How to Pip Install From a Git Repo Branch?

While working with a project in git, you'll often find yourself in the position where you want to install some software for any purpose like testing bugs. This is done using the 'pip' command and it is important to understand how we can use this command to install a package from a specific branch of a Git repository. In this article, we will see how to Pip Install From a Git Repo Branch.

What is pip install?

Sometimes you want to use the features of software that is not yet released on the Python Package Index (PyPI) from where it can be used directly. Therefore, in order to use the software, we have to pip-install the software which means installing a Python package from a specific branch of a Git repository. This installation is done for using a specific feature like testing code, checking for bugs, or some other features. Let us see how we can do this.

Why Install from a Git Repository Branch?

There are several reasons why you might want to install a package directly from a Git repository branch:

• Access to Latest Features: Sometimes, new features are added to a development branch before being officially released.
• Bug Fixes: Critical bug fixes might be available in a branch before the package maintainers publish a new version.
• Custom Versions: You might have your own custom branch with specific changes that you need for your project.

Suggested Practice

When you are installing packages from Git, it is advised to use a virtual environment that can isolate the environment and provide you with a clean way to create your project. To create a virtual environment, you can use 'virtualenv'.

Step 1: Open your terminal and type

pip install virtualenv

This will install the virtual environment. Now, we need to create a virtual environment so choose the name you want to give to your virtual environment.

virtualenv name_of_environment

To activate the virtual environment, use these commands

For Windows

name_of_environment\Scripts\activate

For Linux/Mac

source name_of_environment/bin/activate

Step 2: Now, that your virtual environment has been activated, you can clone the repository in this environment and install the packages. This way the installed package and its dependencies are separate from the system.

Creating a pip Install

Here is an example to understand how we can Pip Install From a Git Repo Branch

Method 1: Cloning the Repository First

Step 1: Clone the repository

In order to use the repository, you have to clone the repository in your local system first. For this, you have to open your terminal and direct yourself to the directory where you want to clone the repository. Once you are at the location where you want to clone the repository, use the following commands.

git clone address

The address will be replaced by the actual address of the repository that you want to clone. Suppose you want to clone https://github.com/username/repository.git repository then use.

git clone https://github.com/username/repository.git

Now you have a clone of the repository in your local machine which looks like

Step 2: Package Installation

Now, we want to install the package from the git repository for which we have to navigate to that branch. Use the 'cd' command to do so

cd repository

Here, the repository represents the name of name of the cloned repository directory.

After entering the cloned repository, you need to now install the package you need. The 'pip' command will be used followed by . to install all the packages in the repository. Here is the command.

pip install .

This command uses the setup.py file present in the repository directory to install the package. This package will be installed on your system now.

Step 3: Package Installation from a specific branch

If you want to install a package from a specific branch then you need to switch to that branch first using the 'navigate' command. Run this command

git checkout 

This command will be followed by the name of the branch you want to install from.

Now, once you are in the branch from where you want to install the package, you can run 'pip install' again. So the command becomes

git checkout /local/nvme/data
pip install

Step 4: Updating the package

It might happen that you don't have the latest version of the package installed and you want to update the installed package to get the latest version that is available. To do so, the latest version can be taken from the git repository and installed.

To get the changes from the repository, use this command

git pull

Once you run this command, the latest changes from the remote repository will be fetched and merged with your local copy.

To update the package, run the 'pip install' command after pulling the latest changes.

Method 2: Direct Installation from a Git Repository

This is comparatively a more straightforward method, which involves going to the Git repository URL in the pip install command. This doesn't involve cloning the branch repository.

The command used to install a package from a specific branch is

pip install git+ 'address of repository'@name of branch

Here is an example to clone repository https://github.com/username/repository.git with branch name branch_name

pip install git+https://github.com/username/repository.git@branch_name

This will install the package from the branch of the Git repository. Notice how this method doesn't involve cloning the branch to your local system.

Conclusion

Installing Python packages from a Git repository branch using pip allows you to access the latest code and custom modifications. Whether you're testing new features, using development branches, or working with forks, these methods provide flexibility beyond standard PyPI installations. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily install packages directly from Git repositories and ensure you have the exact version of the code you need.