title: python pip - development mode with local dependencies
body: <p><strong>Background</strong></p>
  
  <p>I have two python projects. Project A and Project B.</p>
  
  <p>Each project has its own virtual environment and its own setup.py.</p>
  
  <p>Both projects are not pure py files and has "build" process like building extensions, generate source etc.</p>
  
  <p>A is dependent on B (setup.py install_requires points on B).</p>
  
  <p>Each project is built and published/distributed as a wheel to pypi on-premise repository.</p>
  
  <p>pip install w/wo -e (development mode) of project A, nicely installs project B into project A venv site-packages.</p>
  
  <p>So far everything is working nicely and "by the book".</p>
  
  <p><strong>Now, my story get complicated ...</strong></p>
  
  <p>I would like to develop the two projects together without having to publish B in order A to consume it.</p>
  
  <p>As example, I would like to:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Change something in B.</li>
  <li>build B (setup.py build).</li>
  <li><strong>NOT</strong> publish B as wheel to pypi.</li>
  <li><strong>Goal</strong> - Project A will "know" the modified Project B. <strong>WITHOUT</strong> manually tweaking sys.path.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I actually want the pip install -e of project A to install project B in development mode too.</p>
  
  <p>After some reading I understood (hopefully correctly) that one can define a "distribution" as a <strong>local source folder</strong> by <strong>--find-links</strong> flag. </p>
  
  <p>I defined project B root folder in --find-links.</p>
  
  <p>I tried it with (on project A setup.py folder):</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p><em>pip install . -e --find-links = file:///path/to/B</em></p></li>
  <li><p><em>pip install . -e --find-links = git+file://path/to/B</em></p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p><strong>Both did not work.</strong></p>
  
  <p>BTW, Puting in the path to B wheel or egg of B,</p>
  
  <p>ex: <em>pip install . -e --find-links = file:///path/to/B.whl</em></p>
  
  <p>did work but this is not what I am looking for.</p>
  
  <p>Hope you are still with me :-) (sorry for the tedious story)</p>
  
  <p><strong>What am I missing?</strong></p>
  
  <p>Tx</p>