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__.