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pip install . vs pip install -e .

pip install .โ€‹

  • Builds a wheel from the project, then copies the resulting files into site-packages.
  • Source directory and installed copy are independent; edits in the source tree are not seen by the interpreter until you run pip install . again.
  • Generates a standard, version-pinned install exactly like one fetched from PyPI.

pip install -e . (editable mode)โ€‹

  • Writes an .egg-link or PEP 660 direct_url.json entry in site-packages that points back to the project directory.

  • Adds that directory to easy-install.pth/pip-editable-pth, so import statements resolve to live source files.

  • Any modification saved in the project tree is immediately importable without reinstallation.

  • Intended for development; packaging metadata is still recorded, and dependencies are installed, but the code itself stays in place.

Practical consequencesโ€‹

  • On Prod use pip install .
  • On Dev use pip install -e .

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