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Setting Up PyPiServer on Ubuntu

· 5 min read
Zephyr
Zephyr
Engineer

Today, we’ll document the process of setting up a PyPi Server using Docker on Ubuntu.

We assume you have Docker installed on Ubuntu and are familiar with basic Docker operations.

Pull the Image​

docker pull pypiserver/pypiserver:latest

Create a Directory​

Let’s quickly create a directory in the home directory to store Python packages.

mkdir ~/packages

You can use a different name if you prefer, but remember to adjust it in the configuration files.

Set up htpasswd​

tip

If you don’t want to set a password, you can skip this step.

htpasswd is a file format for storing usernames and passwords, which pypiserver uses for user authentication. This is a simple and effective way to enhance pypiserver’s security.

First, install apache2-utils:

sudo apt install apache2-utils

Then, use the following command to create a new .htpasswd file:

htpasswd -c ~/.htpasswd [username]

You will be prompted to enter a password for username. After entering the password, the .htpasswd file will be created in your home directory.

Once the file is created, you can run pypiserver with the docker run command and enable authentication with the .htpasswd file.

Run as a Background Service​

To run the Docker container as a background service, we’ll use Docker Compose with Systemd.

Install Docker Compose​

If you haven’t installed Docker Compose, start by doing so:

Docker Compose has recently undergone major updates, changing many commands. Notably, docker-compose has been replaced by docker compose.

Install the latest version of Docker Compose:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin

Verify the installation:

docker compose version

Create a Configuration File​

Find a location to create the docker-compose.yml file and add the following content:

version: "3.3"
services:
  pypiserver:
    image: pypiserver/pypiserver:latest
    volumes:
      - /home/[username]/auth:/data/auth
      - /home/[username]/packages:/data/packages
    command: run -P /data/auth/.htpasswd -a update,download,list /data/packages
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
  • Replace [username] with your actual username.
  • You can modify the external port mapping if needed, for example: "18080:8080".
tip

You can refer to pypiserver’s example file here: docker-compose.yml

If you want to skip setting a password, modify the command line as follows:

command: run -a . -P . /data/packages --server wsgiref

Set up a Systemd Service​

Create a configuration file:

sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/pypiserver.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=PypiServer Docker Compose
Requires=docker.service
After=docker.service

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/your/docker-compose/directory
ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker compose up --remove-orphans
ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker compose down
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
  • Replace /path/to/your/docker-compose/directory with the actual path to the docker-compose.yml file (only the path, not the filename).
  • Ensure the Docker path is correct by using which docker to confirm.
  • This setup uses the new docker compose command instead of docker-compose.

Start the Service​

Let systemd know about the new service configuration:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Start the service:

sudo systemctl enable pypiserver.service
sudo systemctl start pypiserver.service

Check the Status​

To check the current status of the service, use:

sudo systemctl status pypiserver.service

This will display the current status of the pypiserver service, including whether it’s running and the latest log output.

Start Using the Server​

You can now use pip to install and upload packages.

Uploading Packages​

Let’s say you have a package named example_package-0.1-py3-none-any.whl.

Use twine to upload the package:

pip install twine
twine upload --repository-url http://localhost:8080/ example_package-0.1-py3-none-any.whl
  • Make sure that localhost:8080 is the address and port of your pypiserver.

Downloading and Installing Packages​

Use pip to install packages by specifying the address and port of pypiserver:

pip install --index-url http://localhost:8080/ example_package

Using Basic Authentication​

If you set up basic authentication for your pypiserver, you’ll need to provide credentials when uploading or downloading:

  • To upload a package:

    twine upload \
      --repository-url http://localhost:8080/ \
      --username [username] \
      --password [password] \
      example_package-0.1-py3-none-any.whl

  • To install a package:

    pip install \
      --index-url http://[username]:[password]@localhost:8080/ \
      example_package

Configuring pip.conf​

To avoid specifying --index-url each time you use pip install, we can add the relevant configuration to pip.conf.

Configuration File​

The pip.conf file can be located in several places, with the following order of precedence:

  • Level 1: Site-level configuration:

    • /home/[username]/.pyenv/versions/3.8.18/envs/main/pip.conf

  • Level 2: User-level configuration:

    • /home/[username]/.pip/pip.conf
    • /home/[username]/.config/pip/pip.conf

  • Level 3: Global configuration:

    • /etc/pip.conf
    • /etc/xdg/pip/pip.conf

Identify the file that corresponds to your Python environment and add the following content:

[global]
index-url = http://[server_ip]:8080/
trusted-host = [server_ip]

Again, replace [server_ip]:8080 with the correct address and port of your pypiserver.

After setting this up, the server address configured in pip.conf will automatically be used as the package source when you use pip install [package_name].

Conclusion​

You’ve now successfully set up your own PyPI server, and you know how to upload and download packages.

We hope this guide solves your problem.