to install packages in [editable mode](https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/userguide/development_mode.html).
Like `mkPythonMetaPackage` this function exists to create an otherwise empty package, but also containing a pointer to an impure location outside the Nix store that can be changed without rebuilding.
The editable root is passed as a string. Normally `.pth` files contains absolute paths to the mutable location. This isn't always ergonomic with Nix, so environment variables are expanded at runtime.
This means that a shell hook setting up something like a `$REPO_ROOT` variable can be used as the relative package root.
As an implementation detail, the [PEP-518](https://peps.python.org/pep-0518/) `build-system` specified won't be used, but instead the editable package will be built using [hatchling](https://pypi.org/project/hatchling/).
The `build-system`'s provided will instead become runtime dependencies of the editable package.
Note that overriding packages deeper in the dependency graph _can_ work, but it's not the primary use case and overriding existing packages can make others break in unexpected ways.
```nix
{
pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> { },
}:
let
pyproject = pkgs.lib.importTOML ./pyproject.toml;
myPython = pkgs.python.override {
self = myPython;
packageOverrides = pyfinal: pyprev: {
# An editable package with a script that loads our mutable location
my-editable = pyfinal.mkPythonEditablePackage {
# Inherit project metadata from pyproject.toml
pname = pyproject.project.name;
inherit (pyproject.project) version;
# The editable root passed as a string
root = "$REPO_ROOT/src"; # Use environment variable expansion at runtime
# Inject a script (other PEP-621 entrypoints are also accepted)
inherit (pyproject.project) scripts;
};
};
};
pythonEnv = myPython.withPackages (ps: [ ps.my-editable ]);
in
pkgs.mkShell {
packages = [ pythonEnv ];
}
```
#### `python.buildEnv` function {#python.buildenv-function}
Python environments can be created using the low-level `pkgs.buildEnv` function.
This example shows how to create an environment that has the Pyramid Web Framework.
Saving the following as `default.nix`
```nix
with import <nixpkgs> { };
python3.buildEnv.override {
extraLibs = [ python3Packages.pyramid ];
ignoreCollisions = true;
}
```
and running `nix-build` will create
```
/nix/store/cf1xhjwzmdki7fasgr4kz6di72ykicl5-python-2.7.8-env
```
with wrapped binaries in `bin/`.
You can also use the `env` attribute to create local environments with needed
packages installed. This is somewhat comparable to `virtualenv`. For example,
running `nix-shell` with the following `shell.nix`
```nix
with import <nixpkgs> { };
(python3.buildEnv.override {